who played gale sayers in brian's song
Billy Dee Williams
title: Billy Dee Williams text: Man", opposite Paul Muni, in which he portrayed a delinquent young man. He rose to stardom after starring in the critically lauded blockbuster biographical television movie, "Brian's Song" (1971), in which he played Chicago Bears star football player Gale Sayers, who stood by his friend Brian Piccolo (played by James Caan), during Piccolo's struggle with terminal cancer. The film was so popular that it was given a theatrical release. Both Williams and Caan were nominated for Emmy Awards for best actor for their performances. Having broken through, Williams became one of America's most well-known black film actors of the 1970s, title: Brian's Song text: Brian's Song Brian's Song is a 1971 ABC Movie of the Week that recounts the details of the life of Brian Piccolo (played by James Caan), a Wake Forest University football player stricken with terminal cancer after turning pro, told through his friendship with Chicago Bears teammate Gale Sayers (Billy Dee Williams). Piccolo's and Sayers's sharply differing temperaments and racial backgrounds made them unlikely to become as close friends as they did, including becoming the first interracial roommates in the history of the National Football League, and the film chronicles the evolution of their friendship. The production was such a title: Brian's Song (2001 film) text: Brian's Song (2001 film) Brian's Song is the 2001 remake of the 1971 television film "Brian's Song", which re-tells the story of Brian Piccolo (Sean Maher), a white running back who meets, clashes with and befriends Chicago Bears and fellow running back Gale Sayers (Mekhi Phifer), an eventual Hall of Fame African American football player on the same team. The movie was adapted from Sayers' own words in his autobiography, "I am Third". The television movie, produced by Columbia TriStar Television, was first broadcast in the US on "The Wonderful World of Disney" on ABC. In the movie, Piccolo is title: Brian's Song text: Award for Best Dramatic Program (1971–72). William Blinn won an Emmy for his teleplay, and Jack Warden won for his performance as Coach Halas. Caan and Williams were both nominated for best leading actor. Thirty years after its original airing, a remake was aired in 2001 on ABC's "The Wonderful World of Disney" starring Mekhi Phifer in Billy Dee Williams' original role as Sayers and Sean Maher as Piccolo, the character originally played by James Caan. Brian's Song Brian's Song is a 1971 ABC Movie of the Week that recounts the details of the life of Brian Piccolo (played by title: Gale Sayers text: to prove how good you are, playing against the best of your peers," recalled Sayers. "I took it as a challenge. I came into the game in shape, came to play." In 1967, Sayers and Bears teammate Brian Piccolo became the first interracial roommates in the NFL. Sayers' ensuing friendship with Piccolo and Piccolo's struggle with cancer (embryonal cell carcinoma, which was diagnosed after it metastasized to a large tumor in his chest cavity), became the subject of the made-for-TV movie "Brian's Song". The movie, in which Sayers was portrayed by Billy Dee Williams in the 1971 original and by