Well, that's a punch in the gut - I loved him since his very odd casting in El Dorado. I guess Sonny was kind of the everyman in The Godfather that Frankie becomes in GF2 - more easily identified with than those guys who had the heads for big deals.

When I was a kid, I loved the movie Rollerball. I think it was the first "R" Rated movie my parents allowed me to see.

RIP James. Loved him as Sonny and such a iconic role.

Me too, Great in "Rollerball" and lots of others.

First Ray Liotta and now Jimmy. Man, 2022 hasn't been kind to us. RIP.

Brian's Song was one of his very early movies, it is based on a true story. I have yet to see it, but hear that it made him a star, then after that The Godfather role made him a superstar. I think this week we may start seeing plenty of his rarely seen movies on cable and streaming services.

And today we just lost Tony Sirico.

Brian's Song had a theatrical release in Chicago: Da Bearz, you know.

Best. Sports Movie. Ever.

I saw Brian’s Song before I saw The Godfather. My first reaction to seeing Sonny Corleone was, “That’s Picc!”

Jeanne Morris wrote a very good but vastly overlooked book about Brian Piccolo titled “A Short Season.” While the movie is based on Gale Sayers autobiography “I Am Third,” Morris’s book is more insightful about Piccolo’s life. Her husband, Johnny Morris, was also on those Bears teams with Piccolo and Sayers.

yotonyb

I'm rather embarrassed to admit that only decades after seeing Brian's Song did I learn that its memorable theme song had lyrics.

Here's Perry Como ...