Bill (1981 film)
1981 film directed by Anthony Page
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Bill is a 1981 American made-for-television biographical drama film starring Mickey Rooney and Dennis Quaid based on the life of Bill Sackter, who lived in a mental hospital for 44 years after being erroneously diagnosed as severely mentally handicapped as a child.[1][2] The film was broadcast on CBS on December 22, 1981.[3] A sequel, Bill: On His Own, was released in 1983.[4] Writer/filmmaker Barry Morrow, portrayed in Bill by Dennis Quaid, based the story on his own experiences in becoming Sackter’s legal guardian. Sackter would also serve as a partial inspiration for the character of Raymond Babbitt in Morrow's early draft screenplay for the 1988 film Rain Man.
| Bill | |
|---|---|
| |
| Genre | Biography Drama |
| Written by | Corey Blechman |
| Story by | Barry Morrow |
| Directed by | Anthony Page |
| Starring | Mickey Rooney Dennis Quaid Largo Woodruff Anna Maria Horsford Harry Goz |
| Theme music composer | William Kraft |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| Production | |
| Executive producers | Alan Landsburg Bernard Sofronski |
| Producer | Mel Stuart |
| Production locations | New York City Yonkers, New York College of Mount Saint Vincent |
| Cinematography | Mike Fash |
| Editor | George Hively |
| Running time | 100 minutes |
| Production company | Alan Landsburg Productions |
| Original release | |
| Network | CBS |
| Release | December 22, 1981 |
Plot
Bill is a man with an intellectual disability in his 60s. He ventures out into the world for the first time after spending most of his life at Grandville, a dreary inner city institution in Minneapolis, Minnesota, since age seven (when his mother sent him there). Bill is taken in by a kind family and learns what it means to love for the first time in his life.
Cast
- Mickey Rooney - Bill Sackter
- Dennis Quaid - Barry Morrow
- Largo Woodruff - Beverly Morrow
- Anna Maria Horsford - Marge Keating
- Harry Goz - Dr. Tom Walz
- Kathleen Maguire - Florence Archer
Awards
Mickey Rooney won an Emmy Award and Golden Globe for his performance, and the film also received a Golden Globe for Best TV Film.[5][6]
