Jon Lovitz Looks Back: Grapes, Chickens, and the Madness Behind a Beloved League Scene

For more than three decades, A League of Their Own has remained one of the most cherished films in American cinema, equal parts comedy, heart, and history. At its centre is an unforgettable cast, and among them, Jon Lovitz shines as Ernie Capadino: the fast-talking, sharp-witted baseball scout who arrives at an Oregon dairy farm to find the next great players. Now, Lovitz is sharing the wonderfully absurd behind-the-scenes story of one of the movie’s most memorable moments and how grapes, eggshells, and a flock of chickens turned a long afternoon into pure movie magic.

A Scene That Stood Out

Released in 1992, the film tells the fictionalized story of the real-life All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, formed during World War II when men’s baseball was threatened by the draft. Lovitz plays Capadino, the scout dispatched to find talent in small-town America, and nowhere is his mission more delightfully chaotic than on that dairy farm, where he encounters Dottie Hinson (Geena Davis) and Kit Keller (Lori Petty).

The scene unfolds with Capadino surrounded, quite literally, by chickens. He protests in panic: “Get these wild animals off of me. Haven’t you people heard of a leash?” It’s a comedic highlight, but what viewers didn’t see was the elaborate preparation required to make it happen and the patience it demanded from everyone involved.

Grapes in the Cuffs and Eggshells on the Ground

Speaking on the October 20 episode of Inside of You with Michael Rosenbaum, Lovitz, now 69, recalled the day with perfect clarity. To get the birds to gather around him naturally, the crew turned to a simple but clever trick.

“To get them all around me, they put grapes in the cuffs of my pants,” he revealed. “And then they put eggshells on the ground because they go, ‘they like to peck eggshells.’”

It was late afternoon by the time filming began; the light was golden and beautiful, he remembered, but the situation was undeniably ridiculous. There he stood, a seasoned comedian and actor, in costume, in the middle of a field, with fruit tucked into his clothing and crushed shells at his feet, waiting for chickens to approach.

"Look What We Do for a Living"

He caught Lori Petty’s eye and couldn’t help but speak what they were both thinking: “Lori, look at these grapes and eggshells. Look what we do for a living. This is crazy.”

It is a sentiment every actor knows that feeling of being in the most absurd circumstances, yet calling it work. “It was beautiful, but it was so… this is work,” Lovitz reflected. “What job? Only acting. Some jobs have you standing in the middle of a field with grapes and chickens all around you.”

The memory hasn’t faded. “I remember it like it was yesterday,” he said, proof that the moments that feel the silliest at the time are often the ones that stick with us longest.

A Moment Frozen in Time

What makes the story even sweeter is that the film itself has endured so beautifully. Beyond Lovitz’s scene, A League of Their Own featured an extraordinary ensemble: Tom Hanks, Madonna, Rosie O’Donnell, and many more, all bringing warmth and spirit to a story about women stepping up when the world told them to step aside. It became a cultural touchstone, celebrated not just for its humour, but for its heart.

For Lovitz, that afternoon in Oregon was a perfect example of what makes acting so special and so delightfully strange. You never know what the day will bring: one moment you’re delivering sharp, snappy dialogue, and the next you’re covered in grapes, surrounded by birds, wondering exactly how you got there.

The Magic of a Movie Classic

Decades later, audiences still quote the lines, laugh at the chickens, and fall in love with the story all over again. And for Jon Lovitz, every time that scene plays, he doesn’t just see Ernie Capadino he sees himself, standing in the golden light, thinking this is crazy, and knowing he wouldn’t trade it for anything.