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Donald P. Bellisario
One of the most interesting creators of contemporary TV genre shows, this producer-writer-director is best known for the immensely successful "Magnum, P.I." which propelled Tom Selleck to international stardom. Bellisario started his TV career after working 14 years as the creative director of an advertising agency. Breaking in as a director of TV commercials, he soon parlayed his extensive business background into an executive post at Universal TV. However more creative opportunities beckoned. By the mid-1970s, Bellisario was writing for crime dramas such as the acclaimed "Kojak," the short-lived "Delvecchio" starring Judd Hirsch, and beginning his fruitful association with the prolific writer-producer-director Glen A. Larson.