# Pam Dawber

Pamela Dawber (born October 18, 1951) is an American actress known for her lead television sitcom roles as Mindy McConnell on Mork & Mindy (1978–1982) and Samantha Russell on My Sister Sam (1986–1988).

## Early life

Dawber was born in Detroit, the older of two daughters of Thelma M. (née Fisher) and Eugene E. Dawber, a commercial artist. She went to Reid Elementary School in Goodrich and attended North Farmington High School and Oakland Community College (OCC), with the intention of transferring to a four-year college. She deferred her studies at OCC to do some modeling work and eventually dropped out after deciding to go into modeling full-time.

## Career

Dawber moved to New York City and was initially a fashion model with Wilhelmina Models before switching to acting. She appeared in several television commercials during the 1970s (Fotomat, Noxzema, Neet, Underalls, etc.).
Dawber screen-tested for the title role in Tabitha, a 1977 to 1978 situation comedy spun off from Bewitched, but the role instead went to Lisa Hartman. However, ABC executives were impressed enough with her to enroll her in the company's "talent development" program, which paid its participants until they could find appropriate roles. Garry Marshall recruited her from this program.

### Breakthrough: Mork & Mindy

Dawber's professional breakthrough came when Marshall chose her, despite her having relatively little acting experience and not having auditioned for the part, as one of the two title characters of the ABC sitcom Mork & Mindy, which ran from 1978 to 1982. She portrayed Mindy McConnell, the comedic foil and eventual love interest for the extraterrestrial Mork from the planet Ork, played by a then-unknown Robin Williams. The show was very popular in its debut season, when it averaged at number three in the Nielsen ratings for the year. The only major difficulty for her on set was that she often found it impossible to maintain the proper composure in character in the face of her co-star's comedic talent. Also, pressure came from the ABC network to sexualize her character as the series progressed, which Dawber successfully resisted, with Williams's support.

### The Pirates of Penzance

Dawber sang in a 1980s Los Angeles Civic Light Opera production of Gilbert & Sullivan's The Pirates of Penzance, based on the Joseph Papp / New York Shakespeare Festival production. Her role, as Mabel, had been played by Linda Ronstadt in the New York run of the show. In mid-1982, Dawber performed the role of Mabel at the Minskoff Theatre in New York.

### My Sister Sam

From 1986 to 1988, Dawber again had a title role in a television series, playing Samantha Russell in the CBS sitcom My Sister Sam, co-starring Rebecca Schaeffer. The series was a success in its first season, but it suffered a ratings drop in its second after moving to Saturday night. My Sister Sam was canceled in April 1988, with half of the second season's episodes never shown on CBS. They were eventually broadcast (along with all previous episodes) on USA Network.
In July 1989, over a year after the show's cancellation, Schaeffer was shot and killed in front of her apartment in Los Angeles by Robert John Bardo, an obsessed fan who had stalked her for three years. Dawber was reportedly "devastated" by her former co-star's death. Dawber and her other surviving My Sister Sam co-stars – Joel Brooks, David Naughton and Jenny O'Hara – all participated in a filmed public service announcement about gun violence prevention, and Dawber herself became a gun control advocate.

### Film work

Although mostly known for her television work, Dawber has starred in several films, including the comedy movie Stay Tuned (1992) with John Ritter and the period movie I'll Remember April (1999), alongside husband Mark Harmon.

### Return to television

In 1997, Dawber starred in the short-lived sitcom Life... and Stuff on CBS.
In 2014, she reunited with Robin Williams on his comedy series The Crazy Ones as a love interest of Williams's character. The reunion failed to improve ratings, and the series was canceled shortly afterwards. Williams, already suffering from Lewy body disease by this time, died by suicide later that year.
Dawber is a national spokeswoman for Big Brothers Big Sisters of America. Garry K. Marshall, the film-and-television comedy writer–producer–director who enabled Dawber's professional breakthrough, died in 2016. That year, Dawber made a guest appearance on The Odd Couple in a tribute episode to Marshall, along with other Marshall alumni such as Ron Howard, Garry's sister Penny Marshall, Cindy Williams, Anson Williams, Don Most and Marion Ross.
For the first time in her career, she appeared with her husband, fellow actor Mark Harmon, on CBS's NCIS in 2021 for seven episodes as '"seasoned investigative journalist" Marcie Warren.

## Personal life

Dawber married actor Mark Harmon on March 21, 1987, in a private ceremony. They have two sons: one born in 1988 and another in 1992. Dawber is Roman Catholic.

## Filmography

Television :
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1978 | Sister Terri | Sister Terri | TV film |
| 1978–1982 | Mork & Mindy | Mindy McConnell / Mandy | Main cast |
| 1979 | The Chevy Chase National Humor Test | Various | TV special |
| 1980 | The Girl, the Gold Watch & Everything | Bonny Lee Beaumont | TV film |
| 1982 | Mork & Mindy/Laverne & Shirley/Fonz Hour | Mindy McConnell | Main cast, voice role |
| 1982 | Twilight Theatre | Missy | TV film (segment "Jilted Johnny") |
| 1982 | Remembrance of Love | Marcy Rabin | TV film |
| 1983 | Through Naked Eyes | Anne Walsh | TV film |
| 1984 | Last of the Great Survivors | Laura Matthews | TV film |
| 1985, 1987 | Faerie Tale Theatre | Self, Pearl | Episode: "Grimm Party" (interviews of cast), Episode: "The Little Mermaid" |
| 1985 | The Twilight Zone | Karen Billings | Episode: "But Can She Type?" segment |
| 1985 | This Wife for Hire | Marsha Harper | TV film |
| 1985 | Wild Horses | Daryl Reese | TV film |
| 1985 | American Geisha | Gillian Burke | TV film |
| 1986–1988 | My Sister Sam | Samantha 'Sam' Russell | Main cast |
| 1988 | Rosie | Shelby Woods | Episode: "Shelby by the Moon" |
| 1988 | Quiet Victory: The Charlie Wedemeyer Story | Lucy Wedemeyer | TV film |
| 1989 | Do You Know the Muffin Man? | Kendra Dollison | TV film |
| 1990 | The Face of Fear | Connie Weaver | TV film |
| 1991 | Rewrite for Murder | ? | TV film |
| 1993 | The Man with Three Wives | Robyn | TV film |
| 1994 | Dream On | Cheryl Castorini | Episode: "From Here to Paternity" |
| 1994 | Web of Deception | Ellen Benesch | TV film |
| 1994 | A Child's Cry for Help | Monica Shaw | TV film |
| 1994 | The Bears Who Saved Christmas | Mom | TV film, voice role |
| 1995 | Aaahh!!! Real Monsters | Wife | Episode: "Chip Off the Old Beast / The War's Over", voice role |
| 1995 | Trail of Tears | Cheryl Harris | TV film |
| 1995 | Kevin's Kitchen | ? | TV film |
| 1996 | Adventures from the Book of Virtues | Liese | Episode: "Self-Discipline", voice role |
| 1996 | A Stranger to Love | Andie | TV film |
| 1997 | Life... and Stuff | Ronnie Boswell | Main cast |
| 1997–1998 | 101 Dalmatians: The Series | Perdita | Recurring role, voice role |
| 1998 | Men in Black: The Series | ? | Episode: "The Elle of My Dreams Syndrome", voice role |
| 1999 | Don't Look Behind You | Liz Corrigan | TV film |
| 2006 | Christa McAuliffe: Reach for the Stars | Herself | TV documentary |
| 2014 | The Crazy Ones | Lily | Episode: "Love Sucks" |
| 2016 | The Odd Couple | Arnette | Episode: "Taffy Days" |
| 2021 | NCIS | Marcie Warren | Recurring role (seasons 18–19) |
Film :
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1978 | A Wedding | Tracy Farrell | |
| 1981 | Swan Lake | Princess Odette | Voice role |
| 1992 | Stay Tuned | Helen Knable | |
| 1999 | I'll Remember April | Barbara Cooper | |