Bill D'Elia is an American television screenwriter, producer, and director. He was an executive producer of Boston Legal

Boston Legal

Boston Legal is an American legal dramedy created by David E. Kelley, which was produced in association with 20th Century Fox Television for the ABC...

and Ally McBeal

Ally McBeal

Ally McBeal is an American legal comedy-drama series which aired on the Fox network from 1997 to 2002. The series was created by David E. Kelley, who also served as the executive producer, along with Bill D'Elia...

, and is the co-creator and a principal screenwriter for Judging Amy

Judging Amy

Judging Amy is an American television drama that was telecast from September 19, 1999, through May 3, 2005, on CBS-TV. This TV series starred Amy Brenneman and Tyne Daly...

.

D'Elia grew up in Queens

Queens

Queens is the easternmost of the five boroughs of New York City. The largest borough in area and the second-largest in population, it is coextensive with Queens County, an administrative division of New York state, in the United States....

, New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

, graduated from Ithaca College

Ithaca College

Ithaca College is a private college located on the South Hill of Ithaca, New York. The school was founded by William Egbert in 1892 as a conservatory of music. The college has a strong liberal arts core, but also offers several pre-professional programs and some graduate programs. The college is...

, and earned a master's degree in communication arts in 1972 from William Paterson University

William Paterson University

William Paterson University is a comprehensive public institution located in Wayne, New Jersey serving nearly 11,000 undergraduate and graduate students through five colleges: , , , , and ....

. In the 1980s, he was a successful director of television commercials. In 1989, he independently produced and directed the film The Feud, based on the 1983 novel by Thomas Berger. The film attracted the attention of Steven Bochco

Steven Bochco

Steven Ronald Bochco is a US television producer and writer. He has developed a number of popular television hits including Hill Street Blues, L.A. Law, and NYPD Blue, as well as some notable flops such as Cop Rock....

, who hired D'Elia to direct an episode of Doogie Howser, M.D.

Doogie Howser, M.D.

Doogie Howser, M.D. is an American television comedy-drama starring Neil Patrick Harris as a 16-year-old doctor who also faces the problems of being a normal teenager. Created by Steven Bochco and David E. Kelley, ABC aired the show from 1989 to 1993 for four seasons totaling 97 episodes.-Plot:Dr....

. D'Elia went on to direct episodes of numerous other television series including Northern Exposure

Northern Exposure

Northern Exposure is an American television series that ran on CBS from 1990 to 1995, with a total of 110 episodes.-Overview:The series was given a pair of consecutive Peabody Awards: in 1991–92 for the show's "depict[ion] in a comedic and often poetic way, [of] the cultural clash between a...

, Glee

Glee (TV series)

Glee is an American musical comedy-drama television series that airs on Fox in the United States, and on GlobalTV in Canada. It focuses on the high school glee club New Directions competing on the show choir competition circuit, while its members deal with relationships, sexuality and social issues...

, Chicago Hope

Chicago Hope

Chicago Hope is an American medical drama series created by David E. Kelley that ran from September 18, 1994, to May 5, 2000. It takes place in a fictional private charity hospital.-Premise:The show stars Mandy Patinkin as Dr...

, The Practice

The Practice

The Practice is an American legal drama created by David E. Kelley centering on the partners and associates at a Boston law firm. Running for eight seasons from 1997 to 2004, the show won the Emmy in 1998 and 1999 for Best Drama Series, and spawned the successful and lighter spin-off series Boston...

, and Beverly Hills, 90210

Beverly Hills, 90210

Beverly Hills, 90210 is an American drama series that originally aired from October 4, 1990 to May 17, 2000 on Fox and was produced by Spelling Television in the United States, and subsequently on various networks around the world. It is the first series in the Beverly Hills, 90210 franchise...

.

He has been nominated for 5 Emmy Award

Emmy Award

An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...

s for directing (three for Chicago Hope and one each for Ally McBeal and Boston Legal).

External links

• Barbara E. Martin, "Bill D'Elia: Hollywood Storyteller", William Paterson University magazine interview, Winter 2001