The Sandlot cast now – head-butting cop, unrecognisable in new job and near-death crash

The Sandlot is one of those summer kid movies you’ll never tire of. Like The Goonies before it, the film follows a gang of madcap pals getting up to plenty of hi-jinx.

Set in 1962, the coming-of-age dramedy, released on this day (April 7) in 1993, follows fifth-grade student Scott Smalls, who moves to a new town with his stepdad.

He soon falls in with a group of keen baseball players, including young prodigy Benny Rodriguez, and plenty of japes ensue, including a classic scene involving mouth-to-mouth from a gorgeous young lifeguard at the pool.

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Since finding fame in the hit movie, many of its stars actually quit acting altogether – while others got in trouble with the police or almost died.

Here, the Daily Star takes a look at what the young Sandlot stars did next…

Tom Guiry – Scotty Smalls

Known for his starring role as Scotty Smalls in The Sandlot, Tom Guiry hasn’t managed to stay out of the spotlight since finding fame in the cult classic.

In 2013, the star was arrested after head-butting a police officer who deemed him too drunk to fly.

According to TMZ, the actor was at Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, Texas, when an employee of United Airlines said he was too drunk to board a plane.

An airport cop approached Guiry and offered him two options – the drunk tank or a public intoxication arrest.

Unhappy with both of these options, Guiry “allegedly became belligerent and verbally abusive”, eventually “threatening” the officer.

TMZ reported he “allegedly tried kicking the cop in the face then scored a head-butt”.

The star was arrested for a felony assault with a bail price of $5,000, which he later posted.

Despite his confrontation with cops, Tom has continued to act, appearing in everything from 2005 sequel The Sandlot 2 to various Law and Order spin-offs.

As of 2018, he held an overnight job at grocery chain Whole Foods.

Now 41, he married his wife Janelle in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, back in 2009.

Mike Vitar – Benny Rodriguez

Though Mike Vitar first found fame as baseball legend Benny Rodriguez in The Sandlot, he was also lauded for his performances in The Mighty Ducks franchise.

The actor starred in various projects as a child and teenager, before turning away from acting to pursue an entirely different career.

In 1996, the star began working for an ambulance company in California, before switching to become a firefighter several years later in 2002.

He still works for the Los Angeles Fire Department, inspired by his 1997 role in Chicago Hope.

But Vitar’s life hasn’t been without drama. In October 2015, the star attended a Halloween party thrown by one of his colleagues, when he came across a man suspected to be handing out drugs disguised as candy to unsuspecting children.

Vitar, now 44, and his fellow firefighters chased the man down and forced him to the ground before rendering him unconscious – beating him so badly they were forced to perform CPR.

The victim was the wrongly accused Samuel Chang, who had been visiting his grandmother and handing out candy there before heading around the neighbourhood.

Chang spent several weeks in hospital and Vitar, along with four other men, faced a felony assault charge – however, the actor was allowed to change his plea to no contest for a reduced charge of misdemeanour battery.

The charges meant he was suspended from his job for six months without pay.

Chang reportedly won a $7.4 million settlement payout.

Patrick Renna – ‘Ham’ Porter

Now in his 40s, Patrick Renna looks worlds away from his Sandlot persona ‘Ham’ Porter.

The actor still sports curly auburn hair but looks totally unrecognisable in his various Instagram posts alongside his wife and two sons – Flynn and Liam.

He hasn’t turned his back on fame, either, and went viral last year after dancing alongside none other than singing superstar Lizzo.

Renna and two pals performed an incredible choreography to her hit track About Damn Time on TikTok which racked up more than 10million views, before posing alongside the curvy goddess as she taught him the moves.

The star captioned his video: “After 1,000 tries… we threw that a** in a circle. Dreams really do come true.”

Marty York – Alan ‘Yeah-Yeah’ McClennan

Known for his roles in everything from Saved by the Bell to Hey Arnold!, Marty York was a prolific child actor in the 90s.

But a horrific incident in 1997 left him turning his back on Hollywood, seemingly for good.

The actor told NBCLX in 2021 that he was “affected mentally” by the things he saw as a kid, growing up in the acting industry.

He explained: “I’ve seen a lot of drug use, hung out with the wrong kids, kids that stole, kids that did X-rated things in front of me.

“It affected my outlook on the world, on right from wrong. I became kind of a bad kid.”

The star was at the height of his fame when he was involved in a car accident that nearly killed him.

York explained he had been driving straight from school to an audition, and was “extremely tired” and “nodding off” behind the wheel.

While travelling at 60mph, he confessed his eyes closed and when he opened them “I woke up in an emergency room with my leg in traction basically hanging from a metal pole”.

The young actor suffered a shattered left femur which left the bone looking like “a Tetris puzzle”.

“There was so much scar tissue in the back of my knee, I’ll never have full [flexibility],” he explained to the publication.

The star also underwent a partial hip replacement and suffered a broken ankle and extensive nerve damage to his right foot.

York’s life was struck by further tragedy when his younger sister Nadia died from a heroin overdose aged just 28.

He said: “You just can’t explain what it’s like to think about your brother or sister being there one moment joking with you and then the next minute, you’re putting your sister in the ground.”

After all that, he lost interest in acting – but, now 42, is planning a comeback.

Chauncey Leopardi – Michael ‘Squints’ Palledorous

Best known for his role in The Sandlot, Chauncey Leopardi has gone on to have an extensive acting career in everything from Gilmore Girls to Freaks and Geeks.

Most notably, the star made waves in a 2019 music video for Logic’s track Homicide featuring Eminem, in which Leopardi lip-synced Logic’s verses.

The actor married Stefani Sells back in 2000, but the pair separated just three years later and Stefani eventually filed for divorce in 2013.

The pair share one daughter together.

Leopardi, 41, went on to marry his second wife, real estate agent Ellona Vi, in the early 2010s, and welcomed sons Shia and Chance together.

Art LaFleur – The Babe

Sadly, not all of The Sandlot cast have survived to the film’s 40th anniversary.

Art LaFleur, best known for playing Babe Ruth in the iconic baseball film, sadly passed away in November 2021 after a long battle with illness.

The character actor battled Parkinson’s disease for a decade before his death.

He died peacefully at the age of 78, at home surrounded by his family, including wife Shelley.

A tribute to her husband on social media read: “He 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.

“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.”

Shane Obedzinksi – Tommy ‘Repeat’ Timmons

Known best for his roles in The Sandlot and My Girl, Shane Obedzinksi’s last major acting project came in 1993 when he starred in Hidden Fears.

Though he appeared in a short film in 2017, acting is no longer his main career path – and instead, Shane runs a pizza restaurant in Brandon, Florida.

The star co-owns New York Times Square Pizza along with Charlie Jonathan, and the pair have opened more than 30 different restaurants between the two of them.

Grant Gelt – Bertram Grover Weeks

Along with appearing in The Sandlot, actor Grant Gelts made his name in plenty of other classic projects including Tales from the Crypt and Boy Meets World.

He married wife Melissa Perez in 2014, and the pair announced a year later that they had purchased a house in Nashville, Tennessee together.

Melissa wrote on Instagram: “Grant and I are so happy to finally announce that we are the proud owners of this gorgeous home. It’s been a long and sometimes difficult road to finally get to this day but every single moment was worth it!!”

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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk