My Name Is Bill W.

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My Name Is Bill W.
MyNameIsBillWPoster.jpg
My Name Is Bill W. video cover
GenreDrama
Written by William G. Borchert
Directed by Daniel Petrie
Starring James Woods
James Garner
JoBeth Williams
Theme music composer Laurence Rosenthal
Original languageEnglish
Production
Executive producers Peter K. Duchow
James Garner
Producer Daniel Petrie
Production location Richmond, Virginia
CinematographyNeil Roach
Editors Paul Rubell
John Wright
Running time100 minutes
Production companies Warner Bros. Television
Garner-Duchow Productions
Hallmark Hall of Fame Productions
Original release
Network ABC
ReleaseApril 30, 1989 (1989-04-30)

My Name Is Bill W. is a 1989 ABC Hallmark Hall of Fame made-for-television drama film directed by Daniel Petrie, starring James Woods, JoBeth Williams and James Garner. William G. Borchert, who wrote the film script for television, based it on the true story of William Griffith Wilson and Robert Holbrook Smith (the men respectively called "Bill W." and "Dr. Bob"), the co-founders of Alcoholics Anonymous. James Woods won an Emmy for his portrayal of Wilson.

Contents

Plot

The movie details the true story of stockbroker William Griffith Wilson, a World War I veteran whose drinking problem becomes a serious addiction and causes him to lose his fortune in the stock market collapse of 1929. Wilson's career and his domestic life are in tatters when he meets Robert Holbrook Smith, also struggling with a drinking problem. The duo founded a support group that became the nucleus for the society Alcoholics Anonymous.

ActorRole
George Coe Frank Shaw
James Garner Robert Holbrook "Dr. Bob" Smith
Robert Harper Jeremy Partlin
Joe InscoeFred
Mark JoyGuy Kolb
Gary Sinise Ebby Thacher
Rick WarnerBill Dotson
Fritz Weaver Dr. Burnham
JoBeth Williams Lois "Lo" Wilson
James Woods William Griffith "Bill W." Wilson
Dalton GreyMike Davis stockbroker

Awards and nominations

1990 American Cinema Editors Awards (Eddies)

1990 American Society of Cinematographers

1990 Directors Guild of America

1989 Emmy Awards

1990 Golden Globe Awards

See also

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