Jimmy Piersall shouts for the mental hospital orderlies to remove his father from his room in the movie Fear Strikes Out. Piersall was a major league baseball player who suffered a nervous breakdown and was hospitalized.
Piersall wrote his biography, Fear Strikes Out, on which the film is based. Piersall displayed manic depressive behavior on the diamond, causing him to be ejected from games.
In the 1957 movie, Piersall’s overbearing and impossible to please father visits his son at the hospital. There, Jimmy tells his father that he is the cause of his problems, to the shock of the elder Piersall. Jimmy shouts to the hospital attendants, “Get that guy out of here!’”
It’s interesting and telling how Piersall used “that guy” for the name of his father. I myself use words other than father to refer to the man who provided half of my DNA. Those words, “that guy,” resound with me.
Although I have not read Piersall’s autobiography, I have watched my namesake, Anthony Perkins’ performance in Fear Strikes Out the movie. Naturally, I have connections with Perkins, and I also have connections with the story of Piersall. An overbearing and impossible to please father started it all for me.
Piersall’s autobiography gives more examples of his erratic behavior on the diamond than that is depicted in the movie. Here is a photo of an unprofessional outburst that resulted in his ejection from the game. As can be seen, Piersall autographed the photo.
Fear Strikes Out (1957) – IMDb
Fear Strikes Out: The Jim Piersall Story by Jim Piersall | Goodreads
Read more about me, my name, and my namesake, actor Anthony Perkins and his movies on this page.
My Name Anthony Perkins and the History
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