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Art LaFleur (September 9, 1943 – November 17, 2021) was an American character actor and acting coach.
Art LaFleur | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | September 9, 1943 Gary, Indiana, U.S. |
| Died | November 17, 2021 (aged 78) North Hollywood, California, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1978–2017 |
| Children | 2 |
Life and career
editLaFleur was born in Gary, Indiana.[1] He played football in 1962 as a redshirt at the University of Kentucky under Coach Charlie Bradshaw as chronicled in a 2007 book, The Thin Thirty.[2] He was a sportscaster on ESPN and on CBS.
LaFleur has had many guest-starring roles on television series, including Angel and JAG.[3] In 1983, he was cast in the ABC sitcom pilot Another Ballgame alongside Alex Karras and Susan Clark. The series went through many development changes before its fall premiere, with Emmanuel Lewis being added to the show and LaFleur being dropped from the regular cast. Once the final change to the series title was made (to Webster), LaFleur was kept only as a guest star in the pilot.
In 1993, LaFleur played baseball player Babe Ruth in The Sandlot.[3] He had another notable role as the eccentric and obsessive character Red Sweeney (Silver Fox), in the 1995 family comedy film Man of the House. He also appeared in one episode of the television series M*A*S*H,[3] in season 9 ("Father’s Day”) as an MP, looking for the people responsible for a stolen side of beef. LaFleur played US Army soldier, Mittens in the 1985 science fiction film Zone Troopers.
In addition to playing Babe Ruth, LaFleur also appeared as baseball player Chick Gandil of 1919 Black Sox infamy, in Field of Dreams. In terms of military and national security film roles he appeared as the White House's security chief in Disney's First Kid (1996), as "McNulty" in both Trancers (1985), Trancers II (1991) and as 1st Sgt. Brandon T. Williams in In the Army Now (1994). He played pilot, Jack Neely in Air America (1990), appeared as Banes in The Replacements (2000) and in Beethoven's 4th (2001) as Sergeant Rutledge. He also played Red Sweeney in Disney’s “Man of the House” in 1995.
LaFleur played a coach for the New York Yankees in the 1992 film, Mr. Baseball. He also appeared in The Santa Clause 2 in 2002 and The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause in 2006, both times as the tooth fairy.[3] In 2005, he appeared in Hostage as a deputy sheriff of Bruce Willis. In 2009, he appeared in the Direct-to-DVD film Ace Ventura Jr: Pet Detective and in the Science-Fiction horror film The Rig.
He also appeared on House M.D. in 2005 as Warner Fitch, in the episode entitled "Sports Medicine." He also appeared on Home Improvement as Jimbo in season 1 episode 7 (Nothing More Than Feelings).
The Gary SouthShore RailCats, LaFleur's hometown professional baseball team recognized him with a special bobblehead and first pitch ceremony on July 20, 2019.[4]
LaFleur died from atypical Parkinson's disease on November 17, 2021, at the age of 78.[3][5]
Filmography
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | Rescue from Gilligan's Island | Ivan | TV movie |
| 1980 | The Hollywood Knights | Thomas | |
| Any Which Way You Can | Baggage Man #2 | ||
| M*A*S*H | M.P. | Season 9 Episode 4 "Father's Day" | |
| 1982 | Cannery Row | Doorman | |
| Lois Gibbs and the Love Canal | Homeowner | TV movie | |
| I Ought to Be in Pictures | Baseball Fan | ||
| In the Custody of Strangers | Clifford | TV movie | |
| Two of a Kind | Cook | TV movie | |
| Jekyll and Hyde... Together Again | Clock Repairman | ||
| 1983 | Sometimes I Wonder | Joe | TV movie |
| The Invisible Woman | Phil | TV movie | |
| Who Will Love My Children? | Krause | TV movie | |
| WarGames | Sergeant Ginzberg | ||
| Emergency Room | Colon | TV movie | |
| 1984 | Unfaithfully Yours | Desk Sergeant | |
| Sins of the Past | TV movie | ||
| Boys in Blue | Stanley Singleton | TV movie | |
| City Heat | 'Bruiser' | ||
| 1985 | Trancers | McNulty | |
| The Man with One Red Shoe | CIA Agent | ||
| Zone Troopers | Mittens | ||
| 1986 | The Fifth Missile | 'Animal' Meslinsky | TV movie |
| A Winner Never Quits | John Stewart | TV movie | |
| Cobra | Captain Sears | ||
| Say Yes | Ernest | ||
| Little Spies | Sergeant Westwood | TV movie | |
| Penalty Phase | Pete Pavlovich | TV movie | |
| 1987 | Rampage | Mel Sanderson | |
| The Three Kings | TV movie | ||
| Scarecrow and Mrs. King | Rodney Hobart | Season 4 Episode 18 "One Flew East" | |
| 1988 | The Wrong Guys | Woody Winslow | |
| The Blob | Pharmacist / Mr. Penny | ||
| 1989 | Field of Dreams | Chick Gandil | |
| 1990 | Keaton's Cop | Detective Ed Hayes | |
| Air America | Jack Neely | ||
| Death Warrant | Sergeant DeGraf | ||
| 1991 | Oscar | Officer Quinn | |
| Trancers II | Old McNulty | ||
| Acting Sheriff | Captain Van Patten | TV movie | |
| Home Improvement | Jim | Season 1 Episode 7 "Nothing More Than Feelings" | |
| 1992 | Live! From Death Row | Lockart | TV movie |
| Doogie Howser, M.D. | Shooting Range Instructor | Season 4 Episode 3 "Doogie Got a Gun" | |
| Mr. Baseball | Skip | ||
| Forever Young | Alice's Father | ||
| 1993 | Jack the Bear | Mr. Festinger | |
| The Sandlot | Babe Ruth | ||
| 1994 | Maverick | Poker Player | |
| In the Army Now | 1st Sergeant Brandon T. Williams | ||
| 1995 | Man of the House | "Red" Sweeney | |
| 1996 | First Kid | Secret Service Agent Morton | |
| 1997 | Running Time | Warden | |
| Hijacking Hollywood | Eddie | ||
| Lewis and Clark and George | Fred | ||
| 1998 | The Garbage Picking Field Goal Kicking Philadelphia Phenomenon | Gus Rogenheimer | TV movie |
| Best of the Best 4: Without Warning | 'Big Joolie' | Direct-to-video | |
| The Tony Danza Show | Mr. Paxton | Episode: "Vision Quest" | |
| 1999 | Last Chance | Jimmy | |
| Tycus | Shyler | Direct-to-video | |
| 2000 | The Replacements | Banes | |
| 2001 | Beethoven's 4th | Sergeant Rutledge | Direct-to-video |
| 2002 | The Santa Clause 2 | Tooth Fairy | |
| 2004 | A Cinderella Story | Football Coach | |
| Breaking the Fifth | Abraham Polinsky | ||
| 2005 | Malcolm in the Middle | Fred | 1 episode |
| Hostage | Officer Bill Jorgenson | ||
| McBride: Tune in for Murder | Armen | TV movie | |
| 2006 | The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause | Tooth Fairy | |
| 2007 | Shiloh Falls | Sheriff | |
| 2008 | Bad Guys | Shep | |
| Speed Racer | Fuji Announcer | ||
| 2009 | War Wolves | Leo | TV movie |
| Ace Ventura Jr: Pet Detective | Russell Hollander | Direct-to-video | |
| 2010 | Ilegales | Agent Wallace | |
| The Rig | Ken Fleming | ||
| Dahmer vs. Gacy | Dr. Hess | ||
| 2012 | Bring Me the Head of Lance Henriksen | Art | |
| Ben and Kate | Mr. Carlson | 1 episode | |
| 2012-2013 | Have You Met Miss Jones? | Lou 'Limo Lou' | 2 episodes |
| 2013 | House Hunting | Don Thomson | |
| A Snow Globe Christmas | Mr. Barns | TV movie | |
| 2015 | Key and Peele | Father | 1 episode |
| 2016 | The Last Treasure Hunt | Robert Sinclair | Voice role |
| 2017 | Dive | Dad | Final role |
References
edit- ^ ‘The Sandlot’ and ‘Field Of Dreams’ actor Art LaFleur has died
- ^ Smith, Mike (January 25, 2011). "Interview with Art LaFleur". Media Mikes. Retrieved November 19, 2021.
- ^ a b c d e Tapp, Tom (November 19, 2021). "Art LaFleur Dies: 'Sandlot,' 'Field of Dreams,' 'Santa Clause' Actor Was 78". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved November 19, 2021.
- ^ "RailCats Announce Double-Header Set for July 20 vs. The Dogs". 3 July 2019.
- ^ "Art LaFleur, Actor in 'The Sandlot' and 'Field of Dreams,' Dies at 78". The Hollywood Reporter. 20 November 2021.
External links
edit- Art LaFleur at IMDb