MIDLER SIGNS FOR NBC FILM

Bette Midler’s dramatic television debut could come next season on NBC in the role of a mildly retarded woman in “Winnie: My Life in the Institution.” Midler has signed with NBC Productions to develop a two-hour TV movie based on the real-life story of Gwina “Winnie” Sprockett, who lived most of her life in a mental institution.

Michael Manheim, executive producer with NBC Productions, said that the story of Sprockett will not be a total departure from Midler’s outrageous and comical stage persona. “If we get this right, it will make you laugh and break your heart,” he said.

Midler had wanted to develop Sprockett’s biography, written by Jamie Pastor-Polnick, for the screen when she was approached by Manheim. “We immediately wanted to do it,” Manheim said.

The issue-oriented nature of “Winnie” is “generally the kind of material the networks will respond to and studios don’t,” said Margaret Jennings South, a Midler associate who will co-produce the TV movie.

Midler has a deal with Walt Disney Productions to develop feature films under her All Girl Productions banner, and currently has three Disney/Touchstone films in various stages of completion: “Down and Out in Beverly Hills,” currently in release; “Ruthless People,” which recently completed filming, and “Outrageous Fortune,” now filming in New York.