In Real Life: This incident is modeled on the shooting of Phillies first baseman Eddie Waitkus, which took place in a Chicago hotel room very late on the night of June 14, 1949. Waitkus had gotten a note in his room from a "Ruth Ann," and he thought the note was from a girlfriend of that name.
Based upon the bizarre shooting incident and subsequent comeback of Philadelphia Phillies player Eddie Waitkus, the story of Roy Hobbs takes some poetic license and embellishes what was truly a strange, but memorable, account of a career lost too soon.
Did Robert Redford do his own hitting in The Natural?
I loved playing baseball and I loved the Boston Red Sox and Ted Williams and I wanted to go in that direction [as a ballplayer] if I could, but never could until this.” Johnson confirms that Redford did all of his own batting for the film, and made some solid hits.
The Natural focuses on the redemption of Roy Hobbs, who figures out that he has something to prove - and sets out to do it. And, as he rounds the bases amidst a shower of sparks in a scene that could only happen in a Hollywood-born field of dreams, he knows he has accomplished his goal and fulfilled his dream.
Roy Hobbs, fictional character, the ambitious and talented but flawed baseball player who is the protagonist of The Natural (1952), the first novel by American writer Bernard Malamud. The character was portrayed by Robert Redford in the 1984 film version of the novel.
He struck out Babe Ruth in 3 pitches and hit a baseball so far that it broke the stadium lights. He did this with a bat he made himself while bleeding from his abdomen from a bullet that was still lodged in there from when he was shot. It's Roy Hobbs.
Hobbs' homer is not humanly possible. According to the Home Run Distance Calculator, a hit at 13 degrees and 150 miles per hour would hit our rightmost light bank at its apex and would go on to land around 550 feet from home plate.
It is significant that after Roy decides not to pursue Iris, he suddenly develops a great craving for food. He is attempting to fulfill himself in a way that Memo and his own self-centered playing cannot; only Iris has the ability to provide the true fulfillment that would end his desire for both food and Memo.
How old was Robert Redford when he filmed The Natural?
Robert Redford was 46 during filming, but he played Roy Hobbs at 19 and 35. In Reel Life: When Roy makes it to the majors, he's 35 years old. In Real Life: Redford was 46 when the film was made, and even plays Roy as a 19-year-old in the movie.
Baseball star Hobbs' signature bat, Wonderboy, was carved from the wood of a tree that was struck by lightning at the same time his father (Robert Rich III) suffered a heart attack. This bat is matched to the scene where Roy entered the dugout and placed the bat in its case.
'That's enough': Robert Redford announces his retirement from acting. Robert Redford is calling it a career after nearly 60 years as one of his generation's most iconic actors. Redford, 81, announced to Entertainment Weekly on Monday that his upcoming film, "The Old Man & The Gun," will be his final acting job.
This is the tragic end of our hero. Roy's lost his honor and his self-respect. He can't look his fans in the face, and he surely can't go back to baseball. He finally realizes that it was his own mistakes that brought him to this point, but that realization is too little and way too late.
Why did Harriet shoot Roy Hobbs in the movie The Natural?
Roy was a big shot as a teenager, and he believed he had a promising future ahead of him. Harriet thought so, too, which is why she only shot Roy after he answered her question about whether being the “best there ever was,” was an accurate assessment. Roy doesn't hesitate, confirming he would be the best in baseball.
Why was Darren McGavin not credited in The Natural?
Two significant roles in "The Natural" are uncredited - Darren McGavin (as Gus Sands) due to a contract dispute; and director Barry Levinson (as the film's play-by-play announcer).
He hustles so hard that, in a freak accident, he bangs into the outfield wall while going after a pitch and gets seriously injured. He dies a few days later.
Roy only considers his decision in terms of which option would bring him more money, and therefore win him Memo (he thinks). Memo is Roy's one true blind spot. His desire for is so unbelievably single-minded that it can be considered Roy's tragic flaw.
Not knowing that Memo poisoned him, he nonetheless realizes she's playing against him. Injured and recovering from the poison, Roy struggles during the play-off game for the pennant. Iris, in the stands with her son, sends him a note telling him he's the father.
Roy Hobbs is perhaps unique among the Malamud heroes: he is left in tears, having learned his lessons too late. He decides to be a father to Iris's son, realizing that redemption is the work of a lifetime.
The woman is Iris Lemon and she and Roy meet after the game. They walk along the lakeshore, and eventually make love. But when Iris tells Roy that she is a grandmother, Roy rejects her, and returns to his longing for Memo.
What he has done is to contrive a sustained and elaborate allegory in which the "natural" player who operates with ease and the greatest skill, without having been taught is equated with the natural man who, left alone by, say, politicians and advertising agencies, might achieve his real fulfillment.
In 1987, Joey Meyer of the Triple-A Denver Zephyrs launched a moonshot into the second deck of Mile High Stadium. City of Denver engineer Jerry Tennyson was able to verify the distance of the home run at 582 feet.
Remarkably, Waitkus returned to play with the Phillies in 1950, where he was the leadoff hitter for the National League pennant winners. He went onto play through the 1955 season. Waitkus died in 1972 of esophageal cancer at age 53.
