Art LaFleur, a character actor who often appeared as a cop, coach or tough guy and played Babe Ruth in \u201cThe Sandlot,\u201d has died after a battle with Parkinson\u2019s. He was 78.<\/p>\n
His wife Shelley confirmed his death\u00a0on Facebook, writing, \u201cThis guy\u2026 After a 10 year battle with A-typical Parkinson\u2019s, Art LaFleur, the love of my life passed away.\u201d<\/p>\n
LaFleur was also known for \u201cThe Santa Clause 2\u201d and \u201cThe Santa Clause 3,\u201d in which he played the Tooth Fairy, and as Chuck Gandil, the ghost White Sox first baseman in \u201cField of Dreams.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was a generous and selfless man which carried over to his acting but more importantly it was who he was for his family and friends. Every location or set we visited him on, the cast and crew would introduce themselves and tell Molly, Joe, and me how Art spoke of us with such pride and love. I was so very lucky to have had a 43 year relationship with a man who cherished me and who I adored. Art was larger than life and meant the world to us,\u201d Shelley LaFleur continued.<\/p>\n
Born in Gary, Ind., LaFleur started out as a salesman before moving to Los Angeles to pursue acting. He racked up over 100 credits in shows including \u201cCharlie\u2019s Angels,\u201d \u201cLou Grant,\u201d \u201cSoap,\u201d \u201cBenson,\u201d \u201cHill St. Blues\u201d and \u201cThe A-Team.\u201d<\/p>\n
Throughout the 1990s he continued to appear on television on shows including \u201cDoogie Howser, M.D.,\u201d \u201cMatlock\u201d and \u201cE.R.\u201d He had a recurring role on the late \u201990s series \u201cHyperion Bay\u201d as the town supervisor.<\/p>\n
His other film roles included Sgt. Rutledge in \u201cBeethoven\u2019s 4th,\u201d the coach in \u201cA Cinderella Story\u201d and \u201cA Snow Globe Christmas.\u201d One of his last appearances was in \u201cKey and Peele\u201d in 2015.<\/p>\n
Source:variety<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Art LaFleur, a character actor who often appeared as a cop, coach or tough guy and played Babe Ruth in \u201cThe Sandlot,\u201d has died after a battle with Parkinson\u2019s. He was 78. His wife Shelley confirmed his death\u00a0on Facebook, writing, \u201cThis guy\u2026 After a 10 year battle with A-typical Parkinson\u2019s, Art LaFleur, the love of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":14524,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7036],"tags":[8878,8879,8875,8876,8877],"class_list":["post-14525","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-field-of-dreams","tag-dies-at-78","tag-art-lafleur","tag-character-actor","tag-the-sandlot"],"yoast_head":"\n