<Li> November 30, 1971 (1971 - 11 - 30) </Li> <P> 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 running back, teammate and Pro Football Hall of Famer 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 success on ABC that it was later shown in theaters by Columbia Pictures with a major premiere in Chicago; however, it was soon withdrawn due to a lack of business . Critics have called the movie one of the finest telefilms ever made . A 2005 readers poll taken by Entertainment Weekly ranked' Brian's Song' seventh in its list of the top "guy - cry" films ever made . </P> <P> The movie is based on Sayers' account of his friendship with Piccolo and coping with Piccolo's illness in Sayers' autobiography, I Am Third . The film was written by veteran screenwriter William Blinn, whose script, one Dallas television critic called, "highly restrained, steering clear of any overt sentimentality (yet conveying) the genuine affection the two men felt so deeply for each other ." </P> <P> Although based on a true story, the film did include some fictional scenes . One example was when George Halas (played by Jack Warden) told Gale Sayers that he wanted to bench Brian Piccolo when he suspected that there may be a problem affecting his performance . He later learned of Brian's cancer . In reality, Jim Dooley was the head coach at that time, as Halas had retired from the position following the 1967 season . </P>

Who played in the movie brian's song