Donald Ross

Donald Ross (June 18, 1942 – June 1, 2018) was an American television screenwriter and producer, known for writing television shows such as The Love Boat; Murder, She Wrote and Hart to Hart. Ross was married to actress Patti Deutsch.

Career In a career spanning over 30 years, Ross wrote primarily for television including variety shows, comedies and dramas: This Is Tom Jones, Dinah!, Diff'rent Strokes, The Love Boat, Matlock and Murder, She Wrote, for which he wrote the final episode. A lifelong fan of jazz music, Ross produced and wrote material for the Timex All-Star Swing Festival (1972), which won the Peabody and Christopher Award. Ross died on June 1, 2018, from cancer. He bequeathed his entire jazz collection to the ARChive of Contemporary Music.

Selected filmography Television Harper Valley PTA (1982) – writer This Is Tom Jones (1970–1971) – writer Diff'rent Strokes (1980–1982) – writer Hart to Hart (1979–1983) – writer-story editor The Love Boat (1981–1985) – writer Hardcastle and McCormick (1986) – writer Matlock (1986) – writer Charles in Charge (1988) – writer Hart to Hart: Two Harts in 3/4 Time – teleplay writer Murder, She Wrote (1987–1996) – writer-story editor

Film Hamburger: The Motion Picture (1986) – producer