Plot
Brian Piccolo and Gale Sayers aren't friends in the beginning; in fact they are rivals. Brian, during their first season together with pro football's Chicago Bears, is always one-upped by Gale, never being in the spotlight. After the season, Brian pledges to outplay Gale and take his position on the team.
During their second season, Gale is still the Bears' starting running back. After he is injured during a game and loses hope of ever playing again, Brian personally takes charge of his rehabilitation, on the basis that if Gale gives up, and Brian rises to the top, he would have made it only on a chance and not by his own prowess. The two bond during this time, soon becoming good friends and roommates.
Brian is diagnosed with cancer. The treatments and radiation therapy only do so much, and every time it seems as if everything is getting better, the cancer shows up again, someplace else. Brian dies from the disease at age 26. During this time, Gale stays by his side.
The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The Bears have won nine NFL Championships, including one Super Bowl, and hold the NFL record for the most enshrinees in the Pro Football Hall of Fame and the most retired jersey numbers. The Bears have also recorded the second-most victories of any NFL franchise, only behind the Green Bay Packers, who they have a long-standing rivalry with.
Homicide: Life on the Street is an American police drama television series chronicling the work of a fictional version of the Baltimore Police Department's Homicide Unit. Created by Paul Attanasio, it ran for seven seasons and 122 episodes on NBC from January 31, 1993, to May 21, 1999, and was succeeded by Homicide: The Movie (2000), which served as the series finale. The series was created by Paul Attanasio and based on David Simon's book Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets (1991). Many of the characters and stories used throughout the show were based on events depicted in the book.
Carmen: A Hip Hopera is a 2001 American musical romantic drama television film produced by MTV and directed by Robert Townsend. Starring Beyoncé Knowles in her debut acting role along with Mekhi Phifer, Mos Def, Rah Digga, Wyclef Jean, Da Brat, Joy Bryant, Reagan Gomez-Preston, Jermaine Dupri and Lil' Bow Wow, it is based upon the 1875 opera Carmen by Georges Bizet, Ludovic Halévy and Henri Meilhac, but set in modern-day Philadelphia and Los Angeles and featuring a mostly original hip-hop/R&B score in place of Bizet's opera.
Sean Maher is an American actor. He is known for his portrayal of Simon Tam in the science fiction television series Firefly and follow-up movie Serenity.
Soul Food is a 1997 American comedy-drama film written and directed by George Tillman Jr. in his major studio debut. Featuring an ensemble cast, the film stars Vanessa Williams, Vivica A. Fox, Nia Long, Michael Beach, Mekhi Phifer, Jeffrey D. Sams, Irma P. Hall, Gina Ravera and Brandon Hammond. The story centers on the trials of an extended Black-American family, held together by longstanding family traditions which begin to fade as serious problems take center stage.
Louis Brian Piccolo was an American professional football player who was a halfback for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL) for four years. He played college football for the Wake Forest Demon Deacons. He died at age 26 from embryonal cell carcinoma, an aggressive form of germ cell testicular cancer, first diagnosed after it had spread to his chest cavity.
Gale Eugene Sayers was an American professional football halfback and return specialist in the National Football League (NFL). In a relatively brief but highly productive NFL career, Sayers spent seven seasons with the Chicago Bears from 1965 to 1971, though multiple injuries effectively limited him to five seasons of play. He was known for his elusiveness and agility and was regarded by his peers as one of the most difficult players to tackle.
Mekhi Phifer is an American actor. He portrayed Dr. Greg Pratt on NBC's long-running medical drama ER from 2002 to 2008, and had a co-starring role opposite rapper Eminem in the 2002 feature film 8 Mile. He was a recurring cast member on the Showtime drama House of Lies, and also starred as CIA officer Rex Matheson in Torchwood: Miracle Day. Phifer is also known for his appearance in the music video for "The Boy Is Mine" by Brandy and Monica.
Jerry Azumah is an American former professional football player who was a cornerback for seven seasons with the Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the New Hampshire Wildcats, and was selected by the Bears in the fifth round of the 1999 NFL draft.
Brian's Song is a 1971 ABC Movie of the Week that recounts the life of Brian Piccolo, a Chicago Bears football player stricken with terminal cancer, focusing on his friendship with teammate Gale Sayers. Piccolo's and Sayers's sharply differing temperaments and racial backgrounds made them unlikely to become friends but they did, becoming the first interracial roommates in the history of the National Football League. The film chronicles the evolution of their friendship, ending with Piccolo's death in 1970. The production was such a success on ABC that it was later shown in theaters by Columbia Pictures with a major premiere in Chicago; however, it was soon withdrawn for lack of business. Critics have called the movie one of the finest television movies ever made. A 2005 readers' poll taken by Entertainment Weekly ranked Brian's Song seventh in its list of the top "guy-cry" films.
Gregory Pratt, M.D. is a fictional character from the medical drama series ER, portrayed by Mekhi Phifer. He first appears as a recurring character towards the end of the eighth season, becoming a main character from the start of the ninth season until the start of the fifteenth season.
Bokeem Woodbine is an American actor. In 1994, he portrayed Joshua, the main character's troubled brother, in Jason's Lyric. He won a Black Reel Award and was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award and a Critics' Choice Television Award for his role as Kansas City mob enforcer Mike Milligan in the second season of Fargo. Woodbine also portrayed Daniel in season 2 of the WGN series Underground, Herman Schultz/Shocker in the film Spider-Man: Homecoming, and saxophonist David "Fathead" Newman in the Oscar-winning Ray Charles biopic Ray.
Puff, Puff, Pass is a 2006 comedy crime film, also known as Living High, directed by Mekhi Phifer.
The 1969 Chicago Bears season was their 50th regular season completed in the National Football League. The team finished with a franchise-worst 1–13 record. This occurred despite the exploits of Dick Butkus and Gale Sayers, who had torn the ligaments in his right knee in November 1968. After surgery, he went through a physical rehabilitation program with the help of teammate Brian Piccolo. In 1969, Sayers led the league in rushing once again with 1,032 yards, but lacked his previous speed, and averaged only 4.4 yards per carry. This would also turn out to be Sayers final full season, as he would be on the injured reserve list for the entire 1970 and '71 seasons before finally retiring.
The 1970 Chicago Bears season was their 51st regular season completed in the National Football League. The team finished with a 6–8 record, a significant improvement over the 1–13 record of the previous season, the worst in franchise history.
ER is an American medical drama television series created by Michael Crichton that aired on NBC from September 19, 1994, to April 2, 2009. It was produced by Constant c Productions and Amblin Television, in association with Warner Bros. Television. The series follows the inner life of the emergency room (ER) of fictional Cook County General Hospital in Chicago, and various critical issues faced by the room's physicians and staff.
The Brian Piccolo Award is an honor that is given to players of the Chicago Bears. The award is given to one rookie and one veteran per season who best exemplifies the courage, loyalty, teamwork, dedication and sense of humor of the late Brian Piccolo, a running back for the Bears from 1966 until his untimely death from cancer on June 16, 1970, at age 26.
Edward W. McCaskey was the chairman of the Chicago Bears. Previously serving as vice president and treasurer for the team, he was the husband of Bears principal owner Virginia Halas McCaskey.
The George Halas Award is given by the Pro Football Writers of America (PFWA) to a National Football League (NFL) player, coach or staff member who overcomes the most adversity to succeed.
Jeannie Morris was an American sports journalist and author. Primarily based in Chicago, she covered various sports, including baseball and football, during a time in which women were not permitted in certain areas of sporting events. As an author, she wrote biographies on Brian Piccolo and Carol Moseley Braun, the latter of whom she followed as a reporter.
