TV Guide

Editor-in-Chief	Debra Birnbaum
Categories	Entertainment News
Weekly
Total circulation (2011)	2,024,092[1]
First issue	April 3, 1953
Country	United States
Based in	Radnor, Pennsylvania
Language	English
Website	www.tvguide.com
ISSN	0039-8543

TV Guide is a weekly American magazine with listings of TV shows.

In addition to TV listings, the publication features television-related news, celebrity interviews, gossip and film reviews and crossword puzzles. Some issues have also featured horoscope listings.

History[link]

Prototype[link]

Lee Wagner (1910–1993) was circulation director of McFadden Publications in New York in the 1930s—and later for Cowles Media Co.—distributing movie celebrity magazines. In 1948, he printed The TeleVision Guide for the New York area. On the cover was silent film star Gloria Swanson, star of her short-lived "Gloria Swanson Hour." Wagner later added regional editions for New England and Baltimore-Washington areas. Five years later, he sold the editions to Walter Annenberg's Triangle Publications, but remained as a consultant until 1963.^[2]

Annenberg/Triangle era[link]

The national TV Guide's first issue was released on April 3, 1953. The cover featured a photograph of Lucille Ball's newborn son Desi Arnaz, Jr.. A small photo of Lucy was also placed in the top corner under the title of the issue which read: "Lucy's $50,000,000 baby".

TV Guide as a national publication resulted from Walter Annenberg's Triangle Publications' purchase of numerous regional television listing publications such as TV Forecast, TV Digest, Television Guide and TV Guide. The launch as a national publication with local listings in April 1953 became an almost instant success with the magazine becoming the most read and circulated magazine in the country by the 1960s. The initial cost was just 15¢ per copy. In addition to subscriptions, TV Guide was sold from grocery store counters nationwide. Until the 1980s, each issue's features were promoted in a television commercial. Under Triangle Publications, TV Guide continued to grow not only in circulation, but in recognition as the authority on television programming with articles from both staff and contributing writers. Over the decades the shape of the logo has changed to reflect the modernization of the television screen. At first, the logo had various color backgrounds (usually black, white, blue or green) until the familiar red background became a standard in the 1960s with occasional changes to accommodate a special edition.

Under Triangle Publications, TV Guide was first based in a small office in downtown Philadelphia until moving to more spacious national headquarters in Radnor, Pennsylvania in the late 1950s. The new facility, complete with a large lighted TV Guide logo at the building's entrance, was home to management, editors, production personnel, subscription processors as well as a vast computer system holding data on every show and movie available for listing in the popular weekly publication. Printing of the national color section of TV Guide took place at Triangle's Gravure Division plant adjacent to Triangle's landmark Philadelphia Inquirer Building on North Broad Street in Philadelphia. The color section was then sent to regional printers to be wrapped around the local listing sections. Triangle's Gravure Division was known for performing some of the highest quality printing in the industry with almost always perfect registration.

Triangle Publications in addition to TV Guide owned The Philadelphia Inquirer, Philadelphia Daily News, 16 radio and television stations (WFIL AM-FM-TV Philadelphia, PA, WNHC AM-FM-TV New Haven, CT, KFRE AM-FM-TV Fresno, CA, WNBF AM-FM-TV Binghamton, NY, WFBG AM-FM-TV Altoona, PA and WLYH-TV Lancaster/Lebanon, PA) The Daily Racing Form, The Morning Telegraph, Seventeen, and various cable TV interests. It was under Triangle's ownership of WFIL in Philadelphia that Dick Clark and American Bandstand came to popularity. Triangle Publications sold its Philadelphia newspapers to Knight Newspapers in 1969, its radio and television stations during the early 1970s to Capital Cities Communications and various other interests retaining only TV Guide, Seventeen Magazine and the Daily Racing Form. Triangle Publications was sold to News America Corporation in 1988 for $3 billion, one of the largest media deals of the time.

News Corporation era[link]

The advent of cable TV was hard on TV Guide. Cable channels began to be listed in TV Guide in 1980 or 1981, depending on the edition. Channels were also different, depending on the edition. Each channel was designated by an oblong bullet of three letters; for example, ESN represented ESPN and NIK represented Nickelodeon. To save channel space, some cable channels (mainly pay channels) had an asterisk by them, which meant that it was only listed in the evening grid (and later the Pay-TV Movie Guide). Channels like Cinemax and Disney initially started only in the grids, but later expanded to the listings as well.

As the years went on, cable channels were added. To help offset this, the issue of May 11–17, 1985 introduced a smaller font with some other cosmetic changes; a show's length was listed after the show's title—not in the description as it was previously. Another listings change took place in 1996; the show's title was no longer listed in all-uppercase, but mixed case as well.

To commemorate the 50th anniversary of TV Guide as a national magazine, in 2002 the magazine published six special issues:

• TV We'll Always Remember (April 6–12): Our Favorite Stars Share Fifty Years of Memories, Moments and Magic
• 50 Greatest Shows of All Time (May 4–10): The Ultimate List of the 50 Best TV Series. (Just Try to Guess What's No. 1!)
  • Note: This was the only one to be presented on television itself and referenced in the book TV Guide: Fifty Years of Television, considering the magazine's purpose to present weekly listings of regularly scheduled series.
• Our 50 Greatest Covers of All Time (June 15–21): Fabulous Photos of Your Favorite Shows and Stars Plus: Amazing Behind-the-Scenes Stories
• 50 Worst Shows of All Time (July 20–26): Not Just Bad! Really Awful - And We Love Them That Way!
• 50 Greatest Cartoon Characters of All Time (August 3–9): Funny! Clever! Drawn to perfection! They're the tops in toons!
• 50 Sexiest Stars of All Time (September 28–October 4): Charisma, Curves, Confidence, Charm! Could We Be Having Any More Fun?

Because most cable systems published their own listing magazine reflecting their channel lineup, and now have a separate guide channel on the remote that opens up to available programming, a printed listing of programming in a separate magazine became less valuable. The sheer amount and diversity of cable TV programming made it hard for TV Guide to provide listings of the extensive array of programming that came directly over the cable system. TV Guide also could not match the ability of the cable box to store personalized listings. TV Guide's circulation went from almost 20 million in 1970 to less than three million in 2007.

By 2003, there was also a list of cable channels (also broadcast channels in some editions) that were listed in the grids only. From its inception until 2003, TV Guide offered listings for the entire week, 24 hours a day. Beginning with the June 21, 2003 issue (in just a few select markets), the 5am–5pm Monday–Friday listings were condensed down to four grids: 5am–8am, 8am–11am, 11am–2pm, 2pm–5pm. If programming differed from one weekday to the next, "Various Programs" was listed. This change became permanent in all TV Guide editions beginning with the 2003 Fall Preview issue. Beginning in January 2004, the midnight–5am listings (and also 5am–8am on the Saturday and Sunday listings) did not include any out-of-town broadcast stations, just the edition's home market. Starting in June 2004 in most editions the channel lineup page showing the stations for each local edition was dropped. Starting in July 2004 the overnight listings were taken out entirely, replaced by a grid that ran from 11pm–2am and had the edition's home market broadcast stations, with a handful of cable stations. It also listed a small selection of late-night movies on some channels. The daytime grids also changed from the 5am–5pm listings, to 7am–7pm. In early 2005 more channels were added to the prime-time and late night grids. The magazine also changed format to start the week's issue with Sunday listings, rather than Saturday listings, which had previously changed from beginning with Friday listings.

On May 18, 2005, TV Guide launched TV Guide Talk, a weekly podcast available for free. The podcast was headlined by TV Guide reporter/personality Michael Ausiello, and was co-hosted by his co-workers, Angel Cohn, Daniel Manu, and Maitland McDonagh. The podcast was discontinued in 2008 with Ausiello's move to Entertainment Weekly. TV Guide was purchased from News Corporation in 1999 by United Video Satellite Group, parent company of the Prevue Networks, which itself was later purchased by the maker of the VCR Plus+ device and schedule system, Gemstar-TV Guide International, partially owned by News Corp.

Gemstar era[link]

On July 26, 2005, Gemstar-TV Guide announced that TV Guide would change in format from its digest size format to a larger full-size national magazine that will offer more stories and fewer TV listings. All 140 local editions were also eliminated, being replaced by two editions, one for Eastern/Central time zones and one for Pacific/Mountain. The change in format was attributed to the increase in the Internet, cable TV channels (like TV Guide Network), electronic program guides and digital video recorders as the sources of choice for viewers' program listings.

The new version of TV Guide went on sale on October 17, 2005, and featured Ty Pennington from Extreme Makeover: Home Edition on the cover. The listings format, now consisting entirely of grids, also changed to start the week's issue with Monday listings rather than Sunday listings.

In September 2006, TV Guide launched a redesigned website with expanded original editorial and user-generated content not included in the print magazine.

On December 22, 2006, TV Guide introduced the magazine's first ever two-week edition. The edition, which has Rachael Ray on the cover, was issued for the week of December 25, 2006 to January 7, 2007. In early 2008, the daytime Monday-Friday and late night grids were eliminated from the listings section, and the television highlights section was compressed into a six-page review of the week, rather than the previous two pages for each night.

With the acquisition of Gemstar-TV Guide by Macrovision on May 2, 2008, that company, which purchased Gemstar-TV Guide to mostly take advantage of their lucrative and profitable VCR Plus and electronic program guide patents, stated they wanted to sell both the magazine and TV Guide Network, along with the company's TVG horse racing channel to other parties.

OpenGate Capital era[link]

On October 13, 2008, Macrovision sold the money-losing magazine to equity fund OpenGate Capital for $1.^[3] As part of the sale, however, the companion website was retained by Macrovision^[4] (who then sold it to One Equity Partners^[5][6]), with all editorial connections between the magazine and website severed, including the end of Matt Roush's presence on TVGuide.com.^[7] The editorial content of the magazine was launched on a new site, TVGuideMagazine.com, which didn't feature TV Guide's listings in any form. However, TVGuidemagazine.com was shut down on June 1, 2010 and TV Guide Magazine and TVGuide.com entered into a deal to restore content from the magazine to the TVGuide.com website,^[8] which Lionsgate bought along with the TV Guide Network in January 2009.^[9]

In January 2009, the magazine cut several networks from the grid listings, including DIY Network and MTV, citing "space concerns"; however, two cuts, those of The CW and TV Guide Network,^[10][11] were seen as suspicious and arbitrary, as the guide carries several channels which have the same schedule night after night or are low-viewed and could have easily been cut, while several Fox networks continue to be listed due to agreements with the former News Corporation ownership. It is likely that the network's removal from TV Guide listings was related to the "divorce" of the website and network from the magazine.

In early February 2009, the listings for The CW and MTV were readded after much protest to the magazine's email addresses, with the listings for several low-viewed networks removed as a consequence.^[12] The other listings were slowly re-added, until TV Guide Network's schedule returned to the listings pages in June 2010 with their logo prominent within the grids as part of the deal with Lionsgate's TV Guide division mentioned above.

U.S. TV[link]

In 1998, the TV Guide brand and magazine was acquired by United Video Satellite Group, parent company of the Prevue Channel (now TV Guide Network). Like its predecessor, the original TV Guide Channel scrolled TV listings on the bottom portion of the screen. Until around 2002, the programs on the TV Guide Channel generally only lasted from 30 seconds to a minute, and thus usually appeared once to twice per hour. For instance, a show might appear at 12:25 and again at 1:55. However, over the early 2000s, the channel's focus shifted to full-length programs featuring celebrity gossip and movie talk.

In May 2007, Gemstar Media, a subsidiary of Gemstar-TV Guide Inc., renamed the TV Guide Channel to the TV Guide Network, stating that the new name reflects a new direction towards more original content and entertainment features in addition to its traditional listings function.

Today, TV Guide Network runs programs such as the weekly entertainment news magazine, The 411, and red-carpet event coverage (originally hosted by Joan and Melissa Rivers). In mid-2007, the mother-daughter duo were unceremoniously dropped by TV Guide in favor of both Lisa Rinna and Joey Fatone, whose popularities had been on the rise in the wake of their recent appearances on Dancing With the Stars.

To further distinguish itself from other television guides, TV Guide re-branded itself as TV GUIDE Magazine. The original name is now capitalized and "Magazine" always follows.^{[citation needed]}

Listings Pattern History[link]

• Friday to Thursday: April 3, 1953—July 15, 1954
• Saturday to Friday: July 17, 1954—April 9, 2004
• Sunday to Saturday: April 11, 2004—October 15, 2005
• Monday to Sunday: October 17, 2005—present

[edit] Other usage of the TV Guide name

• The term "TV guide" has partly become a genericized trademark to describe other TV listings appearing on the web and in newspapers.^[13] Read/Write Web published "Your Guide to Online TV Guides: 10 Services Compared."^[14] Techcrunch in 2006 offered "Overview: The End of Paper TV Guides."^[15]
• TV Guides is also the name of an interactive video and sound installation produced in 1995 with assistance from the Canada Council and shown at SIGGRAPH 1999.^[16] National TV guides are also published in other countries, but none of these are believed to be affiliated with the North American publication.
• In Australia during the 1970s a version of TV Guide was published under license by Southdown Press. That version merged with competitor publication TV Week in 1980. TV Week has a very similar logo to the TV Guide logo.
• New Zealand has a digest-sized paper called TV Guide, not associated with the United States or Canadian publications. It has the largest circulation of any national magazine, and is published by Fairfax Media.^[17]
• Mexico offers a digest-sized publication called TV Guía, unrelated with the US publication. It is published by Editorial Televisa.
• In Italy, a digest-size Guida TV is published by Mondadori since September 1976.

See also[link]

• List of TV Guide covers
  • List of TV Guide covers (1950s)
  • List of TV Guide covers (1960s)
  • List of TV Guide covers (1970s)
  • List of TV Guide covers (1980s)
  • List of TV Guide covers (1990s)
  • List of TV Guide covers (2000s)
  • List of TV Guide covers (2010s)
• List of TV Guide editions
• TV Guide Canada
• TV Guide Network
• TV Guide's 100 Greatest Episodes of All Time
• TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• List of TV Guide Magazines

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (January 2010)

Michael Weatherly
On the set of NCIS in 2008
Born	Michael Manning Weatherly, Jr. (1968-07-08) July 8, 1968 (age 43) New York City, United States
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1991–present
Spouse	Amelia Heinle (m. 1995–1997) «start: (1995)–end+1: (1998)»"Marriage: Amelia Heinle to Michael Weatherly" Location: (linkback:http://en-wiki.pop.wn.com/index.php/Michael_Weatherly) Bojana Jankovic (m. 2009) «start: (2009)»"Marriage: Bojana Jankovic to Michael Weatherly" Location: (linkback:http://en-wiki.pop.wn.com/index.php/Michael_Weatherly)
Partner	Jessica Alba (2000–2003)
Children	2

Michael Manning Weatherly, Jr. (born July 8, 1968) is an American actor, best known for his roles as Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo on the television series NCIS, and Logan Cale on the television series Dark Angel.

Early life[link]

Michael Weatherly was born in New York City on July 8, 1968, and raised in Fairfield, Connecticut,^[1] by parents Patricia O'Hara, a hospital administrator, and Michael Manning Weatherly, Sr. He graduated from Brooks School in North Andover, Massachusetts, in 1986.^[2] Subsequently, he spent some time at the American University of Paris but he left college to pursue acting.^[1] He also had a great passion for music, and played in a band while pursuing his acting career. Despite not continuing this, he contributed the song Bitter and Blue to the second soundtrack album of NCIS.^[3]

Career[link]

Weatherly began his professional acting career with a minor television role on The Cosby Show as Theo Huxtable's roommate.

He then obtained the role of Cooper Alden on Loving and later, The City, which he would portray from 1992 until 1996.

With various guest spots on television he moved to Los Angeles. After moving, he landed a role as a series regular on the FOX television series Significant Others, with Jennifer Garner. The show only lasted six episodes. He then met director Whit Stillman, who cast him in the 1998 film The Last Days of Disco as Hap, opposite Chloë Sevigny. Michael also had a guest appearance as a Warlock in the series Charmed during its first season in 1998.

He began his movie acting career in 1997 with Meet Wally Sparks, as Dean Sparks. In 2000, he had a role in Cabin by the Lake. This was followed by a role in the independent film Trigger Happy (2001) opposite Rosario Dawson.

He starred in Dark Angel for the two seasons it was on the air. This role earned him three award nominations, two Saturn awards for Best supporting actor on Television in 2001 and 2002, and one Teen Choice award for choice actor in 2001. During filming, Weatherly began a relationship with co-star Jessica Alba, leading to their engagement in 2002, later broken off.

In 2003, he appeared in JAG as Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo. He has continued that role through May 2012^[update] on the CBS TV show NCIS.

In 2004 he starred in the television film The Mystery of Natalie Wood, portraying Robert Wagner. Since 2010 Robert Wagner has made 3 guest appearances on NCIS as Anthony DiNozzo, Sr., the father of Michael's character, Tony DiNozzo.^[4]

He was a guest presenter at the Australian Logie Awards of 2007 on 6 May 2007 and was a guest on Rove Live.^[5] Weatherly made his directing debut with the Season 8 episode of NCIS titled "One Last Score," which aired March 1, 2011.

Personal life[link]

Weatherly married his Loving/The City co-star Amelia Heinle, who currently plays Victoria Newman on The Young and the Restless, in 1995.^[1] On January 10, 1996, Heinle gave birth to the couple's son, August Manning Weatherly, in New York City.^[6] The couple divorced in 1997.^[1]

In 2001, Weatherly became engaged to his Dark Angel co-star Jessica Alba, but the couple ended their engagement in 2003.^[7]

His niece is actress Alexandra Breckenridge.

Weatherly married internist Bojana Jankovic in September 2009.^[8] The couple live in Los Angeles, and own two German Shepherd dogs, Oriana and Quantum. On January 12, 2012, Weatherly revealed via Twitter that he and Jankovic were expecting their first child together, a daughter, in April 2012.^[9]

On April 10, 2012, Jankovic gave birth to their daughter, Olivia, in Los Angeles. ^[10]

Filmography[link]

Awards and nominations[link]

Saturn Awards

• 2001: Nominated, "Best Supporting Actor in a Television Series" – Dark Angel
• 2002: Nominated, "Best Supporting Actor in a Television Series" – Dark Angel

Soap Opera Digest Awards

• 1994: Nominated, "Hottest Male Star" – Loving
• 1995: Nominated, "Outstanding Younger Lead Actor" – Loving

Teen Choice Awards

• 2001: Nominated, "Choice TV Actor" – Dark Angel

References[link]

External links[link]

• Michael Weatherly at the Internet Movie Database
• Michael Weatherly on Twitter
• Michael Weatherly at TV Guide
• Michael Weatherly at Hollywood.com

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2012)

Mark Harmon
Born	Thomas Mark Harmon (1951-09-02) September 2, 1951 (age 60) Burbank, California, U.S.
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1973–present
Spouse	Pam Dawber (m. March 21, 1987 – present)[1]
Children	Two sons (Sean and Ty)
Mark Harmon UCLA Bruins — No. 7 Quarterback 1972–1973 Major: Communications Date of birth: (1951-09-02) September 2, 1951 (age 60) Place of birth: Burbank, California Height: 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) Weight: 185 lb (84 kg) Career history High school: Harvard School for Boys Los Angeles, California  College(s): UCLA (1972–1973) Pierce College (1970–1971) Career highlights and awards 1971 National Junior College Athletic Association All-American 1973 National Football Foundation Award for All-Round Excellence 2010 Pierce College Athletic Hall of Fame

Mark Harmon (born September 2, 1951) is an American actor. Since the mid 1970s, he has appeared in a variety of television, film and stage roles following a brief career as a collegiate football player with the UCLA Bruins. Since 2003, Harmon has starred as Leroy Jethro Gibbs in the hit CBS series NCIS.

Early life[link]

Harmon was born Thomas Mark Harmon in Burbank, California. His father was University of Michigan football All-American and Heisman Trophy winner, Tom Harmon. His mother was actress and artist, Elyse Knox (née Elsie Lillian Kornbrath).^[2] Harmon has two older sisters, actress and painter Kristin Nelson, the former wife of singer Ricky Nelson, and actress-model Kelly Harmon, who was once married to car magnate John DeLorean.

After attending Los Angeles Pierce College as a student and quarterback, Harmon transferred to the University of California, Los Angeles, and following in his father's athletic footsteps was the starting quarterback for the UCLA Bruins football team in 1972 and 1973.^[3][4] In UCLA's 1972 season he engineered a stunning upset of the two-time defending national champion, Nebraska Cornhuskers.^[5][6] He received the National Football Foundation Award for All-Round Excellence in 1973.^[3][7] In his two years as quarterback in coach Pepper Rodgers' wishbone offense, UCLA won 17 games and lost only 5. He graduated from UCLA with a B.A. in Communication cum laude in 1974.

Career[link]

Mark Harmon in 2009 portraying Special Agent Gibbs in NCIS

Even though he considered "advertising or law" as careers after college,^[8] Harmon became an actor and has spent much of his career portraying law enforcement and medical personnel. Other than athletics/sports appearances, one of his first national TV appearances was with his father Tom Harmon, in a commercial for Kellogg's Product 19 cereal, for which the latter was the longtime TV spokesman. As an actor, his first credit came courtesy of his sister Kristen's in-laws, Ozzie Nelson and Harriet Nelson, in an episode of Ozzie's Girls. This was followed by guest-starring roles on episodes of Adam-12, Police Woman, and Emergency! in mid-1975 ("905-Wild" centered on two L.A. County Animal Control Officers and was a backdoor pilot episode for a series, but did not sell). Producer/creator Jack Webb, who was the packager of both series, later cast Harmon in Sam, a short-lived 1977 series about an LAPD officer and his K-9 partner. Also in 1977, Harmon received an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie for his performance as Robert Dunlap in the TV movie Eleanor and Franklin: The White House Years.^[9]

During the mid 1970s, Harmon made guest appearances on shows such as Laverne & Shirley and The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries and had supporting roles in the feature films Comes a Horseman (1978) and Beyond the Poseidon Adventure (1979). He then landed a co-starring role on the 1979 action series 240-Robert as Deputy Dwayne Thibideaux. The series centered around the missions of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department Emergency Services Detail, but was also short-lived.

In 1980, Harmon gained a regular role in the primetime soap opera Flamingo Road, in which he played Fielding Carlisle, the husband of Morgan Fairchild's character. Despite initially good ratings, the series was canceled after two seasons. Following its cancellation, he landed the role of Dr. Robert Caldwell on the prestigious NBC Emmy-winning series St. Elsewhere in 1983. Harmon appeared in the show for almost three seasons before leaving in early 1986 when his character contracted HIV through unprotected heterosexual intercourse, one of the first instances where a major recurring television character contracted the virus (the character's subsequent off-screen death from AIDS would be mentioned two years later). In the mid 1980s, Harmon also became the spokesperson for Coors Regular beer, appearing in television commercials for them.^[10]

Harmon's career reached several other high points in 1986. In January, he was named People magazine's Sexiest Man Alive. Following his departure from St. Elsewhere in February, he played the lead in the TV movies Prince of Bel Air and The Deliberate Stranger (in which he played serial killer Ted Bundy). With his career blossoming, he gained a role in the 1986 theatrical film Let's Get Harry and the lead role in the 1987 comedy Summer School (co-starring Kirstie Alley). Returning briefly to episodic television in 1987, Harmon had a limited engagement on the series Moonlighting, playing Cybill Shepherd's love interest Sam Crawford for four episodes. He then starred in the 1987 TV movie After The Promise. In 1988, he co-starred with Sean Connery and Meg Ryan in the 1988 feature film The Presidio, and also opposite Jodie Foster in the film Stealing Home. Despite several high profile roles, Harmon's film career never gathered momentum and, after a muted reception to his 1989 comedy Worth Winning, he returned to television, appearing in various television movies.

Harmon's next regular television role would be as Chicago police detective Dickie Cobb for two seasons (1991–1993) on the NBC series Reasonable Doubts. In 1993, he appeared in one episode in the role of a rodeo clown on the CBS comedy/western series Harts of the West with future cast mate Sean Murray, who plays McGee on NCIS.

In 1995, Harmon starred in the ABC series Charlie Grace, in which he portrayed a private investigator. The series lasted only one season, after which he returned to ensemble medical shows on the series Chicago Hope, in which he played Dr. Jack McNeil from 1996-2000. He also portrayed astronaut Wally Schirra in one episode of the 1998 mini-series From the Earth to the Moon.

In May 2002, he portrayed Secret Service Special Agent Simon Donovan on The West Wing in a four-episode story arc. The role gained him his second Emmy Award nomination, exactly 25 years after his first nomination.^[9] Harmon appeared in a guest starring role in two episodes of JAG in April 2003, which introduced the character of NCIS agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs; since 2003, Harmon has starred as Gibbs in the CBS drama NCIS. During his time on the show, he was reunited with three of his former Chicago Hope co-stars, Rocky Carroll, Lauren Holly, and Jayne Brook. Also in 2003, Harmon had a supporting role in the remake of the comedy film Freaky Friday.

Harmon also starred in several stage productions in Los Angeles and Toronto. At the Cast Theatre in Los Angeles he performed in Wrestlers and The Wager. In the late eighties he was part of the cast of the Canadian premier of Key Exchange. Several productions of Love Letters provided him the opportunity to play alongside wife Pam Dawber.^[1]

Awards and nominations[link]

Primetime Emmy Awards

• 1977: Nominated, Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or Movie - Eleanor and Franklin: The White House Years
• 2002: Nominated, Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series - The West Wing

Golden Globe Awards

• 1986: Nominated, Best Actor in a Miniseries or Television Film - The Deliberate Stranger
• 1987: Nominated, Best Actor in a Miniseries or Television Film - After The Promise
• 1991: Nominated, Best Actor in a Television Series Drama - Reasonable Doubts
• 1992: Nominated, Best Actor in a Television Series Drama - Reasonable Doubts

Screen Actors Guild Awards

• 1996: Nominated, Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series - Chicago Hope
• 1997: Nominated, Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series - Chicago Hope

People's Choice Awards

• 2010: Nominated, Favorite TV Drama Actor - NCIS
• 2011: Nominated, Favorite TV Crime Fighter - NCIS

Personal life[link]

He worked as a carpenter before making a success of his acting career.^[11] On NCIS, his carpentry skills are alluded to through Gibbs' (his character) hobby of building boats in his basement.

Harmon has been married to actress Pam Dawber since March 21, 1987. The couple have two sons; Sean Thomas Harmon (born April 25, 1988, who played a young Gibbs in NCIS Season 6 Episode 4 and Episode 15, Season 7 Episode 16, Season 9 Episode 8 and 15), and Ty Christian Harmon (born June 25, 1992).^[12] Harmon was the brother-in-law of Ricky Nelson and is the uncle of actress Tracy Nelson and singers Matthew and Gunnar Nelson of the pop duo Nelson. Harmon dated singer Karen Carpenter in the 1970s.^[13]

In 1987, Harmon filed for custody of his nephew Sam based on grounds that his sister Kris was incapable of good parenting. Sam's psychiatrist testified the thirteen-year-old boy depicted his mother as a dragon, complained about her mood swings and how she prevented him from being with his siblings. Harmon later dropped the custody bid.^[14][15]

In 1996, Harmon saved two teenage boys involved in a car accident outside of his home. Harmon used a sledge hammer from his garage to break the window of their burning car, then pulled them free from the flames.^[16]

Filmography[link]

References[link]

Notes

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Mark Harmon

• Mark Harmon at the Internet Movie Database
• Mark Harmon at TV Guide
• CBS profile
• Mark Harmon at Emmys.com

Nina Dobrev
Dobrev at PaleyFest 2010's The Vampire Diaries night at the Saban Theatre in 2010
Born	Nina Constantinova Dobreva[1] (1989-01-09) January 9, 1989 (age 23)[1] Sofia, Bulgaria
Nationality	Bulgarian-Canadian
Occupation	Actress, model
Years active	2006–present

Nina Dobrev (born Nina Constantinova Dobreva; January 9, 1989)^[1] is a Bulgarian-born Canadian actress and model. She played the role of Mia Jones, the single teenage mother, on Degrassi: The Next Generation, from the show's sixth to ninth season. She currently stars as Elena Gilbert and Katherine Pierce on The CW television teen drama, The Vampire Diaries.

Personal life[link]

Dobrev at the 2008 Toronto Film Festival

Nina Dobrev was born in Sofia, Bulgaria, and moved to Canada at the age of two, where she was raised in Toronto, Ontario. She speaks fluent French, English, and Bulgarian. She has an older brother, Alexander; her father is a computer specialist and her mother is an artist.^[1]

Dobrev attended J. B. Tyrrell Sr. Public School, where she started ballet and jazz classes, and competed in rhythmic gymnastic.^[1] Then, she attended and Wexford Collegiate School for the Arts in Scarborough, Ontario and Ryerson University in Toronto, majoring in sociology. She left in 2008 to pursue her acting career.^[2]

While working on the show, she began dating her Vampire Diaries co-star Ian Somerhalder.^[3][4]

Career[link]

Modeling jobs led to commercials, which then turned into film auditions. Shortly thereafter, she booked roles in feature films, including Fugitive Pieces, Away from Her, Never Cry Werewolf, and the television series Degrassi: The Next Generation. She starred in a number of Lifetime original movies. She also was in an MTV movie called The American Mall on CTV. She is currently starring in The CW's drama The Vampire Diaries, playing the dual role of Katherine Pierce, a vampire loved by two human brothers during the American Civil War, and Katherine's doppelgänger Elena Gilbert, a human who is caught between the same two brothers, now vampires, Damon and Stefan Salvatore.^[5]

She also had a minor role in the erotic thriller Chloe, theatrically released by Sony Pictures Classics on March 26, 2010.^[6] The film had enjoyed commercial success and became director Atom Egoyan's biggest moneymaker ever.^[7]

In April 2011, she was cast as Candace in the film adaptation of The Perks of Being a Wallflower, alongside Logan Lerman, Emma Watson and Paul Rudd.^[8] Shooting began in May of that year in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and she completed her scenes on June 27, 2011.^[9]

Philanthropy[link]

In September 2011, Dobrev co-hosted We Day alongside Joe Jonas.^[10] We Day is organized by Free the Children. Dobrev also designed a T-Shirt^[11] with Me to We Style, which gives 50% of its profits to Free the Children.^[12]

Filmography[link]

Dobrev at the 2011 San Diego Comic-Con.