Elyse Knox

Elyse Knox (born Elsie M. Kornbrath, December 14, 1917 – February 16, 2012) was an American actress, model, and fashion designer. She was the mother of actor Mark Harmon. Early life Knox was born in Hartford, Connecticut, the daughter of Austrian immigrants Hermine Sophie (née Muck) and Frederick Kornbrath. She had a brother, Fred. She attended Hartford Public High School, graduating in 1936, and studied at the Traphagen School of Fashion in Manhattan, New York. Career Knox performed mainly in minor or secondary roles until 1942, when she had a leading role with Lon Chaney Jr. in The Mummy's Tomb, one of the series of Mummy horror films made by Universal Studios. She appeared as herself in the Universal Studios 1944 production Follow the Boys, one of the World War II morale-booster films made both for the soldiers serving overseas and civilians at home. Knox also was a pin-up girl during the war, appearing in such magazines as Yank, a weekly published and distributed by the United States military.