The playground at the Pauline Mayer Children’s Shelter was all a buzz on Friday afternoon. The smell of charcoal burgers cooking on the grill only fed the anticipation of the children who could hardly contain their excitement about a visit from television and movie star Mark Harmon. 

Lady, are you with NCIS?” one of the little boys asked while tugging on the skirt of an adult visitor that afternoon. Although most of the younger children didn’t watch the hit television program, they had heard of the show and knew its star was about to be in their midst.

Harmon, whose career includes more than 30 years of television series and movies, was in Oklahoma City on May 13-14 for his annual celebrity bowling tournament and baseball game to raise money for charity. The Anna’s House Foundation was one of the organizations to benefit from funds to be raised that weekend. Its founders, Greg and Elizabeth Harkins, who have fostered and adopted several children through OKDHS, arranged for Harmon and his group of celebrities to visit the children at the shelter.   

“The teens greeted Mark with a hand bump and let him join their special club,” said Rebecca Price, director of the shelter

“Mark is the first celebrity to ever visit our shelter,” said Pat Rowe, Direct Care Specialist IV who has worked at the shelter for 35 years. “When I heard he was coming, I put a picture of Mark on my door so the kids would know who he was."

While most of the children were too young to fully appreciate the star’s work, one of the teenage boys in the shelter was a huge fan of Harmon and knew everything there was to know about the star’s resume.   

“I was amazed that he knew most of the movies and television shows that Mark has starred in over the years,” said Rowe. Aside from NCIS, she said most of the kids recognized Harmon from the movie ‘Freaky Friday.’ 

Among Harmon’s celebrity group to visit the shelter was Frank Marshall, producer of a long list of blockbuster hit movies including the famous Indiana Jones movies. Their group also included a slew of retired professional baseball and football players. 

“All the kids were extremely excited about the visit,” said Price. “A group of them got to go to the baseball game and they all rooted for Mark’s team to win.”

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