This week in Michigan history ... Pam Dawber born in Detroit

Actress Pam Dawber was born in Detroit on Oct. 18, 1951.

The sitcom star grew up in Farmington Hills, graduated North Farmington High School and attended Oakland Community College. She later worked as an auto show model.

She went on to star in "Mork & Mindy" with former Bloomfield Hills resident Robin Williams. She married actor Mark Harmon, son of former University of Michigan football star and Heisman Trophy winner Tom Harmon.

As part of a local tourism campaign in 1987, she explained why she liked to tell people where she's from: "I know my image is vanilla. There's an attitude about the place, especially here in L.A., that it's very hip to be from Motown. So it's the kind of thing that throws a natural curve ball into my nice-girl character. Nothing naughty, just a little — well — more interesting. You know, like the city."

Her résumé also includes modeling in New York in the 1970s, one of the lead roles in the sitcom "My Sister Sam," numerous TV movies and singing the role of Mabel in "The Pirates of Penzance" on Broadway.

Dawber spent the last decade and a half focusing on her family, but delighted classic-TV fans in April when she appeared on an episode of Williams' sitcom "The Crazy Ones," which has since been canceled.

Contact Zlati Meyer: 313-223-4439 or zmeyer@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @ZlatiMeyer

.