Donald Paul Bellisario (born August 8, 1935) is an American television producer and screenwriter who created and sometimes wrote episodes for the TV series ''

Magnum, P.I. ''Magnum, P.I.'' is an American crime drama television series starring Tom Selleck as Thomas Magnum, a private investigator (P.I.) living on Oahu, Hawaii. The series ran from December 11, 1980 to May 8, 1988 during its first-run broadcast on ...

'' (1980), '' Tales of the Gold Monkey'' (1982), '' Airwolf'' (1984), '' Quantum Leap'' (1989), '' JAG'' (1995), and ''

NCIS NCIS or N.C.I.S. may refer to: Law enforcement * National Criminal Intelligence Service, the predecessor to the Serious Organised Crime Agency of the United Kingdom * Naval Criminal Investigative Service, a United States law enforcement and intelli ...

'' (2003). He has often included military veterans as characters.

Early life

Bellisario was born in

Cokeburg, Pennsylvania Cokeburg is a borough in Washington County, Pennsylvania, United States and part of the Pittsburgh metropolitan area since 1950. Founded in 1902, the population was 626 at the 2020 census. Geography Cokeburg is located at (40.100120, -80.0636 ...

, to an Italian-American father, and a Serbian-American mother. He served in the

U.S. Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through comb ...

from 1955 to 1959, and attained the rank of

sergeant Sergeant (abbreviated to Sgt. and capitalized when used as a named person's title) is a rank in many uniformed organizations, principally military and policing forces. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and other uni ...

. During his time in the Marines, he met American Presidential assassin Lee Harvey Oswald. Bellisario earned a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

in journalism at

Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsylvan ...

in 1961. Bellisario became an advertising

copywriter Copywriting is the act or occupation of writing text for the purpose of advertising or other forms of marketing. The product, called copy or sales copy, is written content that aims to increase brand awareness and ultimately persuade a person or ...

Lancaster, Pennsylvania Lancaster, ( ; pdc, Lengeschder) is a city in and the county seat of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. It is one of the oldest inland cities in the United States. With a population at the 2020 census of 58,039, it ranks 11th in population amon ...

, in 1965, and three years later became creative director of the Bloom Agency in Dallas, Texas. After rising to senior vice president after eight years, he then moved to

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood, ...

to pursue screenwriting and production.

Television career

After working under such television producers as

Glen A. Larson Glen Albert Larson (January 3, 1937 – November 14, 2014) was an American musician, television producer, writer, and director. His best known work in television was as the creator of the television series ''Alias Smith and Jones'', ''Battlestar ...

and

Stephen J. Cannell Stephen Joseph Cannell (; February 5, 1941 – September 30, 2010) was an American television producer, writer, novelist, occasional actor, and founder of Cannell Entertainment (formerly Stephen J. Cannell Productions) and the Cannell Studios. ...

, Bellisario adopted some of their production techniques, for example, using a small pool of actors for his many productions. He created or co-created the TV series ''

'', '' Airwolf'', '' Quantum Leap'', '' JAG'', and ''

''. He was a writer and producer on '' Black Sheep Squadron'' and the original ''

Battlestar Galactica ''Battlestar Galactica'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Glen A. Larson. The franchise began with the Battlestar Galactica (1978 TV series), original television series in 1978, and was followed by a short-run sequel se ...

''. He wrote and directed the 1988 feature film '' Last Rites''. Many of Bellisario's

protagonist A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a st ...

s are current or former members of the United States armed forces. Tom Selleck's character in ''Magnum, P.I.'' was a United States Naval Academy graduate, former Naval Intelligence officer and Vietnam veteran; Jan-Michael Vincent's character in ''Airwolf'' was a Vietnam veteran;

Commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain. ...

Harmon "Harm" Rabb, Jr., the main character of '' JAG'', was a Naval Academy graduate and former

Naval Aviator Naval aviation is the application of military air power by navies, whether from warships that embark aircraft, or land bases. Naval aviation is typically projected to a position nearer the target by way of an aircraft carrier. Carrier-based a ...

; and ''NCIS''s main character,

Leroy Jethro Gibbs Leroy Jethro Gibbs is a fictional character and the original protagonist of the CBS TV series '' NCIS'', portrayed by Mark Harmon. He is a former U.S. Marine Corps Scout Sniper turned special agent who commands a team for the Naval Criminal I ...

, is a retired Marine Corps Gunnery Sergeant and Scout Sniper; Jake Cutter ( Stephen Collins) from '' Tales of the Gold Monkey'' was a former Flying Tigers pilot; and Albert "Al" Calavicci in '' Quantum Leap'' was a former Naval Aviator, Vietnam prisoner of war and

rear admiral Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star "admiral" rank. It is often regarde ...

. Several of his main characters share August 8 as their birthday. Bellisario received a star on the

Hollywood Walk of Fame The Hollywood Walk of Fame is a historic landmark which consists of more than 2,700 five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along 15 blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in Hollywood, Californ ...

in 2004, which was shown in a Season 9 ''JAG'' episode, "Trojan Horse". In an interview with Sci-Fi Channel in the late 1990s, Bellisario said he was inspired to create ''Quantum Leap'' in 1988 after reading a novel about time travel. His service alongside John F. Kennedy's assassin, Lee Harvey Oswald, was the basis for the ''Quantum Leap'' fifth season double-length episode "Lee Harvey Oswald" (originally aired September 22, 1992). Bellisario retired in 2007, after widely reported tension with star

Mark Harmon Thomas Mark Harmon (born September 2, 1951) is an American actor. He is most famous for playing the lead role of Leroy Jethro Gibbs in '' NCIS''. He also appeared in a wide variety of roles since the early 1970s. After spending the majority of ...

ended with the former's departure from ''NCIS''. Although he retains the title of executive producer, he has not had any real creative or executive involvement with ''NCIS'' since then. Bellisario later sued CBS over the creation of '' NCIS: Los Angeles'', arguing his contract with the network entitled him to the first rights to create any ''NCIS'' spin off, as well as some share of profits from the new show. The suit was settled before trial in 2011 for an undisclosed amount. Bellisario's production company was named "Belisarius Productions" after the Roman general Belisarius, of which "Bellisario" is an Italian-language variant.

Personal life

Bellisario married Margaret Schaffran in 1956 and they divorced in 1974. They had four children, Joy Bellisario-Jenkins (born c. 1956), David Bellisario (1957–2020) a producer on '' NCIS: Los Angeles'', Leslie Bellisario-Ingham (born c. 1961), and Julie Bellisario-Watson (producer on ''

''). Bellisario married Lynn Halpern in 1979 and they divorced in 1984. They had a son,

Michael Bellisario Michael Angelo Bellisario (born April 7, 1980) is an American actor and the son of scriptwriter and producer Donald P. Bellisario. Bellisario has mostly had parts in series produced by his father. He played Midshipman Michael "Mikey" Robert ...

, born on April 7, 1980. Michael had a recurring role as

Midshipman A midshipman is an officer of the lowest rank, in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Canada (Naval Cadet), Australia, Bangladesh, Namibia, New Zealand, South Afr ...

Michael Roberts on ''JAG'' and played Charles "Chip" Sterling on ''NCIS''. He married Deborah Pratt, known for her character in Bellisario's '' Airwolf'', in 1984 and they divorced in 1991. They had two children, Troian (born October 28, 1985) and Nicholas (born August 27, 1991). Troian portrayed Sarah McGee on ''

'', Teresa on '' Quantum Leap'', and Erin on '' JAG'', but has become best known for her 2010–2017 role as Spencer Hastings on '' Pretty Little Liars'', a series her father did not produce. Bellisario married Vivienne Murray (née Lee), on November 27, 1998. He gained two stepsons from the marriage, Chad and

Sean Murray Sean Murray may refer to: * Sean Murray (field hockey) (born 1997), Lisnagarvey player and senior Ireland international * Sean Murray (footballer, born 1993), Dundalk FC player and Irish youth international * Sean Murray (Gaelic footballer), Dubli ...

, the latter an actor who plays Timothy McGee on ''NCIS''.

Philanthropy and awards

In 2001, Penn State named Bellisario a Distinguished Alumnus, the highest honor bestowed on a graduate. In 2006, Bellisario endowed a $1 million Trustee Matching Scholarship in the Penn State College of Communications. He recalled: On October 27, 2016, he received a Visionary Award at the UCLA Neurosurgery Visionary Ball. On April 21, 2017, the

Board of Trustees voted to rename the College of Communications th
Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications
in recognition of a $30 million endowment from Bellisario. The donation is one of the largest gifts in Penn State history.

Filmography

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bellisario, Donald 1935 births American writers of Italian descent American people of Serbian descent American male screenwriters American television directors Television producers from Pennsylvania American television writers Edgar Award winners Living people Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications alumni People from Washington County, Pennsylvania Military personnel from Pennsylvania United States Marines American male television writers Film directors from Pennsylvania Screenwriters from Pennsylvania Bellisario family