Bill (1981 film)

{{Infobox television

| image = BILLtelevision movie.jpg

| image_size =

| image_alt =

| caption =

| genre = Biography
Drama

| creator =

| based_on =

| writer = Corey Blechman

| screenplay =

| story = Barry Morrow

| director = Anthony Page

| starring = Mickey Rooney
Dennis Quaid
Largo Woodruff
Anna Maria Horsford
Harry Goz

| narrated =

| theme_music_composer = William Kraft

| country = United States

| language = English

| num_episodes =

| executive_producer = Alan Landsburg
Bernard Sofronski

| producer = Mel Stuart

| location = New York City
Yonkers, New York
College of Mount Saint Vincent

| editor = George Hively

| cinematography = Mike Fash

| runtime = 100 minutes

| company = Alan Landsburg Productions

| budget =

| network = CBS

| released = {{Start date|1981|12|22}}

}}

Bill is a 1981 American made-for-television biographical drama film starring Mickey Rooney and Dennis Quaid based on the life of Bill Sackter.{{Cite web|url=https://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6f513020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171205172631/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6f513020|url-status=dead|archive-date=December 5, 2017|title=Bill (1981)|website=BFI}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.allmovie.com/movie/bill-v5538|title=Bill (1981) - Anthony Page | Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related|website=AllMovie}} The film was broadcast on CBS on December 22, 1981.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=h5WZOvH8VSUC&q=%27bill%27+CBS+December+22%2C+1981&pg=PA172|title=Mickey Rooney: His Films, Television Appearances, Radio Work, Stage Shows, and Recordings|first=Alvin H.|last=Marill|date=November 23, 2004|publisher=McFarland|isbn=9780786420155|via=Google Books}}

A sequel, Bill: On His Own, was released in 1983.{{Cite web|url=https://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6f529569|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171205174146/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6f529569|url-status=dead|archive-date=December 5, 2017|title=Bill: On His Own (1983)|website=BFI}} Writer/filmmaker Barry Morrow, portrayed in the film by Dennis Quaid, based the story on his life experiences with Sackter, and later became his legal guardian. Sackter, who did not have autism, 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.

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.{{Cite web|url=https://www.emmys.com/awards/nominees-winners/1982?page=3|title=Nominees / Winners 1982}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.goldenglobes.com/tv-show/bill|title = Bill}}

Premise

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.