Remembering James Caan:

To those of us 30 and up, James Caan was a badass actor.

He starred in some of the most iconic movies of all-time, including The Godfather with Marlon Brando, Robert Deniro and Al Pacino.

Caan also played a starring role as Brian Piccolo in the hit football movie Brian’s Song.

And years later, Caan and Arnold Schwarzenegger teamed up in a movie titled Eraser with Vanessa Williams.

In all, Caan appeared in more than 70 films over a remarkable 58-year career.

To his fans, Caan was a giant in the movie business, but to former La Salle quarterback Jake Caan, he was simply “dad.”

Caan died Thursday at the age of 82.

I had the honor of meeting Mr. Caan at a La Salle vs St. Francis football game on October 7th, 2016, in La Canada.

Caan was on the La Salle sideline throughout, and at halftime, he sat down next to me and we struck up a conversation.

Out of immense respect I called him ‘sir,’ and he said, “I’m James.”

I told him that I knew who he was, and he said, “I know, but please call me James.”

To me, I interpreted it as his way of letting me know that despite being a major movie star, he didn’t want to be thought of or treated like he was better or more important than anyone else.

I peppered him with questions about his movies and some of the biggest names he’d worked with.

The two things that stuck out most in my head was Caan’s disappointment in the disparity in pay of Schwarzenegger compared to the rest of the cast of Eraser.

And when I asked about Marlon Brando, Caan got this gigantic smile on his face and said, “he was the best actor I ever worked with.”

After the showdown with St. Francis, I would run into Mr. Caan at two more La Salle football games.

The love he had for his Jake was so obvious.

In spite of the fact that he was 59 years older than his son, Jake and James Caan looked more like buddies than father and son.

They needled each other on the sidelines, talked football and just enjoyed their time together.

I can recall Jake asking me to send him a photo I took (which I can’t find) of James talking into his son’s earhole on the sidelines after the Lancers’ offense came off the field.

I told Jake that I would, and he thanked me, saying good naturedly, “I want to show my dad this photo, because it shows that he never shuts up.”

Their relationship was obviously so much more than just needling the other.

You can see from one of the photos that Jake stood behind his father to the end, including pushing Mr. Caan’s wheelchair.

Caan had five kids, including 45-year-old actor, Scott Caan.

I wanted to send my sincere condolences to Jake and his entire family, as I’m sure the La Salle family will as well.

May God bless, James Caan.