---
name: "Donald P. Bellisario"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/donald-p-bellisario"
roles: ["Writer"]
born: "8 August 1935"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 1
updated: "2026-09-16T16:50:56.649189+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Donald P. Bellisario

Writer. Born 8 August 1935 in Cokeburg, Pennsylvania, USA.

## Details

- **Work:** Writer
- **Born:** 8 August 1935, Cokeburg, Pennsylvania, USA
- **Also known as:** Don Bellisario , Donald Paul Bellisario , Donald Bellisario, 唐纳德·P·贝利萨留

## Biography

Donald P. Bellisario is an American television producer and screenwriter. Born on 8 August 1935 in Cokeburg, Pennsylvania, he served in the United States Marine Corps from 1955 to 1959, reaching the rank of sergeant. He earned a bachelor's degree in journalism from Pennsylvania State University in 1961 and worked for fifteen years in advertising before moving to Hollywood.

Bellisario began his television career as a writer on series including *Kojak* (1973). He went on to create or co-create *Magnum, P.I.* (1980), *Airwolf* (1984), *Quantum Leap* (1989), *JAG* (1995) and *NCIS* (2003). His shows frequently feature military veterans as characters, drawing on his own service experience. He has also written and produced episodes of *Battlestar Galactica* (1978) and directed the feature film *Last Rites* (1988).

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com, tviv.org.*

## On Fi1m (1)

- *Kojak* (1973), Fi1m 80, Writer — [page](https://film.one/tv/kojak.md)

## Also known for

- *NCIS* (2003), Director, Writer, Teleplay, Story, Creator
- *Quantum Leap* (1989), Writer, Director, Teleplay, Story, Creator
- *Airwolf* (1984), Director, Writer, Creator
- *Magnum, P.I.* (1980), Director, Writer, Teleplay, Story, Creator
- *JAG* (1995), Writer, Director, Teleplay, Creator
- *Magnum P.I.* (2018), Original Series Creator
- *Battlestar Galactica* (1978), Director, Writer, Teleplay
- *Quantum Leap* (2022), Creator

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/donald-p-bellisario