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Theme from Brian's Song
Brian's Song is a teleplay based on the true story of Brian Piccolo and Gale Sayers, two players for the Chicago Bears football team in the 1960s. Piccolo, an Italian American, is outgoing and talkative. Sayers, an African American, is quiet and shy. Despite these obvious differences, the men must compete as rookies. They joke with each other, get angry with each other, and finally learn to love each other. Many struggles take place in this teleplay. Sometimes what happens will make you laugh, but just as often this story will make you want to cry.
Suggested Links:
BearsHistory.com: Brian Piccolo Biography
Did you know that Brian Piccolo spent most of his years growing up in the Fort Lauderdale area? In fact, he attended Central Catholic High School (now St. Thomas Aquinas High School). Here is a complete biographical tribute to the courageous running back of the Chicago Bears, written by a Bears fan.
The Brian Piccolo Cancer Research Fund is an organization started by the family and friends of the Bears great. It benefits cancer research at the Rush Cancer Institute.
A brief biography and filmography about the playwright.
The official website of one of the most storied franchises in the National Football League.
Written to coincide with the airing of the original television movie, this page gives students a good background of the story.
This is the Amazon.com link for Gale Sayers' 1970 autobiography. It is the story of how Sayers overcame life in an Omaha ghetto to become one of the greatest running backs in National Football League history. Perhaps even more important, the book tells of his friendship with Chicago Bears teammate Brian Piccolo, who died of cancer. This memoir was the basis for the film Brian's Song and is a great addition for both sports and black history collections.
Billy Dee Williams, who played Gale Sayers in the original version of Brian's Song, enhanced his career with other memorable roles, including Lando Calrissian in two Star Wars installments.
James Caan portrayed Brian Piccolo in Brian's Song and later achieved even greater success for his performance as Sonny Corleone in The Godfather. Students may also remember his role as the ill-fated writer in the 1990 film Misery.
This webpage gives an adequate biography of the former University of Kansas and Chicago Bears running back, but I especially like the Hall of Famer Q & A with Gale Sayers link.
ESPN Sportcenter has a regular feature called "Fact or Fiction." This article by Jeff Merron chronicles the story of Brian Piccolo and Gale Sayers by breaking it down into "In Real Life" and "In Reel Life." It is a nice play on words, as well as an interesting presentation of fact and fiction.
Gale Sayers' college alma mater.
Brian Piccolo's college alma mater.
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© Copyright 2008 A.J. Kimmel |
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