Art LaFleur, the veteran character actor best known for playing Babe Ruth in The Sandlot, has died at the age of 78.
According to TMZ, LaFleur passed away on Wednesday (November 17th) following a 10-year battle with Parkinson’s disease.
In The Sandlot, after the boys lose an autographed Babe Ruth baseball over a fence and into the yard of the Beast, LaFleur’s character appears in the dreams of Benny and encourages him to use his speed to retrieve the ball. “Remember, kid. There’s heroes and there’s legends. Heroes get remembered, but legends never die. Follow your heart, kid, and you’ll never go wrong,” LaFleur’s Babe Roth famously tells him.
Aside from The Sandlot, LaFleur’s filmography included roles in Field of Dreams (as Black Sox player Chick Gandil), The Replacements (as Assistant Coach Banes), and Santa Clause 2 (as the Tooth Fairy). He also appeared in films like The Blob, First Kid, and Trancers, as well as television series M*A*S*H, Malcolm in the Middle, and The Bernie Mac Show.
