The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg
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''The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg'' is a 1998
documentary film A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a historical record". Bill Nichols has characterized the documentary in te ...
written, directed, and produced by Aviva Kempner about
Hank Greenberg Henry Benjamin Greenberg (born Hyman Greenberg; January 1, 1911 – September 4, 1986), nicknamed "Hammerin' Hank", "Hankus Pankus", or "The Hebrew Hammer", was an American professional baseball player and team executive. He played in Major Leagu ...
, first baseman of the Detroit Tigers, who was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. A Jewish player who chose not to play on
Yom Kippur Yom Kippur (; he, יוֹם כִּפּוּר, , , ) is the holiest day in Judaism and Samaritanism. It occurs annually on the 10th of Tishrei, the first month of the Hebrew calendar. Primarily centered on atonement and repentance, the day' ...
in 1934 during a heated pennant race, Greenberg had to face a great deal of
antisemitism Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...
. In 1938 he nearly broke
Babe Ruth George Herman "Babe" Ruth Jr. (February 6, 1895 – August 16, 1948) was an American professional baseball player whose career in Major League Baseball (MLB) spanned 22 seasons, from 1914 through 1935. Nicknamed "the Bambino" and "the Su ...
's 60 home run record by hitting 58 home runs. Like many players of the era, Greenberg had his career interrupted by military service during World War II. Initially, Greenberg was classified as unfit for service due to flat feet. However, upon re-examination, he was cleared. Before Japan's
attack on Pearl Harbor The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service upon the United States against the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii ...
, the
United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...
had released men over age 28. After the attack, Greenberg immediately reenlisted in the
United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...
. In 1947, Greenberg, as a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates and playing his final season, was one of the few ballplayers to give a warm welcome to Brooklyn Dodgers' Jackie Robinson, the majors' first
black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ...
player in many years. Robinson later said, "Class tells. It sticks out all over Mr. Greenberg".


Production

Kempner states that the film took 13 years to make. "It was all about raising money for the rights to the archival and feature footage. That was so expensive that I had to stop and start about 20 times." After its theatrical run, ''The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg'' was acquired by
Cinemax Cinemax is an American pay television, cable, and satellite television network owned by the Home Box Office, Inc. subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. Developed as a companion "maxi-pay" service complementing the offerings shown on parent ...
for its ''Reel Life'' series.


Film credits


Produced by

*Aviva Kempner .... producer *Ari Daniel Pinchot ....
associate producer A film producer is a person who oversees film production. Either employed by a production company or working independently, producers plan and coordinate various aspects of film production, such as selecting the script, coordinating writing, di ...


Directed by

*Aviva Kempner


Written by

*Aviva Kempner


Cast overview

* Reeve Robert Brenner .... Himself – interviewee *
Hank Greenberg Henry Benjamin Greenberg (born Hyman Greenberg; January 1, 1911 – September 4, 1986), nicknamed "Hammerin' Hank", "Hankus Pankus", or "The Hebrew Hammer", was an American professional baseball player and team executive. He played in Major Leagu ...
.... Himself (archive footage) * Walter Matthau .... Himself – interviewee * Alan M. Dershowitz .... Himself – interviewee (as Alan Dershowitz) * Carl Levin .... Himself – interviewee (as Senator Carl Levin) *Stephen Greenberg .... Himself – interviewee *Joseph Greenberg .... Himself – interviewee (as Joe Greenberg) *Rabbi Max Ticktin .... Himself – interviewee *Bill Mead .... Himself – interviewee *
Lou Gehrig Henry Louis Gehrig (born Heinrich Ludwig Gehrig ; June 19, 1903June 2, 1941) was an American professional baseball first baseman who played 17 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees (1923–1939). Gehrig was renowned f ...
.... Himself (archive footage) *Basil 'Mickey' Briggs .... Himself – interviewee *Don Shapiro .... Himself – interviewee *Bert Gordon .... Himself – interviewee *
Joe Falls Joseph Francis Falls (May 2, 1928 – August 11, 2004) was an American journalist. He began his career in his native New York City. At the age of 17 in 1945, he took a job as a copyboy for the Associated Press. After an apprenticeship of eight year ...
.... Himself – interviewee *
Henry Ford Henry Ford (July 30, 1863 – April 7, 1947) was an American industrialist, business magnate, founder of the Ford Motor Company, and chief developer of the assembly line technique of mass production. By creating the first automobile that ...
.... Himself (archive footage) * Fr. Charles Coughlin .... Himself (archive footage) *Dr. George Barahal .... Himself – interviewee * Ira Berkow .... Himself – interviewee *Harold Allen .... Himself – interviewee *Robert Steinberg .... Himself – interviewee *
Charlie Gehringer Charles Leonard Gehringer (May 11, 1903 – January 21, 1993), nicknamed "the Mechanical Man", was an American professional baseball second baseman, coach, general manager, and team vice president, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for ...
.... Himself – interviewee (also archive footage) * Herman 'Flea' Clifton .... Himself – interviewee * Billy Rogell .... Himself – interviewee *
Birdie Tebbetts George Robert "Birdie" Tebbetts (November 10, 1912 – March 24, 1999) was an American professional baseball player, manager, scout and front office executive. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a catcher for the Detroit Tigers, ...
.... Himself – interviewee (as George 'Birdie' Tebbetts) *
Ernie Harwell William Earnest Harwell (January 25, 1918 – May 4, 2010) was an American sportscaster, known for his long career calling play-by-play of Major League Baseball games. For 55 seasons, 42 of them with the Detroit Tigers, Harwell called the actio ...
.... Himself – interviewee *
Elden Auker Elden LeRoy "Submarine" Auker (September 21, 1910 – August 4, 2006) was an American Major League Baseball pitcher with the Detroit Tigers, Boston Red Sox and St. Louis Browns between 1933 and 1942. Auker batted and threw right-handed. Auker ...
.... Himself – interviewee (as Eldon Auker) *
Dick Schaap Richard Jay Schaap (September 27, 1934 – December 21, 2001) was an American sportswriter, broadcaster, and author. Early life and education Born to a Jewish family in Brooklyn, and raised in Freeport, New York, on Long Island, Schaap began wri ...
.... Himself – interviewee *
Goose Goslin Leon Allen "Goose" Goslin (October 16, 1900 – May 15, 1971) was an American professional baseball left fielder. He played in Major League Baseball for the Washington Senators, St. Louis Browns, and Detroit Tigers, from until . Goslin ...
.... Himself (archive footage) *
Dizzy Dean Jay Hanna "Dizzy" Dean (January 16, 1910 – July 17, 1974), also known as Jerome Herman Dean (both the 1910 and 1920 Censuses show his name as "Jay"), was an American professional baseball pitcher. During his Major League Baseball (MLB) career ...
.... Himself (archive footage) *Harvey Frank .... Himself – interviewee *Marilyn Greenberg .... Herself – interviewee *Harriet Colman .... Herself – interviewee *Alva Greenberg .... Herself – interviewee * Mickey Cochrane .... Himself – interviewee *
Charlie Grimm Charles John Grimm (August 28, 1898 – November 15, 1983), nicknamed "Jolly Cholly", was an American professional baseball player and manager. He played in Major League Baseball as a first baseman, most notably for the Chicago Cubs; he was als ...
.... Himself – interviewee (archive footage) *
Michael Moriarty Michael Moriarty (born April 5, 1941) is an American-Canadian actor and jazz musician. He received an Emmy Award and Golden Globe Award for his first acting role on American television as a Nazi SS officer in the 1978 mini-series ''Holocaust'' ...
.... Himself – interviewee *Max Lapides .... Himself – interviewee *
Gabby Hartnett Charles Leo "Gabby" Hartnett (December 20, 1900 – December 20, 1972), nicknamed "Old Tomato Face", was an American professional baseball player and manager. He played almost his entire career in Major League Baseball as a catcher with the Chic ...
.... Himself (archive footage) * Joe Louis .... Himself (archive footage) *
Shirley Povich Shirley Lewis Povich (July 15, 1905 – June 4, 1998) was an American sports columnist and reporter for '' The Washington Post''. Biography Povich's parents were Jewish immigrants from Lithuania. Having grown up in coastal Bar Harbor, Main ...
.... Himself – interviewee *
Al Rosen Albert Leonard Rosen (February 29, 1924 – March 13, 2015), nicknamed "Flip" and "The Hebrew Hammer", was an American baseball third baseman and right-handed slugger for the Cleveland Indians of Major League Baseball for ten seasons in the 194 ...
.... Himself (archive footage) * Rip Collins .... Himself – interviewee *
Tommy Bridges Thomas Jefferson Davis Bridges (December 28, 1906 – April 19, 1968) was an American right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball who played his entire career with the Detroit Tigers from 1930 to 1946. During the 1930s, he used an outstanding cu ...
.... Himself (archive footage) *
Joe DiMaggio Joseph Paul DiMaggio (November 25, 1914 – March 8, 1999), nicknamed "Joltin' Joe", "The Yankee Clipper" and "Joe D.", was an American baseball center fielder who played his entire 13-year career in Major League Baseball for the New York Yank ...
.... Himself (archive footage) *
Jane Briggs Hart Jane "Janey" Briggs Hart ( Briggs; October 21, 1921 – June 5, 2015) was an American aviator and in the 1960s, became one of the Mercury 13 women who qualified physically in the same tests as those used for male astronauts. She earned her firs ...
.... Herself – interviewee *
Harry Eisenstat Harry Eisenstat (October 10, 1915 – March 21, 2003) was a Major League Baseball (MLB) player who played from 1935 to 1942. Early life Eisenstat was born in Brooklyn, New York, and was Jewish. He attended James Madison High School in Brooklyn, ...
.... Himself – interviewee * Bob Feller .... Himself – interviewee (also archive footage) *Hoot Robinson .... Himself – interviewee *
Rudy York Preston Rudolph York (August 17, 1913 – February 5, 1970) was an American professional baseball player, coach, scout, and manager. He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher and a first baseman between and , most notably as a member of the ...
.... Himself (archive footage) *
Hal Newhouser Harold Newhouser (May 20, 1921 – November 10, 1998), nicknamed "Prince Hal," was an American professional baseball player. In Major League Baseball (MLB), he pitched 17 seasons on the Detroit Tigers and Cleveland Indians, from 1939 through 19 ...
.... Himself – interviewee *
Barney McCosky William Barney McCosky (April 11, 1917 – September 6, 1996) was an outfielder in Major League Baseball. From 1939 through 1953, he played for the Detroit Tigers (1939–42, 1946), Philadelphia Athletics (1946–1948, 1950–1951), Cincinnati Re ...
.... Himself – interviewee *
Bobo Newsom Louis Norman "Bobo" Newsom (August 11, 1907 – December 7, 1962) was an American starting pitcher in Major League Baseball. Also known as "Buck", Newsom played for nine of the 16 then-existing big-league teams from 1929 through 1953 over all o ...
.... Himself (archive footage) (as 'Buck' Newsom) *
Paul Derringer Samuel Paul Derringer (October 17, 1906 – November 17, 1987) was an American right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for three National League teams from 1931 to 1945, primarily the Cincinnati Reds. He won 20 games for Cincin ...
.... Himself (archive footage) * Junior Thompson .... Himself (archive footage) * Bucky Walters .... Himself (archive footage) * Franklin Delano Roosevelt .... Himself (also radio broadcast) (archive footage) *
Del Baker Delmer David Baker (May 3, 1892 – September 11, 1973) was an American professional baseball player, coach, and manager. During his time as a player, he spent three years (1914–1916) in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a backup catcher for the ...
.... Himself – interviewee *
Arn Tellem Arn Herschel Tellem
.... Himself – interviewee *
Barney Ross Barney Ross (born Dov-Ber "Beryl" David Rosofsky; December 23, 1909 – January 17, 1967) was an American professional boxer. Ross became a world champion in three weight divisions and was a decorated veteran of World War II. Early life Dov- ...
.... Himself (archive footage) *Caral Gimbel .... Herself – interviewee *Glenn Greenberg .... Himself – interviewee *
Sander Levin Sander Martin Levin (born September 6, 1931) is an American politician who served in the United States House of Representatives from 1983 to 2019, representing (numbered as the from 1983 to 1993 and as the from 1993 to 2013). Levin, a member ...
.... Himself – interviewee (as Congressman Sander Levin) * Walter Briggs, Jr. .... Himself (archive footage) (as Walter 'Spike' Briggs, Jr.) * Walter Briggs, Sr. .... Himself (archive footage) * Happy Chandler .... Himself (archive footage) *
Bill Shuster William Franklin Shuster (; born January 10, 1961) is an American politician and lobbyist who served as the U.S. representative for from 2001 to 2019. He is a member of the Republican Party, and is a son of former Congressman Bud Shuster. In J ...
.... Himself (archive footage) *
Steve O'Neill Stephen Francis O'Neill (July 6, 1891 – January 26, 1962) was an American professional baseball player and manager. He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher, most notably with the Cleveland Indians. As a manager, he led the Detroit Tig ...
.... Himself (archive footage) * Paul Richards .... Himself (archive footage) *
Virgil Trucks Virgil Oliver "Fire" Trucks (April 26, 1917 – March 23, 2013) was an American Major League Baseball pitcher with the Detroit Tigers, St. Louis Browns, Chicago White Sox, Kansas City Athletics and New York Yankees between 1941 and 1958. He batte ...
.... Himself – interviewee *
George Kell George Clyde Kell (August 23, 1922 – March 24, 2009) was an American Major League Baseball third baseman who played 15 seasons for the Philadelphia Athletics (1943–1946), Detroit Tigers (1947–1952), Boston Red Sox (1952–1954), Chicago Whi ...
.... Himself – interviewee * Billy Herman .... Himself (archive footage) (as Billy Hermann) * Jackie Robinson .... Himself (archive footage) * Kenesaw M. Landis .... Himself (archive footage) (uncredited) *
Connie Mack Cornelius McGillicuddy (December 22, 1862 – February 8, 1956), better known as Connie Mack, was an American professional baseball catcher, manager, and team owner. The longest-serving manager in Major League Baseball history, he holds untoucha ...
.... Himself (archive footage) (uncredited) *
Maury Povich Maurice Richard Povich (born January 17, 1939) is an American retired television personality, best known for hosting the tabloid talk show '' Maury'' which aired from 1991 to 2022. Povich began his career as a radio reporter, initially at WWD ...
.... Himself – interviewee (uncredited) *
Babe Ruth George Herman "Babe" Ruth Jr. (February 6, 1895 – August 16, 1948) was an American professional baseball player whose career in Major League Baseball (MLB) spanned 22 seasons, from 1914 through 1935. Nicknamed "the Bambino" and "the Su ...
.... Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)


Awards

*2001 Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards – "Best Feature Documentary" *2001 Chicago Film Critics Association Awards – "Best Documentary" (tied with The ''Filth and the Fury (2000)'') *2001 Columbus International Film & Video Festival – "Silver Chris Award – Religion" *2001 Florida Film Critics Circle Awards – "Best Documentary" *1998 Hamptons International Film Festival – "Audience Award for Most Popular Documentary (Aviva Kempner) tied with Red, White & Yellow (1998)" *2001 Kansas City Film Critics Circle Awards – "Best Documentary" *2000 Las Vegas Film Critics Society Awards – "Sierra Award for Best Documentary" *2000 National Board of Review, USA – "Best Documentary" *2001 National Society of Film Critics Awards, USA – "Best Documentary" *2000 New York Film Critics Circle Awards – "Best Non-Fiction Film" *2001 Peabody Award *1999 Washington Jewish Film Festival – "Audience Award for Documentary (Aviva Kempner)"


Reception

On
Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
, the film has a "Certified Fresh" award with an aggregate score of 97% based on 63 positive and 2 negative critic reviews. The website’s consensus reads: "The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg is an affectionate, often very funny portrait of a baseball pioneer."


See also

*'' Jews and Baseball: An American Love Story'', 2010 documentary film *
List of baseball films This is a list of films about baseball, featuring notable films where baseball plays a central role in the development of the plot. See also * List of sports films * List of highest-grossing sports films References {{Sports films Baseball ...


Further reading


Books

*
The Baseball Talmud: The Definitive Position-by-Position Ranking of Baseball's Chosen Players
', Howard Megdal, Collins, 2009, *
The New Big Book of Jewish Baseball: An Illustrated Encyclopedia & Anecdotal History
', Peter S. Horvitz, Joachim Horvitz, Perseus Distribution Services, 2007,
''Jews and Baseball: Entering the American mainstream, 1871-1948''
Burton Alan Boxerman, Benita W. Boxerman, McFarland, 2006, *
The Big Book of Jewish Baseball: An Illustrated Encyclopedia & Anecdotal History
', Peter S. Horvitz, Joachim Horvitz, SP Books, 2001, *
The Jewish Baseball Hall of Fame: a Who's Who of Baseball Stars
', Erwin Lynn, Shapolsky Publishers, 1986, *
Jewish Baseball Stars
',
Harold Uriel Ribalow Harold may refer to: People * Harold (given name), including a list of persons and fictional characters with the name * Harold (surname), surname in the English language * András Arató, known in meme culture as "Hide the Pain Harold" Arts a ...
, Meir Z. Ribalow, Hippocrene Books, 1984,


Sources


Peabody Award
*
Amazon.com editorial review


References


External links


Official Website''Washington Journal'' interview with Aviva Kempner, June 30, 2000
{{DEFAULTSORT:Life and Times of Hank Greenberg, The 1998 films 1998 documentary films 1998 independent films 1990s sports films American baseball films American sports documentary films Detroit Tigers Documentary films about baseball Documentary films about sportspeople Films set in the 1930s Films set in the 1940s American independent films Documentary films about Jews and Judaism in the United States Jewish-American sports history Films directed by Aviva Kempner 1990s English-language films 1990s American films