40 Fun Facts About Brian's Song

Which actor, soon to play Sonny Corleone in The Godfather, starred as Brian Piccolo in Brian's Song?

James Caan earned an Emmy nomination as the dying running back, only months before his turn as a mobster's hot-headed son made him a film star.

Which actor played Gale Sayers in Brian's Song before finding fame as Lando Calrissian in Star Wars?

Billy Dee Williams drew an Emmy nomination as the Bears star, and a year later he played Billie Holiday's husband opposite Diana Ross in Lady Sings the Blues.

In Brian's Song, which food does Gale Sayers slip onto Brian Piccolo's chair to repay a prank?

Mashed potatoes go on the seat while Piccolo is singing his college fight song, payback for a lie Piccolo had told the new arrival about their coach.

In Brian's Song, which ailment does Brian Piccolo falsely tell rookie Gale Sayers their coach has?

A hearing problem is pure invention, a prank that leaves Sayers acting strangely in his first office meeting with the Bears' founder and coach.

What sidelines Gale Sayers in Brian's Song, leading Brian Piccolo to push him through recovery?

A knee injury ended the real Sayers's 1968 season too: he tore several ligaments and needed surgery, and Piccolo took his place in the starting lineup.

How did Brian Piccolo join the Chicago Bears in 1965 after leading the nation's college rushers?

As an undrafted free agent, Piccolo had to win a tryout: both pro leagues passed on him even though he had led the country in rushing and scoring as a senior.

Which animated sitcom nodded to the TV movie with an episode titled Movin' Out (Brian's Song)?

Family Guy built the pun on its talking dog, Brian, who moves in with his girlfriend Jillian in the episode. The other half of the title borrows from a Billy Joel hit.

In Brian's Song, Gale Sayers accepts an award for which quality, then says Brian Piccolo earned it?

Courage was the point of the George S. Halas award, and the real Sayers told the crowd, a month before his friend died, that they had picked the wrong man.

Which nickname did Gale Sayers, the Bears star of Brian's Song, earn for his dazzling college runs?

The Kansas Comet was twice a consensus All-American for the Jayhawks, and the Bears made him the fourth overall pick of the 1965 draft.

In Brian's Song, what does Brian Piccolo haul to Gale Sayers's house to speed his teammate's rehab?

A weight machine is Piccolo's gift to the man whose place he is taking in the lineup. The real Piccolo also helped Sayers through his rehabilitation after surgery.

What does Brian Piccolo challenge the recovering Gale Sayers to in Brian's Song, a scene the ending replays?

A race across a park ends with Sayers stumbling but still winning, and the film closes on a flashback of the two friends running there.

Which starting role does Brian Piccolo win in Brian's Song, putting him on the field beside Gale Sayers?

Fullback was the real Piccolo's job in 1969 as well: though undersized for it, he started beside Sayers, who had returned at halfback.

In Brian's Song, coach George Halas tells Gale Sayers that Brian Piccolo will lose part of which organ?

Lung surgery came second for the real Piccolo: after a tumor was taken from his chest, doctors removed his left lung and a chest muscle in April 1970.

In Brian's Song, which keepsake does Gale Sayers vow the Bears will win for the hospitalized Brian Piccolo?

The game ball never arrives: the Bears lose, and Piccolo teases his visiting teammates about it from his hospital bed.

In Brian's Song, what does Gale Sayers reveal he gave Brian Piccolo while his friend lay in critical condition?

A pint of blood is the gift Sayers mentions in a phone call near the end of the film, shortly before Piccolo dies with his wife at his side.

How do rookies Gale Sayers and Brian Piccolo first cross paths in the opening scene of Brian's Song?

Over a stray punt: the ball lands near Sayers as he arrives at practice, Piccolo comes to fetch it, and Sayers flips it back to him.

Which US network premiered Brian's Song in November 1971 as part of its Movie of the Week series?

ABC saw it become the most-watched made-for-TV movie up to that time, with a 48% share of the audience.

Brian's Song was adapted from which 1970 autobiography by Chicago Bears running back Gale Sayers?

I Am Third, written with Al Silverman, came out the year Piccolo died, and the film reached screens less than 18 months after his death.

Which actor, a juror in 12 Angry Men, won an Emmy as coach George Halas in Brian's Song?

Jack Warden took the supporting-actor Emmy as the Bears' founder, and later earned Oscar nominations for Shampoo and Heaven Can Wait.

Which actress, who sang the 1962 chart-topper Johnny Angel, played Joy Piccolo in Brian's Song?

Shelley Fabares earned a Golden Globe nomination as Piccolo's wife; viewers already knew her as teenage Mary Stone on The Donna Reed Show.

Which veteran Twilight Zone director won a Directors Guild award for Brian's Song?

Buzz Kulik had also directed for the anthology Playhouse 90, and later worked with Burt Reynolds on Shamus and Steve McQueen on The Hunter.

Brian's Song writer William Blinn won his second Emmy for which miniseries that aired over eight nights in 1977?

Roots was shown on eight straight nights because nervous executives expected it to flop, and instead it became a ratings sensation.

Which Prince film did Brian's Song screenwriter William Blinn co-write, working from the star's own ideas?

Purple Rain began when Prince's manager hired Blinn to turn plot points the musician had written into a screenplay.

Which French composer, known for The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, wrote the score for Brian's Song?

Michel Legrand earned an Emmy nomination for the score, and his own instrumental recording of the theme reached the Billboard Hot 100 in 1972.

The theme from Brian's Song became a standard under which title, with lyrics by Alan and Marilyn Bergman?

The Hands of Time is the theme's title as a song, and an instrumental recording of the melody won a Grammy for best instrumental composition.

Which vampire TV movie set in Las Vegas took the ratings record from Brian's Song in January 1972?

The Night Stalker introduced Darren McGavin as reporter Carl Kolchak, and its success led to a sequel and a weekly series.

Which broadcasting honor did Brian's Song win alongside its Emmys, with judges praising its sensitive production?

A Peabody Award went to the network and to writer William Blinn, with a citation that also praised skillful writing and an outstanding production.

Brian's Song was filmed at Saint Joseph's College, the Bears' training camp for three decades, in which state?

Indiana hosted the Bears' camp from 1944 to 1974 at the small Catholic college in Rensselaer, and the film was shot on the same campus.

Which feared Chicago Bears linebacker, later a Hall of Famer, appears as himself in Brian's Song?

Dick Butkus was one of several real Bears on screen, and in June 1970 he had been one of the six teammates who carried Piccolo's coffin.

Which actor, later Dr. Gregory Pratt on ER, played Gale Sayers in the 2001 remake of Brian's Song?

Mekhi Phifer took the part thirty years after the original aired, a few months before his first ER episode in April 2002.

Brian's Song producer Paul Junger Witt later made which sitcom, set in Miami, with partner Tony Thomas?

The Golden Girls was one of a run of hits from Witt's company, which also made Soap, Benson and Empty Nest. He produced the film Dead Poets Society as well.

For which Southern university did Brian Piccolo lead the nation in rushing and scoring in 1964?

Wake Forest has a residence hall named for Piccolo, and in 1980 its students began a cancer fund drive in his memory.

Which Pro Football Hall of Fame distinction has Gale Sayers held since he was enshrined in 1977?

Its youngest inductee was 34, enshrined although injuries had limited him to about five full seasons and he never played a postseason game.

Against which team did rookie Gale Sayers score a record-tying six touchdowns on a muddy Chicago field in 1965?

The San Francisco 49ers lost 61–20 as Sayers scored on runs, a long pass play and a punt return in the mud.

Where did the Chicago Bears play their home games throughout Brian Piccolo's career?

Wrigley Field housed the Bears for 50 seasons before the move to Soldier Field. Piccolo caught a 25-yard touchdown pass there a week before breathing trouble forced him out of a game in Atlanta.

Which off-field career did Gale Sayers train for while injured in 1970, breaking a color barrier at work?

Stockbroker classes paid off: Sayers became the first Black broker in his company's history and placed second in sales among 45 trainees nationwide.

Which studio put Brian's Song into cinemas after its television success, opening with a big Chicago premiere?

Columbia Pictures soon pulled it from theaters for lack of business, a rare flop for a film that had just drawn a record television audience.

The Bears paired Brian Piccolo with Gale Sayers after ending segregated hotel rooms and assigning roommates by what?

Playing position decided it: both men were running backs, so the Bears' new rooming policy put Sayers and Piccolo together.

Which Aaron Spelling crime series did Brian's Song screenwriter William Blinn create in the 1970s?

Starsky & Hutch was inspired by the success of the film Busting, and Blinn returned decades later as a producer of the 2004 big-screen version.

Which actor, later Dr. Simon Tam in Firefly, played Brian Piccolo in the 2001 remake of Brian's Song?

Sean Maher took the role in a new version that was first broadcast on The Wonderful World of Disney in December 2001.