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Donald P. Bellisario’s 90th birthday was the perfect excuse for a crossover between NCIS, JAG and Quantum Leap’s biggest names.
On Sunday, August 10, the TV icon toasted to nine decades of life with his family, friends and actors from his hit shows on hand to celebrate. NCIS stars Katrina Law, Sean Murray, Brian Dietzen, Gary Cole and Diona Reasonover were part of Bellisario’s TV family in attendance, according to social media.
The NCIS stars reunited with former castmates — and now stars of NCIS: Tony & Ziva — Michael Weatherly and Cote de Pablo. The squad got silly in a series of photo booth snaps at the black-tie affair, shared via Law’s Instagram Story.
Weatherly, who played Tony DiNozzo on NCIS before reprising the role in the upcoming Paramount+ spinoff, shared a zoomed-in version of the goofy photo via his Instagram as well.
Courtesy of Katrina Law/Instagram“I managed to sneak into the photo at Don Bellisario’s 90th birthday party and it was very [cozy],” he wrote alongside the crowded photo booth picture. “Thank you for everything Donald P. Belisario.”
Catherine Bell, who played Sarah MacKenzie on JAG, documented the evening via her own Instagram Stories.
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“Mr. Mark Horowitz and of course Chas. Floyd Johnson! Exec producers on JAG (& now NCIS),” Bell, 56, captioned one photo with Bellisario’s longtime producing partners. “Chas. has been with Don for 45 years! Since Magnum PI!”
The actress confessed, “We all got a little emotional seeing each other again! Had been way too long! Spent 9 years, 230ish episodes (16-20 hour days with these amazing men!).”
Courtesy of Catherine Bell/InstagramBell noted that her costar David James Elliott, who played Harmon Rabb Jr. on JAG, “couldn’t make it this time,” revealing that she was the one who missed Bellisario’s 80th birthday bash when Elliott was there.
Bell, however, revealed that Scott Bakula, who was the lead on Quantum Leap before taking the helm of NCIS: New Orleans, was there to represent some of Bellisario’s older works.
Courtesy of Catherine Bell/Instagram“We’re here tonight because Donald Paul Bellisario is a fighter … and a lover,” Baukla, 70, said during his speech via Bell’s Instagram Story video. “Check out the [group] of kids around here and you’ll know. The person foremost is a fighter.”
Bellisario is a TV visionary, having created the original Magnum, P.I. starring Tom Selleck in 1980. He went on to create Tales of the Gold Monkey in 1982 and Airwolf in 1984 before making a splash again with the original Quantum Leap in 1989.
Courtesy of Catherine Bell/InstagramBellisario’s fame continued with the creation of JAG in 1995, which sparked spinoff NCIS in 2003, which will enter season 23 in October. The showrunner was also responsible for the rebooted Magnum P.I. in 2018 and the new Quantum Leap in 2022.
Bellisario’s TV legacy isn’t the only thing he’s been working on over the past 90 years. The producer has a large family, having been married multiple times.
Donald P. Bellisario. Mathew Imaging/FilmMagicDonald and his first wife, Margaret Schaffran, share four children: Joy Bellisario-Jenkins, David Bellisario, Leslie Bellisario-Ingham and Julie Bellisario-Watson.
David followed in his father’s footsteps, working as a producer on NCIS: Los Angeles prior to his death in 2020. Julie is also in the entertainment industry, having worked as a producer on NCIS and JAG.
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Donald was married to Lynn Halpern from 1979 to 1984. The exes share son Michael Bellisario, who had a recurring role on JAG and appeared on NCIS.
The TV creator welcomed two children, actress Troian Bellisario, known for Pretty Little Liars, and son Nicholas Bellisario, with his third wife, Airwolf actress Deborah Pratt. The pair divorced in 1991.
Donald married Vivienne Murray in November 1988, who has two sons from a prior marriage, Chad W. Murray and Sean Murray, who plays Timothy McGee on NCIS.
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