1977
Brian's Song and Something For Joey
November 24, 2009
by David Krell
david@davidkrell.com
In the 1970’s, two tv-movies became instant classics, particularly with men. With football as a backdrop, Brian’s Song and Something For Joey are at the top of the list of guy-cry entertainment fare. These tv-movies don’t merely tug at heartstrings. They grab them.
Statistics measure an athlete’s performance. But no statistic can measure the impact of Brian’s Song and Something For Joey or their real-life inspirations.
In 1964, Brian Piccolo was the top college football rusher in the country. His success capped a terrific college football career at Wake Forest. Surprisingly, his credentials did not impress any NFL team during the draft. Fourteen teams. Twenty rounds. No Brian Piccolo. Ultimately, Chicago Bears owner and coach George Halas signed Piccolo as a free agent.
Piccolo soon discovered he had cancer --embryonal cell carcinoma. He died in 1970 at the age of 26.
In 1971, the country discovered Brian Piccolo’s story in Brian’s Song, an ABC tv-movie produced by Columbia. The Columbia set used for the home of Bears player Gale Sayers and his wife may look familiar. It is the set for Darrin and Samantha Stephens on Bewitched, another Columbia property.
Brian’s Song showed Brian Piccolo’s gifts of courage, friendship, and strength.
Courage -- Brian Piccolo fought cancer with the same fierce competitiveness he displayed on the gridiron.
Friendship -- Brian Piccolo bonded with Sayers. Each player encouraged the other during their competition to play in the Bears backfield rather than ride the bench. Piccolo and Sayers were the first interracial roommates in the NFL.
Strength -- Brian Piccolo tackled his disease head-on.
Brian’s Song reveals the brutal honesty of pain in an athlete cut down in his prime. It also reveals two stars to be. Before their signature roles in The Godfather and Lady Sings the Blue, James Caan and Billy Dee Williams took on the immense responsibility of playing Brian Piccolo and Gale Sayers respectively. No easy task, considering the subject matter.
They made the somber story interesting, compelling, and inspiring, not maudlin, depressing, and angry.
Sayers’ locker room speech in one of the final scenes makes grown men cry and shows children that even tough guys weep when a friend battles an opponent meaner, tougher, and more vicious than any football player.
In another powerful scene, Sayers accepts the George S. Halas Most Courageous Player Award. He dedicates the award to Brian Piccolo because of Piccolo’s courage in battling cancer. The last part of the speech is particularly compelling.
I love Brian Piccolo. And I’d like all of you to love him too. And tonight, hit your knees, please ask God to love him.
Brian’s Song grabs at the heartstrings and doesn’t let go. Not for a scene. Not for a minute. Not for a second. Michael Legrand’s theme song The Hands of Time compounds the story’s emotional intensity.
Brian Piccolo’s story reflects the A.E. Housman poem To An Athlete Dying Young. One passage in particular stands out.
Smart lad, to slip betimes away
From fields where glory does not stay
And early though the laurel grows
It withers quicker than the rose
In 2001, ABC aired a remake of Brian’s Song with Sean Maher as Brian Piccolo and Mekhi Pfifer as Gale Sayers. The remake focused more attention than the original on the physical effects of Piccolo’s disease.
No less compelling of a story is Something For Joey, a 1977 fact-based NBC tv-movie about Penn State powerhouse running back John Cappelletti and his kid brother, Joey.
While John tramples over opponents on his way to winning the Heisman Trophy in 1973 Joey suffers from leukemia. Their interdependence makes Joey’s fight all the more noble and John’s helplessness all the more saddening. Powerful on a football field, John Cappelletti embodies the powerless suffering that anybody endures with a family member battling a fatal disease.
Upon winning the Heisman Trophy, John has to make a speech as is the custom with Heisman winners.
Where John’s physical ability gained him respect as a football player, his emotional strength cemented his respect as a man.
During his speech, John dedicates the award to his eleven year-old brother Joseph because college football is a battle fought on Saturdays in the fall, but his brother’s battle with leukemia is year-round.
Joseph Cappelletti died in 1976. John went to the NFL and played for the Los Angeles Rams and San Diego Chargers in a nine-year career.
Marc Singer plays John and Jeffrey Lynas plays Joey in Something For Joey.
Brian’s Song and Something For Joey are two outstanding examples of high quality television. While football is a backdrop, the stories are universal.
Everyone knows the reality of disease. A friend, a loved one, maybe even we have suffered the harshness.
Brian’s Song and Something For Joey are for everyone.
For everyone who’s ever won.
For everyone who’s ever lost.
And for everyone who’s still in there trying.
david@davidkrell.com
In the 1970’s, two tv-movies became instant classics, particularly with men. With football as a backdrop, Brian’s Song and Something For Joey are at the top of the list of guy-cry entertainment fare. These tv-movies don’t merely tug at heartstrings. They grab them.
Statistics measure an athlete’s performance. But no statistic can measure the impact of Brian’s Song and Something For Joey or their real-life inspirations.
In 1964, Brian Piccolo was the top college football rusher in the country. His success capped a terrific college football career at Wake Forest. Surprisingly, his credentials did not impress any NFL team during the draft. Fourteen teams. Twenty rounds. No Brian Piccolo. Ultimately, Chicago Bears owner and coach George Halas signed Piccolo as a free agent.
Piccolo soon discovered he had cancer --embryonal cell carcinoma. He died in 1970 at the age of 26.
In 1971, the country discovered Brian Piccolo’s story in Brian’s Song, an ABC tv-movie produced by Columbia. The Columbia set used for the home of Bears player Gale Sayers and his wife may look familiar. It is the set for Darrin and Samantha Stephens on Bewitched, another Columbia property.
Brian’s Song showed Brian Piccolo’s gifts of courage, friendship, and strength.
Courage -- Brian Piccolo fought cancer with the same fierce competitiveness he displayed on the gridiron.
Friendship -- Brian Piccolo bonded with Sayers. Each player encouraged the other during their competition to play in the Bears backfield rather than ride the bench. Piccolo and Sayers were the first interracial roommates in the NFL.
Strength -- Brian Piccolo tackled his disease head-on.
Brian’s Song reveals the brutal honesty of pain in an athlete cut down in his prime. It also reveals two stars to be. Before their signature roles in The Godfather and Lady Sings the Blue, James Caan and Billy Dee Williams took on the immense responsibility of playing Brian Piccolo and Gale Sayers respectively. No easy task, considering the subject matter.
They made the somber story interesting, compelling, and inspiring, not maudlin, depressing, and angry.
Sayers’ locker room speech in one of the final scenes makes grown men cry and shows children that even tough guys weep when a friend battles an opponent meaner, tougher, and more vicious than any football player.
In another powerful scene, Sayers accepts the George S. Halas Most Courageous Player Award. He dedicates the award to Brian Piccolo because of Piccolo’s courage in battling cancer. The last part of the speech is particularly compelling.
I love Brian Piccolo. And I’d like all of you to love him too. And tonight, hit your knees, please ask God to love him.
Brian’s Song grabs at the heartstrings and doesn’t let go. Not for a scene. Not for a minute. Not for a second. Michael Legrand’s theme song The Hands of Time compounds the story’s emotional intensity.
Brian Piccolo’s story reflects the A.E. Housman poem To An Athlete Dying Young. One passage in particular stands out.
Smart lad, to slip betimes away
From fields where glory does not stay
And early though the laurel grows
It withers quicker than the rose
In 2001, ABC aired a remake of Brian’s Song with Sean Maher as Brian Piccolo and Mekhi Pfifer as Gale Sayers. The remake focused more attention than the original on the physical effects of Piccolo’s disease.
No less compelling of a story is Something For Joey, a 1977 fact-based NBC tv-movie about Penn State powerhouse running back John Cappelletti and his kid brother, Joey.
While John tramples over opponents on his way to winning the Heisman Trophy in 1973 Joey suffers from leukemia. Their interdependence makes Joey’s fight all the more noble and John’s helplessness all the more saddening. Powerful on a football field, John Cappelletti embodies the powerless suffering that anybody endures with a family member battling a fatal disease.
Upon winning the Heisman Trophy, John has to make a speech as is the custom with Heisman winners.
Where John’s physical ability gained him respect as a football player, his emotional strength cemented his respect as a man.
During his speech, John dedicates the award to his eleven year-old brother Joseph because college football is a battle fought on Saturdays in the fall, but his brother’s battle with leukemia is year-round.
Joseph Cappelletti died in 1976. John went to the NFL and played for the Los Angeles Rams and San Diego Chargers in a nine-year career.
Marc Singer plays John and Jeffrey Lynas plays Joey in Something For Joey.
Brian’s Song and Something For Joey are two outstanding examples of high quality television. While football is a backdrop, the stories are universal.
Everyone knows the reality of disease. A friend, a loved one, maybe even we have suffered the harshness.
Brian’s Song and Something For Joey are for everyone.
For everyone who’s ever won.
For everyone who’s ever lost.
And for everyone who’s still in there trying.
The Taking of Pelham 123
October 13, 2009
by David Krell
david@davidkrell.com
The remake of The Taking of Pelham 123 opened in theaters this past summer. The film stars three actors who got their big breaks on the small screen.
Denzel Washington.
In Pelham, Washington plays Walter Garber, a New York City civil servant who becomes the link of communication to hostage takers on a subway train.
Washington was part of the terrific ensemble cast of St. Elsewhere. In this 1980’s NBC drama set in a Boston hospital, Washington plays the Yale-educated Dr. Phillip Chandler.
His breakthrough movie was Glory, a 1989 film set during the Civil War. Washington earned on Oscar for Best Supporting Actor.
John Travolta.
In Pelham, Travolta plays Ryder, the leader of the hostage takers.
Travolta exploded onto America’s consciousness as dim-witted, girl-crazy, and self-involved high school student Vinnie Barbarino in Welcome Back, Kotter.
Kotter premiered in 1975. In the space of three years, Travolta’s career became hotter than a supernova. On the silver screen, he starred in 1977’s Saturday Night Fever and 1978’s Grease.
For the most part, notoriety subsided during the 1980’s. Travolta signaled his comeback in Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction in 1994.
James Gandolfini.
In Pelham, Gandolfini plays the Mayor of New York City. If managed properly, the hostage crisis can be good for the politics business. Or very bad.
After highly significant roles on Broadway and supporting roles in films, Gandolfini got the role for which he will forever be identified.
Henry Winkler has Fonzie.
Alan Alda has Hawkeye.
And James Gandolfini has Tony Soprano, the main character in The Sopranos.
Gandolfini’s emotions as the New Jersey mafia don range from the tender to the explosive. He reveals a touching side when talking about or interacting with animals, like his racehorse, Pie-Oh-My.
There is a flip side. Disloyalty, betrayal, and disrespect trigger rage, violence, and an underlying fear of a weakened position in the Soprano mob family.
In 1973, Morton Freedgood wrote the novel The Taking of Pelham 123 under the pseudonym John Godey.
A year later, the story hit the big screen for the first time with Walter Matthau as Garber, Robert Shaw as Ryder, and Lee Wallace as the mayor.
The film accurately captures the aura of violence, fear, and despair surrounding New York City in the 1970’s. Riots. Crime. Financial turmoil. They all contributed to the pressure.
The feeling permeates the film. Walter Matthau’s Garber is in the middle -- a civil servant trying to do his job. On this particular day, it is an ordinary job under extraordinary circumstances. Matthau perfectly fits the role of the rumpled Garber.
The ending of this version of Pelham is an excellent example of a setup and payoff. Something occurs early in the story that recurs at the end.
Hector Elizondo and Earl Hindman play two of the hostage takers. Elizondo later starred in Chicago Hope and played supporting roles in a deep roster of films that include The Flamingo Kid, The Princess Diaries, and Pretty Woman.
Hindman’s face is not recognizable from his signature role -- Wilson, the neighbor on Home Improvement. The running gag on the show was the hiding of Wilson’s face behind the backyard fence and other objects.
Jerry Stiller plays a policeman working with Matthau. Maybe the hostage crisis was a source of sorts for Frank Costanza’s anger.
david@davidkrell.com
The remake of The Taking of Pelham 123 opened in theaters this past summer. The film stars three actors who got their big breaks on the small screen.
Denzel Washington.
In Pelham, Washington plays Walter Garber, a New York City civil servant who becomes the link of communication to hostage takers on a subway train.
Washington was part of the terrific ensemble cast of St. Elsewhere. In this 1980’s NBC drama set in a Boston hospital, Washington plays the Yale-educated Dr. Phillip Chandler.
His breakthrough movie was Glory, a 1989 film set during the Civil War. Washington earned on Oscar for Best Supporting Actor.
John Travolta.
In Pelham, Travolta plays Ryder, the leader of the hostage takers.
Travolta exploded onto America’s consciousness as dim-witted, girl-crazy, and self-involved high school student Vinnie Barbarino in Welcome Back, Kotter.
Kotter premiered in 1975. In the space of three years, Travolta’s career became hotter than a supernova. On the silver screen, he starred in 1977’s Saturday Night Fever and 1978’s Grease.
For the most part, notoriety subsided during the 1980’s. Travolta signaled his comeback in Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction in 1994.
James Gandolfini.
In Pelham, Gandolfini plays the Mayor of New York City. If managed properly, the hostage crisis can be good for the politics business. Or very bad.
After highly significant roles on Broadway and supporting roles in films, Gandolfini got the role for which he will forever be identified.
Henry Winkler has Fonzie.
Alan Alda has Hawkeye.
And James Gandolfini has Tony Soprano, the main character in The Sopranos.
Gandolfini’s emotions as the New Jersey mafia don range from the tender to the explosive. He reveals a touching side when talking about or interacting with animals, like his racehorse, Pie-Oh-My.
There is a flip side. Disloyalty, betrayal, and disrespect trigger rage, violence, and an underlying fear of a weakened position in the Soprano mob family.
In 1973, Morton Freedgood wrote the novel The Taking of Pelham 123 under the pseudonym John Godey.
A year later, the story hit the big screen for the first time with Walter Matthau as Garber, Robert Shaw as Ryder, and Lee Wallace as the mayor.
The film accurately captures the aura of violence, fear, and despair surrounding New York City in the 1970’s. Riots. Crime. Financial turmoil. They all contributed to the pressure.
The feeling permeates the film. Walter Matthau’s Garber is in the middle -- a civil servant trying to do his job. On this particular day, it is an ordinary job under extraordinary circumstances. Matthau perfectly fits the role of the rumpled Garber.
The ending of this version of Pelham is an excellent example of a setup and payoff. Something occurs early in the story that recurs at the end.
Hector Elizondo and Earl Hindman play two of the hostage takers. Elizondo later starred in Chicago Hope and played supporting roles in a deep roster of films that include The Flamingo Kid, The Princess Diaries, and Pretty Woman.
Hindman’s face is not recognizable from his signature role -- Wilson, the neighbor on Home Improvement. The running gag on the show was the hiding of Wilson’s face behind the backyard fence and other objects.
Jerry Stiller plays a policeman working with Matthau. Maybe the hostage crisis was a source of sorts for Frank Costanza’s anger.
Elvis
October 01, 2009
by David Krell
david@davidkrell.com
Elvis.
More than thirty years have passed since he went to rock and roll heaven in 1977.
And just the mere mention of his name opens a lockbox of tremendous memories.
His movements.
His movies.
His portrayals.
Elvis Presley moved on stage like no other performer before him, swiveling his hips to the delight of teenage girls, the jealousy of their boyfriends, and the fright of their parents.
Elvis’ movies may have been formulaic.
Sing a few songs. Charm a few girls. Win the heart of the female lead.
But he surrounded himself with veteran actors who shouldered the load. In lesser hands, the movies would have been unwatchable instead of simply enjoyable.
Angela Lansbury in Blue Hawaii.
Gary Merrill and James Gregory in Clambake.
Gale Gordon and William Schallert in Speedway.
Portrayals of Elvis on television also add to the King’s legacy by interpreting, explaining, and depicting certain aspects of his life.
Okay. So you may not remember some of them. But they deserve a second look, if for no other reason than a sense of completion in looking at Elvis’ career.
We’ve all seen the black and white footage of Elvis dancing and singing Jailhouse Rock in the 1957 movie of the same name, a precursor to the dance videos that would appear during the early days of MTV twenty-five years later.
But did you see Elvis and the Colonel, a 1993 tv-movie starring Rob Youngblood as Elvis and Beau Bridges as Colonel Tom Parker, the manager and mastermind behind a highly significant part of Elvis' career?
How about Elvis and the Beauty Queen, a 1981 tv-movie starring Stephanie Zimbalist as the King's girlfriend, Linda Thompson, and Don Johnson as Elvis? Zimbalist and Johnson made terrific contributions to NBC's revival as a television network powerhouse in the 1980's. She starred in Remington Steele and he made pastels fashionable in Miami Vice.
In 1988, Dale Midkiff portrayed Elvis in Elvis and Me, a four-hour miniseries told from wife Priscilla Presley's point of view. It was based on the book of the same name that Priscilla wrote with Sandra Harmon.
In 2005, Jonathan Rhys-Meyers played Elvis in another four-hour miniseries simply titled Elvis.
Michael St. Gerard filled the shoes of a young Elvis when he played the aspiring King of Rock and Roll on the cusp of breaking into the record business. Elvis was an ABC television series that showed the rarely explored early years of Elvis Presley. The show had a brief run in 1990.
St. Gerard's portrayal was not limited to the small screen, however. He played Elvis in a non-speaking role in the 1988 Jerry Lee Lewis biopic Great Balls of Fire.
But the one that started it all was a two-and-a-half tv-movie that aired on February 11, 1979, just two-and-a-half years after the King's death. Kurt Russell starred in Elvis, a highly anticipated tv-movie. Produced by Dick Clark Productions, Elvis captured the imagination of fans still reeling from the King's death on August 16, 1977. John Carpenter directed Elvis. Coincidentally, Elvis' character in the movie Change of Habit was named John Carpenter.
Kurt Russell actually appeared in one of Elvis' movies. In It Happened at the World's Fair, he kicks Elvis in the shins. But the connection between the two men do not end there. In the movie 3000 Miles to Graceland, Kurt Russell plays an Elvis impersonator.
Finally, the 1980's revival of The Twilight Zone gave a twist on Elvis' life, legacy, and allure. In the episode The Once and Future King, an Elvis fanatic and impersonator named Gary has an agent named Sandra. She tells him that she met Elvis during one of his Las Vegas stints when she was 18. After avoiding an accident, Gary somehow travels back in time and meets Elvis in 1954 Memphis. The meeting happens right before Elvis is supposed to record That's All Right, Mama, also known as That's All Right, his initial record.
Elvis believes that Gary is really Jesse Aron Presley or a reincarnation of him. Jesse was Elvis' twin brother who died at birth. When Gary tells Elvis about That's All Right, Mama and the massive success awaiting him, Elvis is simply not interested. He thinks the music that Gary plays is the devil's music. When argument between Gary and Elvis escalates to a violent level, Elvis dies in the fight.
There's only one way out for Gary. Become Elvis. Gary buries him and assumes his identity.
Confession time occurs at the end of the episode set some time during the early 1970's in Las Vegas. Elvis is talking to a groupie. He reveals that he tried to perform the songs and acting roles as closely as he could remember from the original Elvis.
The groupie is Sandra, Gary's agent in his previous life.
The meeting takes place just as she described earlier with Elvis talking for hours and showing signs of paranoia. Only this time, she met with Gary.
Or was it really Elvis?
david@davidkrell.com
Elvis.
More than thirty years have passed since he went to rock and roll heaven in 1977.
And just the mere mention of his name opens a lockbox of tremendous memories.
His movements.
His movies.
His portrayals.
Elvis Presley moved on stage like no other performer before him, swiveling his hips to the delight of teenage girls, the jealousy of their boyfriends, and the fright of their parents.
Elvis’ movies may have been formulaic.
Sing a few songs. Charm a few girls. Win the heart of the female lead.
But he surrounded himself with veteran actors who shouldered the load. In lesser hands, the movies would have been unwatchable instead of simply enjoyable.
Angela Lansbury in Blue Hawaii.
Gary Merrill and James Gregory in Clambake.
Gale Gordon and William Schallert in Speedway.
Portrayals of Elvis on television also add to the King’s legacy by interpreting, explaining, and depicting certain aspects of his life.
Okay. So you may not remember some of them. But they deserve a second look, if for no other reason than a sense of completion in looking at Elvis’ career.
We’ve all seen the black and white footage of Elvis dancing and singing Jailhouse Rock in the 1957 movie of the same name, a precursor to the dance videos that would appear during the early days of MTV twenty-five years later.
But did you see Elvis and the Colonel, a 1993 tv-movie starring Rob Youngblood as Elvis and Beau Bridges as Colonel Tom Parker, the manager and mastermind behind a highly significant part of Elvis' career?
How about Elvis and the Beauty Queen, a 1981 tv-movie starring Stephanie Zimbalist as the King's girlfriend, Linda Thompson, and Don Johnson as Elvis? Zimbalist and Johnson made terrific contributions to NBC's revival as a television network powerhouse in the 1980's. She starred in Remington Steele and he made pastels fashionable in Miami Vice.
In 1988, Dale Midkiff portrayed Elvis in Elvis and Me, a four-hour miniseries told from wife Priscilla Presley's point of view. It was based on the book of the same name that Priscilla wrote with Sandra Harmon.
In 2005, Jonathan Rhys-Meyers played Elvis in another four-hour miniseries simply titled Elvis.
Michael St. Gerard filled the shoes of a young Elvis when he played the aspiring King of Rock and Roll on the cusp of breaking into the record business. Elvis was an ABC television series that showed the rarely explored early years of Elvis Presley. The show had a brief run in 1990.
St. Gerard's portrayal was not limited to the small screen, however. He played Elvis in a non-speaking role in the 1988 Jerry Lee Lewis biopic Great Balls of Fire.
But the one that started it all was a two-and-a-half tv-movie that aired on February 11, 1979, just two-and-a-half years after the King's death. Kurt Russell starred in Elvis, a highly anticipated tv-movie. Produced by Dick Clark Productions, Elvis captured the imagination of fans still reeling from the King's death on August 16, 1977. John Carpenter directed Elvis. Coincidentally, Elvis' character in the movie Change of Habit was named John Carpenter.
Kurt Russell actually appeared in one of Elvis' movies. In It Happened at the World's Fair, he kicks Elvis in the shins. But the connection between the two men do not end there. In the movie 3000 Miles to Graceland, Kurt Russell plays an Elvis impersonator.
Finally, the 1980's revival of The Twilight Zone gave a twist on Elvis' life, legacy, and allure. In the episode The Once and Future King, an Elvis fanatic and impersonator named Gary has an agent named Sandra. She tells him that she met Elvis during one of his Las Vegas stints when she was 18. After avoiding an accident, Gary somehow travels back in time and meets Elvis in 1954 Memphis. The meeting happens right before Elvis is supposed to record That's All Right, Mama, also known as That's All Right, his initial record.
Elvis believes that Gary is really Jesse Aron Presley or a reincarnation of him. Jesse was Elvis' twin brother who died at birth. When Gary tells Elvis about That's All Right, Mama and the massive success awaiting him, Elvis is simply not interested. He thinks the music that Gary plays is the devil's music. When argument between Gary and Elvis escalates to a violent level, Elvis dies in the fight.
There's only one way out for Gary. Become Elvis. Gary buries him and assumes his identity.
Confession time occurs at the end of the episode set some time during the early 1970's in Las Vegas. Elvis is talking to a groupie. He reveals that he tried to perform the songs and acting roles as closely as he could remember from the original Elvis.
The groupie is Sandra, Gary's agent in his previous life.
The meeting takes place just as she described earlier with Elvis talking for hours and showing signs of paranoia. Only this time, she met with Gary.
Or was it really Elvis?