Brian Piccolo: Last News

James Caan, whose remarkable performances in The Godfather, Elf and Misery made him a screen icon, has had his cause of death revealed by the Los Angeles County Coroner.

James Caan has died, aged 82. The news was announced by his family via the New York-born star’s official Twitter page. “It is with great sadness that we inform you of the passing of Jimmy on the evening of July 6,” the tweet read.

Carmel Dagan Staff WriterJames Caan, whose indelible, Oscar-nominated performance as Sonny Corleone, the recklessly hotheaded son of Marlon Brando’s Mafia don in “The Godfather,” is sure to be remembered as long as there are gangster movies, died on Wednesday, his family announced on Twitter. He was 82.“It is with great sadness that we inform you of the passing of Jimmy on the evening of July 6,” the tweet reads.

James Caan, who scored an Oscar nom as mafioso Sonny Corleone in The Godfather and an Emmy nom for playing NFL running back Brian Piccolo in Brian’s Song among a host of big film and TV roles including Elf and Las Vegas, died Wednesday night. He was 82. His family confirmed the news on Caan’s Twitter page.

doomed Santino “Sonny” Corleone, the eldest son of Don Vito Corleone (Marlon Brando) and brother to Fredo (John Cazale), Connie (Talia Shire) and Michael (Al Pacino).Prior to his breakout, Oscar-nominated role in “The Godfather,” The Bronx-born Caan was best-known for roles on a slew of ’60s-era television series — including “The Untouchables,” “The Alfred Hitchcock Hour,” “Get Smart,” “Wagon Train,” “Naked City” and “Route 66” — and for playing cancer-stricken Chicago Bears running back Brian Piccolo opposite Billy Dee Williams (as Gale Sayers) in “Brian’s Song,” ABC’s tearjerking Movie of the Week which aired in November 1971.(He also appeared in several movies, including “The Rain People” in 1969, directed by Coppola — Caan’s classmate at Hofstra — and co-starring Robert Duvall, aka Corleone Family consigliere Tom Hagen.)Caan, who turns 82 on Saturday (March 26), spoke to The Post in a wide-ranging interview about his memories of filming “The Godfather,” which airs somewhere on television virtually every day — in all of its iterations — and will be re-released Tuesday (March 22) in a comprehensive 4K ultra-high-definition Blu-ray package.“One of the things that made ‘The Godfather’ successful, besides brilliant directing and writing and wonderful actors … was that everyone really enjoyed making it, and that comes off on the screen,” Caan said. “And I think the audience can tell that we were having a good time doing what we were doing up there.“Marlon was great,” Caan said of Brando.

Mike Fleming Jr Co-Editor-in-Chief, FilmGale Sayers, the Hall of Fame tailback for the Chicago Bears, has died at age 77. For sports fans of a certain age, simply hearing the theme song for the 1971 ABC telepic Brian’s Song is enough to make one misty.