At the end of an early November 2021 episode of NCIS, the show paid tribute to one of its long-standing employees. Harriet Margulies. “In Memory of our friend and colleague Harriet Margulies. We will miss you,” the tribute card read. 

Margulies joined film and show production following her career as a publicist in New York and Los Angeles. She worked on shows such as Quantum Leap, Magnum P.I, and Kojak in the 1970s for Universal television. Harriet swapped Universal for CBS in the 1990s, joining NCIS in its infancy. 

Harriet worked as an audience liaison and played small parts in the show

Harriet joined CBS/Belisaruis productions in the 1990s. She initially served as an audience liaison for JAG

Her role involved organizing events such as fan conventions in Los Angeles. She later joined NCIS with most of her fans from JAG

Some of the condolences sent by fans on Twitter laud Harriet for her work in JAG and NCIS. “So very sad to hear of the passing of #HarrietMargulies,” @MarieEdwards439 tweeted. “She was such a sweet and dear lady to the JAG and NCIS fans.”

Margulies also made minor appearances in NCIS, JAG, and Quantum Leap. Per varietyJAG named the character Harriet Sims after Margulies. 

Harriet passed away in late October 2021 after suffering a stroke. She spent 19 of her 94 years working on NCIS.