Although I am a Star Wars fan, I'm not nearly as much anymore as my reputation among family and friends lends itself to be. I'm a big fan of the original trilogy, the prequels were so-so, the sequels better than the prequels, and I enjoyed The Mandolorian a lot. I haven't watched any of the Clone Wars cartoons, although I'm secretly hoping the 80's Droids and Ewoks series make their was to Disney +.
Anyway, I figured I should whip up something for today in celebration. Being primarily a baseball themed blog, I tried to do a tie-in somehow and discovered the great James Earl Jones officially has credits in 5 baseball themed movies!
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| 2015 Panini Americana #61 James Earl Jones |
The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars & Motor Kings (1976)
Not only does this underappreciated classic star Darth Vader, but Lando Calrissian as well. Throw in the comedy of Richard Pryor and you have one great baseball comedy!
Field Of Dreams (1989)
The baseball roll James Earl Jones is best known for. His speech on baseball marking the time will echo throughout history. One of the baseball tragedies of this Covid-19 pandemic is the loss of the first official MLB game to be played in the Field of Dreams location. I was looking forward to that, even though the Yankees were one of the teams.
The Sandlot (1993)
Another well-known baseball role for Jones, as the blind dog-owning former ballplayer Mr. Mertle.
The Sandlot 2 (2005)
I'll be honest, I didn't even know they made sequel.
The Benchwarmers (2006)
Ironically, James Earl Jones isn't "technically" in this movie. But he officially has a vocal credit as....Darth Vader! I'll admit, I liked this movie. It's one of those "turn off your brain" and laugh at the stupidity that an Adam Sandler production is known for.
Since I just did a post dedicated to James Earl Jones, I'll leave you with one of my all time favorite TV moments:
Great idea for a post!
ReplyDeleteA Star Wars actor of some importance did play Branch Rickey in 24. I can't find any examples of stars from the prequels/sequels/extras appearing in baseball movies.
Man... I haven't seen The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars since I was a kid. I've gotta track that movie down online and watch it. I had no idea James Earl Jones acted in so many baseball movies... although Field of Dreams and The Sandlot do stand out.
ReplyDeleteThe Clone Wars is an awesome series. It really ties together things between Episode 2 and 3. I know cartoons aren't for everyone... but I highly recommend it. If anything watch the last 4 episodes of Season 7 on Disney+.