American actor and noted family, the son of actress Elyse Knox and Heisman trophy winner Tom Harmon, the brother of commercial actress Kelly Harmon, and of Kristen Tinker, wife of late rock singer Rick Nelson. He played in films “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas,” “Let’s Get Harry,” “The Presidio,” and “Dillinger,” and was the star of TV series’ “Flamingo Road,” ” St. Elsewhere” and “Chicago Hope.”
Harmon grew up in an All-American family in the shadow of his All-American sports casting dad. After two years of community college to boost his grades, he was accepted at UCLA where he followed in his father’s footsteps playing quarterback with the Bruins. Following graduation Harmon worked at an ad agency and sold athletic footwear, hating both jobs. Sister Kristen’s father in law, Ozzie Nelson, got Harmon his first acting job in 1977 in an episode of the TV series “Ozzie’s Girls,” followed by a bit part in the 1978 film “Comes a Horseman” with Jane Fonda. After a string of small acting jobs, his first break came with the TV series “Flamingo Road.” When the show was canceled in the early ‘80’s, he starred in the Toronto production of “Key Exchange” and for a year worked only on stage. “When I returned to TV on this show called “St. Elsewhere,” I think I was a little bit of a different actor,” he admitted.
Harmon was voted People magazine’s Sexiest Man Alive in 1986. “Whatever the persona is, that’s my dance ticket; that’s what I was born with. People can perceive what they want from it, including bizarre titles like ‘the sexiest man live.’ But that’s not how I see
myself.”
On a blind date in 1985, Harmon met actress Pam Dawber, star of TV series “Mork and Mindy.” They married in April 1987. Family problems erupted when Harmon sued for custody of his nephew Sam, the son of sister Kristin and Rick Nelson on 6/22/1987. In the
end, mother Kristin retained custody. Harmon and Dawber’s son Sean was born in 1990, followed by daughter Ty in 1994. They live in a house that Harmon, an avid carpenter, built himself in California where, despite his filming schedule and public persona, maintains as much privacy as possible.
Link to Wikipedia biography