Art LaFleur ✝

LaFleur was born in Gary, Indiana. 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. He was a sportscaster on ESPN and on CBS. LaFleur has had many guest-starring roles on television series, including Angel and JAG. 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. 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, 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.