Brian's Song

Information about Brian's Song

For the Family Guy episode, see .

Brian's Song (brian piccolo)
1971 Version (left) & 2001 Version (right)
Directed by	Buzz Kulik
Produced by	Paul Junger Witt
Written by	Gale Sayers with Al Silverman (original book); William Blinn (teleplay)
Starring	James Caan Billy Dee Williams Jack Warden Shelley Fabares
Music by	Michel Legrand
Cinematography	Joseph F. Biroc
Editing by	Bud S. Isaacs
Distributed by	ABC Columbia Pictures
Release date(s)	1971
Running time	73 min.
Country	USA
Language	English
IMDb profile

Brian's Song is a 1971 made-for-TV movie, recalling the details of the life of Brian Piccolo (played by James Caan), a football player stricken with terminal cancer, and his friendship with Chicago Bears running back teammate and Pro Football Hall of Famer Gale Sayers (Billy Dee Williams), who helps him through the difficult struggle. The true story was such a success on television that it was later shown in theaters.

A remake^[1] was filmed in 2001 for ABC's The Wonderful World of Disney starring Mekhi Phifer and Sean Maher. The movie is based on Sayers' account of his friendship with Piccolo and Piccolo's illness in Sayers' autobiography, I Am Third. The film was written by veteran screenwriter William Blinn, but there is also a book version.

The musical theme to Brian's Song, "The Hands of Time," was a popular tune during the early 1970s. The music for the film was by Michel Legrand, with lyrics to the song by Marilyn and Alan Bergman. Nashville pianist Floyd Cramer performed a popular version of "The Hands of Time".

Historical accuracy

Although an inspirational movie, several scenes never happened, including the final scene, where Sayers comes to the hospital as Piccolo is taking his last breath. According to Sayers' book, he was not even in the same state when Piccolo died.

Cultural references

The Pinky and the Brain episode "Brain's Song" was an obvious reference to Brian's Song especially the reference from Brain that they need to find an extremely sad movie to weaken human resistance and so take over the world. (Of course in line with all Brain's plans it ultimately fails, although it is initially successful)

Brian's Song has been parodied in U.S. sit-com The King of Queens, where Doug has a series of hallucinations about appearing in various TV shows, one of which being Brian's Song. In the hallucination, he is Brian and Deacon is Gale Sayers.

The movie was a big part of an episode of Just Shoot Me in which they call it an emotional movie for real manly men. All the men say its one of their favorite movies and they're all shown crying while watching it.

On the HBO series Entourage Turtle and Drama are seen watching it and it is referred to as the "ultimate guy-cry movie".

References

1. ^ Brian's Song (2001)

Brian's Song (1971) (TV). The Internet Movie Database. Retrieved on 2006-11-17.

External links

SeanMaher.info: Brian's Song

Chicago Bears • • [ edit]
Franchise • History • Players • Seasons • Statistics • Uniforms • Division • 2007 season
Stadiums: Staley Field • Wrigley Field • Soldier Field • Memorial Stadium • Soldier Field II Culture: Brian's Song • The Super Bowl Shuffle • Da Super Fans Super Bowl Appearances: XX • XLI NFL Championship Appearences – 1933 • 1934 • 1937 • 1940 • 1941 • 1942 • 1943 • 1946 • 1956 • 1963 Lore: Fog Bowl • Bears–Packers Rivalry • 1932 Playoff Game • "The Sneakers Game" • Monsters of the Midway • "Papa Bear" Halas • Dick Butkus • Mike Ditka • Walter Payton • Brian Piccolo • Gale Sayers • 46 Defense • '85 Bears • Thanksgiving Classic • 73–0
League Championships (9)
1921 • 1932 • 1933 • 1940 • 1941 • 1943 • 1946 • 1963 • 1985

Family Guy is an American animated television series about a nuclear family in the fictional town of Quahog (IPA ['koʊhɔg] or ['koʊhɒg]), Rhode Island. It was created by Seth MacFarlane for Fox Broadcasting Company in 1999.
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Paul Junger Witt (born March 20 1943) is an American film and television producer. He, with his partners Tony Thomas and Susan Harris (also his wife), produced such hit TV shows as The Partridge Family, The Golden Girls, Soap, Benson,
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Gale Eugene Sayers (born May 30, 1943 in Wichita, Kansas), also known as "The Kansas Comet", was a professional football player in the National Football League who spent his entire career with the Chicago Bears. He currently resides in Wakarusa, Indiana.
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James Caan

Birth name James Langston Edmund Caan
Born March 26 1940 (age 67)
The Bronx, New York, USA

Other name(s)
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Billy Dee Williams

Birth name William December Williams, Jr.
Born March 6 1937 (age 70)
New York City, New York, United States

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Jack Warden

Birth name John H. Lebzelter
Born September 18 1920
Newark, New Jersey
Died July 19 2006 (aged 87)
New York City, New York

Awards

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Shelley Fabares

Shelley Fabares at the 1991 Emmy Awards
Birth name Michele Ann Marie Fabares
Born January 19 1944 (age 63)
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Michel Legrand (born February 24, 1932 in Paris) is a French musical composer, arranger, conductor, and pianist.

Legrand has composed more than two hundred film and television scores, several musicals, and made well over a hundred albums.
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Joseph F. Biroc (February 12, 1903 - September 7, 1996) was a highly successful film and television cinematographer. Biroc, born in New York City, began working in film at Paragon Studios in Fort Lee, New Jersey.
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American Broadcasting Company (ABC)

Type Broadcast radio network and
television network
Country United States
Availability
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Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is a film and television production company. It is part of the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, which is owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of the multinational conglomerate Sony.
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-1971- 1972 1973 1974 1975 ^. 1976 ^. 1977 ^. 1978 ^. 1979 ^. 1980 ^. 1981

In home video: 1968 1969 1970 -1971- 1972 1973 1974
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Motto
"In God We Trust" (since 1956)
"E Pluribus Unum" ("From Many, One"; Latin, traditional)
Anthem
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English}}}
Writing system: Latin (English variant)
Official status
Official language of: 53 countries
Regulated by: no official regulation
Language codes
ISO 639-1: en
ISO 639-2: eng
ISO 639-3: eng
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-1971- 1972 1973 1974 1975 ^. 1976 ^. 1977 ^. 1978 ^. 1979 ^. 1980 ^. 1981

In home video: 1968 1969 1970 -1971- 1972 1973 1974
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James Caan

Birth name James Langston Edmund Caan
Born March 26 1940 (age 67)
The Bronx, New York, USA

Other name(s)
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American football, known in the United States simply as football ^[1] is a competitive team sport known for its physical roughness despite being a highly strategic game.
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Chicago Bears
Year founded: 1919

Helmet Logo
City Chicago, Illinois
Other nicknames Da Bears, The Monsters of the Midway
Team colors Midnight Navy and Burnt Orange
Head Coach Lovie Smith
Owner
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Please help Wikipedia by adding references. See the for details.
This article has been tagged since September 2007.

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The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame of the National Football League (NFL). It opened in Canton, Ohio, United States, on September 7 1963 with 17 charter inductees.
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Billy Dee Williams

Birth name William December Williams, Jr.
Born March 6 1937 (age 70)
New York City, New York, United States

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-2001- 2002 2003 2004 2005 ^. 2006 ^. 2007 ^. 2008 ^. 2009 ^. 2010 ^. 2011

In home video: 1998 1999 2000 -2001- 2002 2003 2004
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American Broadcasting Company (ABC)

Type Broadcast radio network and
television network
Country United States
Availability
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Disney anthology television series, commonly called The Wonderful World of Disney, premiered on ABC on October 27, 1954 under the name Disneyland. The same basic show has since appeared on several networks under a variety of titles.
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Mekhi Phifer

Born November 29 1974 (age 34)
Harlem, Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States

Spouse(s) Malinda Williams
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