Chicago ? Brian Piccolo and Gale Sayers became the first interracial roommates in the NFL in 1967. After Piccolo died at the age of 26 from a rare form of cancer, the movie “Brian’s Song” depicted the true emotional bond between these former Bears running backs.

On Saturday night, a cast reunion will be held at the Harris Theatre in Millennium Park, where several actors from the award-winning television movie will see each other for the first time in 36 years.

Actress Shelley Fabares, who played the part of Joy Piccolo, is looking forward to the reunion.

“What I remember most was that the movie project was a wonderful, incredible experience,” Fabares said Monday from her home in Studio City, Calif. “I knew nothing about Brian Piccolo back then. And none of us (in the cast) knew that this movie would turn out to be what it turned out to be.

“If not the first, it was one of the first television movies. I believe it is still the highest-rated one; it certainly is the most remembered one.”

Fabares said she also hopes to finally meet Joy Piccolo (now Joy Piccolo-O’Connell), who has been invited to attend.

“I never met Joy,” Fabares said. “She was in Rensselaer (Ind., where the Bears trained when parts of the movie were filmed), but it was before I got there. But I have heard wonderful things about her from everybody who does know her. It would be very moving to me if she were there.”

The movie will be shown in high definition. Proceeds from the event benefit the Gale Sayers Center. Visit www.galesayerscenter.org for more details.

Fabares, whose many credits include two Emmy nominations for the popular television series “Coach,” says her “Brian’s Song” experience was like no other.

“In retrospect, even though it was wonderful to do it … it was a very intense experience. I found the story to be just extraordinary,” she said. “I loved working with Jimmy (James Caan). He had actually just finished filming ‘The Godfather,’ but it hadn’t come out yet. It was a very exciting time in Jimmy’s life. Billy Dee (Williams) was fabulous playing Gale, and Jack Warden (who played George Halas).”

Caan and Williams are not expected to attend Saturday due to film commitments.

“The thing that just overrides my memory of that movie is that even though we all thought it was wonderful, there was just no way to be prepared for how big it was,” Fabares said. “Even today, I actually have people stop me all the time and they ask me about the film and the filming of ‘Brian’s Song.’

“It doesn’t surprise me when people remember it and talk about it, because after all of these years I understand how impactful that movie was. When the movie starts and the theme music comes on, the tears just get going.”