Maury Ornest had several things in common with Freddie Freeman, the World Series hero of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Both were born to Canadian parents and both grew up in Southern California. Their parents prepared them to play baseball, throwing them balls and taking them to Dodger and Angels games.

Ornest was a major league draft prospect out of Beverly Hills High in 1977, but he decided to pursue a college education and came to UCSB. A switch-hitter, he compiled a .363 batting average for the Gauchos and was selected by the Milwaukee Brewers in the third round of the 1980 draft.

Injuries kept Ornest from making it out of the minor leagues, and then mental illness plunged him into a dark place, far from the bright lights of the stadium. But after his death in 2018 it was discovered that he had achieved a colorful legacy of his own. As productively as Freeman traces hits, Ornest’s brushstrokes filled hundreds of canvases.

Laura Ornest remembers the day in 1983 when her younger brother was confronted by strange visions clouding his mind. “It was a psychotic break from reality,” he said. Called schizoaffective disorder, it affected Maury for the rest of his life. “There was medication, therapy, good times and difficult times,” Laura said. “It became lonely. A therapist suggested painting to express himself.”

After her brother suffered a fatal heart attack, she said: “When we went to his house, we were overwhelmed and surprised by the number of paintings. We could hardly move around all the canvases. We also found magazines. “He left so many things, telling us his sadness, his torment and his joy.”

The paintings, many of them baseball-themed, portray a vivid imagination. “What caught our attention the most was the vitality, joy, love, humor, silliness and fantasy of the paintings,” Laura said. “He transferred his inner darkness into vivid colors that affirm life with passion and energy.”

Her brother’s production made Laura think about his dedication as a baseball player. “What inspired me about Maury was that he never gave up, despite his illness,” he said. “In baseball, even the best hitters miss two-thirds of the time. They know that tomorrow will be another day.”

Maury’s story is told in a documentary, Strangerwhich will be screened at the UCSB Intercollegiate Athletics Building on Sunday (Nov. 10). College graduate Laura Ornest will be on a panel that includes athletic director Kelly Barsky, psychology professor Dr. Steve Smith and art professor Jane Callister.

Dodgers Art by Maury Ornest | Photo: Courtesy

Barsky described the film as “incredibly raw and elegant at the same time. “It is an honor to highlight this gaucho’s story and use it as inspiration to eliminate the stigma around mental illness and support mental health.”

After Sunday’s screening and debate there will be an art sale, which Maury Ornest never had the means to organize. Invitations for the event have been completed, but inquiries can be directed to Leslie Gray at [email protected].