The Kid from Left Field (1979 film)

Last updated
The Kid from Left Field
The Kid from Left Field 1979 VHS cover.png
Cover of VHS release of movie
GenreComedy
Family
Sport
Written by Katharyn Powers
Jack Sher
Directed byAdell Aldrich
Starring Gary Coleman
Robert Guillaume
Gary Collins
Ed McMahon
Music by David Michael Frank
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
Production
Executive producerDeena Silver-Kramer
ProducerDavid Vreeland
CinematographyFrank Thackery
EditorsRobert Hernandez
Peter Kirby
Running time100 minutes
Production companies Gary Coleman Productions
Zephyr Productions
Original release
Network NBC
ReleaseSeptember 30, 1979 (1979-09-30)

The Kid from Left Field is a 1979 American made-for-television baseball comedy film starring Gary Coleman and Robert Guillaume. Coleman's first film, it is a remake of the 1953 film of the same name.

Contents

Plot

Jackie Robinson "J.R." Cooper is a kid who loves baseball, and also the son of a former major leaguer now down on his luck (and now a vendor working the stands at games). J.R. parlays his baseball knowledge into becoming manager of the San Diego Padres and leading them to the World Series. [1]

Cast

Production

Filming took place at San Diego Stadium. [2]

Production

The television film was made by NBC to enhance Coleman's name recognition and boost his commercial value [3]

Vince Edwards had originally been picked to direct, but quit after two days because he didn't want to work with children. [3]

Director Adell Aldrich said "I was a mother, and that's part of the reason they hired me. Gary was brilliant. Just a natural actor who could memorize his lines after one reading. But his people -- his parents and his representatives -- didn't care how long the kid worked or what he was doing. So it was my job to direct, but also to make sure he was OK. I hugged him every day and let him know I was there for him." [3]

On the project se commented "we weren't trying to win awards, but we did want to make something people would enjoy." [3]

Release

NBC held a special preview of the film after a San Diego Padres game on September 21, 1979. [4] Oddly enough, the day after the film first aired on television, the Padres hired their announcer Jerry Coleman (who also appeared in the film as the team's announcer) as their new manager. [5] This led to some jokes that the team had meant to hire Gary Coleman. [6] [7]

The television movie first aired on Sunday, September 30, 1979. [8]

Reception

Ratings

It was the 15th highest-rated prime time show of the week, with a Nielsen rating of 21.4. [9]

Critical reception

Kevin Thomas of the Los Angeles Times liked it, while finding it highly sentimental, he praised the actors and said that Guillaume and Coleman gave winning performances. He also praised director Aldrich as capable of making good films regardless of style and showed range from her previous output which was a darker film, while this one was positive and up lifting. [10]

Tom Shales of The Washington Post did not like it and wrote "Instead of constructing a vehicle designed to display the amazing talents of this youngster while he's at his winning, naturalistic peak, everyone involved elected to make do with a slovenly and underwritten bore." [11]

Accolades

At a dinner ceremony, Sunday evening, December 7, 1980, Gary Coleman, on behalf of the film, accepted the Image Award for "Best Children's Special or Episode in a Series," at the 13th NAACP Image Awards at the Hollywood Palladium. [12]

Home media

The film was released on VHS by Vestron Video in 1984.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gary Coleman</span> American actor (1968–2010)

Gary Wayne Coleman was an American actor, known as a high-profile child star of the late 1970s and 1980s. Born in Zion, Illinois, Coleman grew up with his adopted parents, and a kidney disease; due to the corticosteroids and other medications used to treat it, his growth was limited to 4 ft 8 in (142 cm). In the mid-1970s, he appeared in commercials and acted in an episode of Medical Center. He caught the attention of a producer after acting in a pilot for a revival of The Little Rascals (1977), who decided to cast him as Arnold Jackson in the sitcom Diff'rent Strokes (1978–1986). The show became successful and launched Coleman into stardom. For playing the role of Arnold, he received several accolades, which include two Young Artist Awards; in 1980 for Outstanding Contribution to Youth Through Entertainment and in 1982 for Best Young Actor in a Comedy Series; and three People's Choice Awards; a consecutive three wins for Favorite Young TV Performer from 1980 to 1983; as well as nominations for two TV Land Awards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">San Diego Padres</span> Major League Baseball franchise in San Diego, California

The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West Division. The team plays its home games at Petco Park. The Padres were founded as an expansion franchise in 1969. The team's name, Spanish for "fathers", refers to the Spanish Franciscan friars who founded San Diego in 1769. The Padres are owned by the estate of Peter Seidler, who owned the team from 2012 until his death in 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jackie Cooper</span> American actor and director (1922–2011)

John Cooper Jr. was an American actor and director. Known as Jackie Cooper, he began his career performing in film as a child, and successfully transitioned to adult roles and directing in both film and television. At age nine, he became the only child and youngest person nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor, for the 1931 film Skippy. He was a featured member of the Our Gang ensemble in 1929–1931, starred in the television series The People's Choice (1955–1958) and Hennesey (1959–1962), and played journalist Perry White in the 1978–1987 Superman films.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">San Diego Chicken</span> Sports mascot

The San Diego Chicken is a sports mascot played by Ted Giannoulas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vin Scully</span> American sportscaster (1927–2022)

Vincent Edward Scully was an American sportscaster, best known for his broadcast work in Major League Baseball. Scully was the play-by-play announcer for the Brooklyn / Los Angeles Dodgers for sixty-seven years, beginning in 1950 and ending in 2016. He is considered by many to be the greatest sports broadcaster of all time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dick Enberg</span> American sportscaster (1935–2017)

Richard Alan Enberg was an American sportscaster. Over the course of an approximately 60-year career, he provided play-by-play of various sports for several radio and television networks, including NBC (1975–1999), CBS (2000–2014), and ESPN (2004–2011), as well as for individual teams, such as UCLA Bruins basketball, Los Angeles Rams football, and California Angels and San Diego Padres baseball.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Matt Vasgersian</span> American sportscaster

Matt Vasgersian is an American sportscaster and television host. Vasgersian is a play-by-play announcer for the Los Angeles Angels, as well as a studio host for MLB Network and FOX Sports. In the past, he has served as an announcer for Fox Sports' National Football League and Major League Baseball coverage, ESPN's coverage of Major League Baseball, NBC Sports' coverage of the Olympic Games, and NBC Sports' coverage of the original XFL. He formerly called play-by-play for the Milwaukee Brewers and the San Diego Padres.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Don Orsillo</span> American sportscaster (born 1968)

Don Orsillo is an American sportscaster who is the play-by-play announcer for the San Diego Padres as well as for MLB on TBS. Orsillo was the television voice of the Boston Red Sox on NESN from 2001 to 2015. He was then hired by the Padres to replace broadcaster Dick Enberg upon his retirement at the end of the 2016 season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jerry Coleman</span> American MLB player, broadcaster, and manager (1924–2014)

Gerald Francis Coleman was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) second baseman for the New York Yankees and manager of the San Diego Padres for one year. Coleman was named the rookie of the year in 1949 by Associated Press, and was an All-Star in 1950 and later that year was named the World Series Most Valuable Player. Yankees teams on which he was a player appeared in six World Series during his career, winning four times. Coleman served as a Marine Corps pilot in World War II and the Korean War, flying combat missions with the VMSB-341 Torrid Turtles (WWII) and VMA-323 Death Rattlers (Korea) in both wars. He later became a broadcaster, and he was honored in 2005 by the National Baseball Hall of Fame with the Ford C. Frick Award for his broadcasting contributions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tom Werner</span> American television producer and businessman (born 1950)

Thomas Charles Werner is an American television producer and businessman. Through his investment in Fenway Sports Group, he is currently chairman of both Liverpool Football Club and Boston Red Sox.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Josh Lewin</span> American sportscaster

Josh Lewin is an American sportscaster who works as a play-by-play announcer for the UCLA Bruins football and basketball teams.

The Kid with the Broken Halo is a 1982 American made-for-television fantasy-comedy film starring Gary Coleman, Robert Guillaume, June Allyson, Mason Adams and Ray Walston about a wise-cracking "angel-in-training" (Coleman) who needs constant help from his frustrated heavenly teacher. It was directed by Leslie H. Martinson, written by George Kirgo and was originally broadcast April 5, 1982 on NBC.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1984 Chicago Cubs season</span> Major League Baseball club season

The 1984 Chicago Cubs season was the 113th season of the Chicago Cubs franchise, the 109th in the National League and the 69th at Wrigley Field. The Cubs finished with a record of 96 wins and 65 losses in first place of the National League East. Chicago was managed by Jim Frey and the general manager was Dallas Green. The Cubs' postseason appearance in this season was their first since 1945. The Cubs pitching staff included 1984 Cy Young Award winner Rick Sutcliffe, and the lineup included 1984 Baseball Most Valuable Player Award winner second baseman Ryne Sandberg. Frey was awarded Manager of the Year for the National League for leading the Cubs to 96 victories. The Cubs were defeated in the 1984 National League Championship Series by the San Diego Padres three games to two.

The following is a list of announcers who called Major League Baseball telecasts for the joint venture between Major League Baseball, ABC and NBC called The Baseball Network. Announcers who represented each of the teams playing in the respective games were typically paired with each other on regular season Baseball Night in America telecasts. ABC used Al Michaels, Jim Palmer, Tim McCarver and Lesley Visser as the lead broadcasting team. Meanwhile, NBC used Bob Costas, Joe Morgan, Bob Uecker and Jim Gray as their lead broadcasting team.

The Kid from Left Field is a 1953 baseball comedy film starring Dan Dailey, Anne Bancroft, Lloyd Bridges, and Billy Chapin. The film marked the reunion of Dailey and director Harmon Jones who had teamed up at 20th Century Fox a year earlier in another baseball film, the biographical The Pride of St. Louis.

The 1st Youth in Film Awards ceremony, presented by the Youth in Film Association, honored outstanding youth performers in the fields of film, television and music for the 1978–1979 season, and took place in October 1979 at the Sheraton Universal Hotel in Universal City, California.

<i>An American Journey</i> 2008 autobiography by Jerry Coleman and Richard Goldstein

An American Journey: My Life on the Field, In the Air, and On the Air is a 2008 autobiography written by Jerry Coleman and Richard Goldstein. Coleman is a recipient of the Ford C. Frick Award at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and is a member of the United States Marine Corps Sports Hall of Fame located at Marine Corps Base Quantico, in Quantico, Virginia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fernando Tatís Jr.</span> Dominican baseball player (born 1999)

Fernando Gabriel Tatís Medina Jr., nicknamed "El Niño" or "Bebo", is a Dominican professional baseball right fielder and shortstop for the San Diego Padres of Major League Baseball (MLB). He is the son of former MLB player Fernando Tatís Sr.

In 1960, ABC returned to baseball broadcasting with a series of late-afternoon Saturday games. Jack Buck and Carl Erskine were the lead announcing crew for this series, which lasted one season. ABC typically did three games a week. Two of the games were always from the Eastern or Central Time Zone. The late games were usually San Francisco Giants or Los Angeles Dodgers' home games. However, the Milwaukee Braves used to start many of their Saturday home games late in the afternoon. So if the Giants and Dodgers were both the road at the same time, ABC still would be able to show a late game.

On June 23, 1984, the Chicago Cubs took on the St. Louis Cardinals in a Major League Baseball contest that saw Willie McGee hit for the cycle, but Ryne Sandberg hit two home runs—in the ninth and tenth innings—to propel the Cubs to a 12–11 victory. The Cubs overcame deficits of 7–1, 9–3, and 11–9 as Sandberg hit a pair of game-tying home runs in late-inning action, both off ex-Cubs ace Bruce Sutter. NBC play-by-play announcer Bob Costas, who called the game with Tony Kubek, is remembered for saying "Do you believe it?!" when Sandberg hit the second home run. The game is known as The Sandberg Game.

References

  1. (1 October 1979). Picks and Pans Review: The Kid from Left Field, People
  2. (1983-12-01). Spotlight on filming in SD County. Daily Times-Advocate , 52, 56-57.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Pearlman, Jeff (11 June 2010). Remembering Gary Coleman as The Kid From Left Field, Sports Illustrated
  4. (20 September 1979). Crowd at Ball Game to See Preview of a TV Movie, The New York Times
  5. (2 October 1979). Jerry Coleman to Manage Padres, Lewiston Sun (Associated Press)
  6. Kenney, Kirk & Randy Jones. 100 Things Padres Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die, p. 295 (2016)
  7. Strasberg, Andy. San Diego Baseball Fantography, p. 48 (2014)
  8. Erickson, Hal. The Baseball Filmography, 1915 through 2001, 2d ed., pp. 257-59 (2010)
  9. Brown, Les. (3 October 1979). NBC a Close 2d to ABC in TV Ratings, The New York Times
  10. Thomas, Kevin (September 28, 1979). "'Kid from left field' win in 9th". The Los Angeles Times. pp. Part IV: 34.
  11. Shales, Tom (29 September 1979). James Earl Jones, Sizzling in 'Paris', The Washington Post
  12. "13th Image Awards Named," Los Angeles Times, December 9, 1980 (photo of Gary Coleman accepting award from presenters Danielle Spencer & Kim Fields)
    (accessible via Newspapers.com , part 6, p. 1 & Newspapers.com , part 6, p. 2; subscription required)