Her sister Betty died suddenly of a brain aneurysm in 1976. She subsequently started a foundation in memory of and named for her sister. During this time, she also wrote her first autobiography, "This for Remembrance: the Autobiography of Rosemary Clooney, an Irish-American Singer", written in collaboration with Raymond Strait and published by Playboy Press in 1977. She chronicled her unhappy early life, her career as a singer, her marriage to Ferrer, her mental breakdown in 1968, and the diagnosis of bipolar disorder that seriously disrupted her career, concluding with her comeback as a singer and her happiness. Her good friend Bing Crosby wrote the introduction. Katherine Coker adapted the book for Jackie Cooper, who produced and directed the television movie, "Rosie: the Rosemary Clooney Story" (1982) starring Sondra Locke (who lip syncs Clooney's songs), Penelope Milford as Betty, and Tony Orlando, who played José Ferrer.