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JAG star's July 30, 2000 by Adele Heydenrich |
Handsome David James Elliott is well known for his role as Navy Lt. Commander Harmon Rabb Jr. in the hit TV series JAG.
With jaw-dropping good looks and a smouldering gaze, it is no wonder this man is such a hit with female viewers. Apart from being very easy on the eye, he has real talent, which helped him be the success he is today. Born on September 21, 1960, in Milton, Toronto, Canada, he is the second of three sons of Arnold Smith, a heating and plumbing wholesale-contractor, and his wife, Pat, an office manager. At the age of 17, David dropped out of school to join a band as its frontman. But the band wasn't a great success and David decided to quit and went back to finish high school. It was a teacher who suggested he try his hand at acting. His brother told him that the prestigious Ryerson Polytechnic Institute in Toronto, the best acting school in Canada, was having auditions.
"I'd never acted before but I was told it was the best school in the country," David recalls. "By some miracle, I got in. They told me that I was a natural." But fame wasn't knocking on his door. Upon his arrival in Los Angeles in 1990, he signed a developement deal with Disney, who said they loved him and wanted to create a series around the young Canadian. All went well until he met the executives, who told him he was too young for the part they had created for him. But that little setback didn't bother him to much. He started getting small supporting roles in shows like Doogie Howser, MD, China Beach, Melrose Place and Seinfeld. But it was his role in JAG that securely placed him on the map to stardom. Yet the show nearly didn't make it. When JAG debuted in 1995, Elliott was paired with Tracey Needham, but the network dropped the show after the first season due to bad ratings. Another network jumped at the chance to pick the series up and this time around they paired David with the gorgeous Catherine Bell, aka Mag. Sarah Mackenzie (Mac). The unmistakable sexual chemistry 'between' Harm and Mac has helped propel the series to its current high spot in the ratings.
In real life the actor is quite the romantic. David tied the knot with actress Nanci Chambers, not once but twice! When he moved to Los Angeles in 1990, he had to leave Nanci behind in Canada but she assured him that she would join him soon. Well soon wasn't soon enough for David. He flew to Canada, packed her bags, and moved her to Los Angeles. They got married in 1992 in a California Civil Court as they did not have the financial resources for a big wedding. They couldn't even afford a honeymoon, but vowed that when their finances improved, they would have their dream wedding.
After David became a star thanks to JAG, they could finally afford to get married in the style they had dreamed of.
"We wanted to have a day that we could celebrate in front of family and friends and God" David confesses.
The couple renewed their vows in front of 200 family members and friends at the exclusive Hope Ranch in Santa Barbara. It was a true storybook wedding. The bridesmaids arrived in a carriage and naval officers escorted them down the aisle. The couple's seven-year-old daughter Stephanie also walked down the aisle, sprinkling pink rose petals. The bride arrived on horseback, guided by her father, who walked down the rosepetal-strewn aisle. Since the family on David's father's side is Scottish, David requested that the men in the wedding party wear traditional kilts! David, being a true Scotsman, wore nothing under his kilt.
Good thing there wasn't a gust of wind that day! The wedding guests might have gotten more than they bargained for!
All the guests were asked to wear white and they watched the ceremony from the comfort of chairs and sofas. But the renewal of the vows was not the only event on the agenda. David and Nanci wanted to include Stephanie in all the goings-on and she was christened with sacred water from Egypt's Nile River. It truly was a special day for the whole family.
David is still learning how to deal with fame and the fact that people think he is so good-looking. He admits that he is flattered and sometimes embarrassed when he receives 'stud-muffin' letters from fans.
A few naked pictures have also made their way to his mail box! The only other downside to fame for the actor is that his wife has to suffer sometimes when they are out in public. She has had to become used to being pushed out of the way by fans who want to get a better look at their hero.
David admits that he wasn't always a hit with the opposite sex. "I was tall and gangly and painfully shy" he confesses. "I couldn't even get a date in high school"
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