Donald P. Bellisario was born in North Charleroi in Pennsylvania. His father ran the tavern, where he grew up listening to the war stories of vets returning from WWII. He had a fifteen-year career in advertising before moving to Hollywood. He broke into television as the story editor for Flying Misfits (1976). His most celebrated works to date are probably Magnum, P.I. (1980), Quantum Leap (1989), and JAG (1995). He has been married four times, and has seven children and eight grandchildren.
