Hanks gets back to his Oakland roots in his new ‘job’ for the A’s

Oscar-winning actor Tom Hanks on Friday night reprised the first role he ever performed in front of a large audience decades ago in Oakland. This means, of course, he’ll have to work for peanuts.

And hot dogs. As well as Cracker Jacks, cold beer, sodas, game programs and more.

That’s because the Oakland native was back at the Coliseum — if only virtually — in his original supporting role as a stadium vendor at A’s home games during the 1970s. Starting with Friday’s season opener against the Angels, Hanks’ voice will be heard hawking concession items as part of the piped-in background noise.

“Hot dogs here! Colossal hot dogs!” Hanks can be heard bellowing on a loop. “Not a ballgame without a hot dog! Who wants a hot dog?!”

As comforting as it may be to hear Hanks’ iconic voice pitching items, the sad truth is there’s no buying in baseball.

Local health and safety guidelines don’t allow fans to attend games during the coronavirus pandemic. No one understands the importance of those restrictions better than Hanks and his wife, actress Rita Wilson, both of whom tested positive for COVID-19 before recovering. Hanks said the virus gave him “bone-crushing fatigue,” but he was otherwise unscathed.

Now he’s happy to lend his voice to the A’s efforts to make the Coliseum seem as realistic as possible. They’re hoping the familiar vendor’s barking and “Let’s go Oakland” chants, combined with cardboard cutouts of fans, can help replicate the ballpark experience for those watching from home.

One possible hidden drawback for having a vendor as part of the Coliseum sounds is that it could trigger a painful flashback for Hanks.

“I was 14 years old and I went down to sell peanuts and soda, and thinking it would be kind of like from a TV show where everybody helps out the young kid trying to make a thing,” Hanks told Jimmy Kimmel last year. “First of all, I got robbed twice. Then I came across professional vendors who did not like the fact that kids were there.”

Hanks then recounted how he was once verbally accosted by an overreacting vendor who was in his late 50s, who nearly brought a 14-year-old Hanks to tears by accusing him of taking away a 50-cent sale of a big of peanuts.

What’s that saying, “Stupid is as stupid does”?

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE A’S The A’s created this composite image to promote how they are teaming up with famed actor Tom Hanks. Hanks, of Oakland, once was a vendor at the Oakland Coliseum, so they asked him to return to that role — even if it’s just his voice doing the work in an empty stadium.