Bill (1981 film)

Bill is a 1981 American made-for-televisionbiographicaldrama 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. The film was broadcast on CBS on December 22, 1981. A sequel, Bill: On His Own, was released in 1983. 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.