His Departure Came Out of the Blue
When Leroy Jethro Gibbs’ boat blew up at the end of season eighteen, many fans wondered whether we’d seen the last of Mark Harmon on our screens. However, rumors of his departure were squashed when it was confirmed that the legendary actor would return for the 19th season of the show. And while viewers were excited to see Mark back on their screens, confusion arose when he suddenly disappeared once again.
Just as quickly as Gibbs had survived the boat explosion, he disappeared again out of the blue. It didn’t make sense, which made people wonder whether something had happened behind the scenes.
Rumors Began to Spiral
However, just before his departure, rumors in Hollywood had started to spiral. Whispers amongst the television world suggested that Mark would be leaving, and what we saw on screen was a good indicator that something wasn’t quite right. After all, we were seeing a lot more of Cote de Pablo’s character Ziva David on our screens, and a lot less of Leroy Jethro Gibbs. After his giant stint on the show, was he being replaced?
As the rumors continued to escalate, Cote de Pablo got even more screen time. Plus, Mark began to tell his friends that he wanted to spend more time on his Montana ranch.
His Final Scene Left Us With Questions
Although fans at home had no idea of the Hollywood rumors that were making the rounds, those in the Hollywood circle could sense that something big was coming. The air was thick with tension, and Mark’s place on NCIS was being pulled even more into question. So, it came as no surprise to some when Mark was finally written out of the show in 2021. But his final scene left us with questions.
After finishing up his business, Leroy Jethro Gibbs hopped onto his boat and disappeared from view. And at that point, fans had no idea whether he would come back. But how could he? Mark knew he was done with the drama.
The Drama on Set Proved Too Much
Mark Harmon was already an established actor when he was given the chance to take on the role of Gibbs, but there’s no doubt about the fact that NCIS changed the game for him. As the show became more and more popular, so did he – and it was this popularity, alongside his talent, that kept him on the show for so long. Overall, he starred in over 400 episodes. But in the end, behind-the-scenes drama caused his demise.
Although fans still loved Harmon’s character, rumors of a rift between some of the show’s most important actors reportedly caused irreparable damage to the show. But who did he have a fight with?
He Was a Man With a Mission
But before we get into his behind-the-scenes feud, we need to understand a little more about Mark Harmon – and why he wasn’t the man to stick around when drama reared its head. The 71-year-old made his mark on Hollywood in the 1970s, but he had never intended to become famous. In fact, he reigned supreme as a college football superstar in his youth and then had hopes of becoming a lawyer or advertising executive.
It was only by chance that Harmon made his break into acting, which makes his decision to leave NCIS even more understandable. After all, maybe he just wasn’t cut out for the cut-throat acting business…
A Happy Life and a Happy Wife?
As a man in the spotlight, Mark Harmon is no stranger to attention – but that doesn’t mean that he enjoys it. Although Mark enjoyed a few years of singledom towards the beginning of his career, he settled down early and married fellow actor Pam Dawber in 1987. The couple have since welcomed two sons into the world, and they’re reportedly still happily married. However, they’re not your typical Hollywood couple.
Instead of flashing their marriage off to the world, these two prefer to keep a lower profile. But this is understandable, considering how much they had to go through just after they got hitched.
A Custody Battle That Nearly Broke Them
Shortly after Harmon married his wife, they embarked on a bitter custody battle that nearly broke up their marriage – and had a major effect on Mark’s family. After witnessing his sister Kristen’s substance abuse, he deemed her unable to look after her teenage son. So, he decided to fight for custody of his nephew. And while he assumed that it would be an easy process, it was anything but.
Although Mark was equipped to take care of his nephew, questions arose when his wife’s own alleged past substance abuse was brought out of the woodwork. To save himself and his marriage, Mark eventually dropped his case.
His Wife Allegedly Wants to Take Over
Although Mark has struggled to speak publicly about his decision to leave NCIS, many believe that one of the reasons he left was because he wanted to spend more time with his wife now that he’s not tied to CBS. However, it seems as though his wife has other plans. In fact, rumors suggest that she wants to take over his place on the show to get back into her own acting career.
An insider close to Dawber suggested that the actress “feels [that appearing on NCIS] could be her big shot to get back out there.” Unfortunately, reports suggest her husband isn’t too happy about that.
Pauley Perrette Didn’t Make His Life Easy
And while we can only assume that Mark doesn’t want his wife to step into his grave, his resistance to Dawber’s desire to star on NCIS might also have something to do with Pauley Perrette. Throughout the show’s run, rumors of a feud between Harmon and Perrette were rife. And it’s believed the tension between the two actors came as a result of Mark’s dog, who would often hang out on set with him.
Apparently, Pauley took issue with Mark when his dog apparently snapped at a worker while they were behind the scenes. The person reportedly had to have stitches as a result of this attack.
Perrette Was the Only One to Face up to Him
The actions of Mark Harmon’s dog on the set of NCIS reportedly shook the whole cast and crew, but it was Pauley Perrette who really took offense with it. She was not happy that the person had been attacked, and she wasn’t impressed by Mark’s reaction to the incident. She was especially irate when Mark continued to bring his dog to work, despite the fact that he’d already caused an injury.
In the end, Pauley reportedly confronted Mark about the incident – and this caused a huge amount of tension between them. But in Pauley Perrette’s eyes, she was only saying what everyone else was thinking.
They Both Refused to Work Together
Unfortunately, Mark and Pauley didn’t patch things up after this altercation. If anything, the drama between them intensified. Both parties believed each other to be in the wrong, and a power struggle began to play out between them. In the end, they both refused to work together – and the tension between them became so bad that the writers had no choice but to make sure that they didn’t star in any scenes together.
An insider also reported that Pauley would do her scenes one day, “and he did his work on other days,” and that “it was simply scheduled that they did not work the same days.”
Pauley Even Launched a Twitter Tirade
When Pauley Perrette said goodbye to CBS and left NCIS behind in 2018, many of the cast and crew hoped that the feud between her and Mark Harmon would come to an end. However, it seemed as though Pauley wasn’t done with her tirade against the star of the show. So, she took her grievances to Twitter and wrote countless tweets about her time on the show, and her interactions with Mark.
Pauley told her followers that she believed the media was making up false stories about her behavior behind-the-scenes, and that “he” was the one who had done something awful instead. She didn’t specifically name Mark, but fans put two and two together.
Mark Refused to Acknowledge Her Claims
In these tweets, Pauley Perrette claimed that a man on the set of NCIS had been so horrible to her that he’d even given her “nightmares.” And it was incredibly clear for everyone to see that she was talking about Mark Harmon, so fans were on tenterhooks to see how the actor would respond. But in the end, they waited and waited, but no response came out of the woodwork.
Mark refused to acknowledge her claims personally, but a source close to him stated that “He says he had nothing to do with it, but he wishes her the best.” And soon enough, even CBS had its say on the matter.
CBS Had Their Say on the Feud
As Pauley’s cryptic tweets rustled up even more drama and even more rumors, CBS decided to nip the whole ordeal in the bud and release its own statement. in this statement, they stated that “Pauley Perrette had a terrific run on NCIS and we are all going to miss her. However, over a year ago, she came to us with a workplace concern. We took the matter seriously and worked with her to find a resolution.”
They also concluded by saying that “We are committed to a safe work environment on all our shows.” And while the network probably hoped to call this drama a day, their statement just raised even more questions.