Long Before ‘NCIS,’ Mark Harmon Took a Swing — and Missed — in This Forgotten Comedy

Today’s generation may know Mark Harmon best for spending several years on the small screen playing seasoned Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs on NCIS. But decades before he was rolling in the bank with the popular CBS procedural, Harmon was named the Sexiest Man Alive by People Magazine in 1986. That title had a double-edged sword effect in his film career, especially with the 1989 romantic comedy, Worth Winning.

The Will Mackenzie film was one of many attempts to make Harmon the next major matinée idol following his departure from the NBC hospital drama St. Elsewhere in 1986. After trying his hand at substitute teaching in Summer School and solving a murder alongside Sean Connery in The Presidio, Harmon tried to play into his good looks and natural comedic charm as a womanizing weatherman who takes extreme measures to win a bet against his friends. Despite Harmon’s likable presence on screen, Worth Winning suffers from cringe-worthy hijinks that make it very uncomfortable to watch today.