Marc Strange obit

Marc Strange, creator of CBC hit The Beachcombers, dies of cancer

Marc Strange, writer and actor, best known as the co-creator of the long-running CBC smash-hit drama The Beachcombers, has died of cancer. He was 70 years old. 

He was not on the list.

Marc Strange, writer and actor, best known as the co-creator of the long-running CBC smash-hit drama The Beachcombers, has died of cancer. He was 70 years old.

Strange was born on July 24, 1941 in Vankleek Hill, Ont., near Ottawa.

As a boy he scored a part in a local radio program, igniting a lifelong love of acting and the arts.

Strange left high school early, working in the tobacco fields in southwestern Ontario in the summer and at a tire factory in the winter.

After his mother died, he left for Toronto, where he became known as a folk singer in the trendy Yorkville scene.

The mid-’60s brought a slate of television acting work that included Rumble of Silence, Masters of our House, and then 10 episodes of Hatch’s Mill.

He did a stint in Los Angeles with a television movie called Shadow on the Land alongside leading men Jackie Cooper, John Forsythe, and Gene Hackman.

When other offers failed to materialize, Strange returned to Toronto and into the lead role of a CBC show called The Manipulators.

In the early 1970s, word went out that CBC was looking for a half-hour family series that would go up against U.S. network hits such as Sonny and Cher and Wild Kingdom.

Strange and his writing partner and wife, Lynn Susan, answered the call with The Beachcombers.

The show followed the life of Nick Adonidas, played by Bruno Gerussi, a Greek-Canadian log salvager in British Columbia who made a living tracking down and reselling logs that had broken away from barges.

It would run from October 1972 to December 1990, becoming the longest-running dramatic series ever made for English CBC. Family was at the heart of the show, which featured spectacular scenery, and stunts and special effects that had never been seen before.

Its distinctive theme song is still instantly recognizable to fans, and the show has been syndicated around the world, shown in Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and Egypt.

“Who knew it would last 19 years and affect so many people? It’s still running somewhere,” said Karen Petersen, Strange’s partner for the last 12 years.

Actor Jackson Davies joined the cast in 1974 as RCMP Constable John Constable.

“When I read the script I realized that I had a chance to be funny instead of being the typical kind of serious cop,” Davies said. “It was like Christmas when one of those scripts came in the mail.”

Voice work on commercials and television roles followed for Strange, including stints on X-Men, Highlander: The Raven, Traders, and ReGenesis.

Then he embarked on a career as a mystery writer.

Sucker Punch was nominated for the Arthur Ellis Award in 2008 for best first mystery. Body Blows won the Edgar Allan Poe award for best original paperback.

His latest book, Woman Chased by Crows was published earlier this month.

“He could write like a maniac. He gave me four novels in less than two years,” said Peter Taylor, Strange’s literary agent and former head of Toronto Star Syndicate.

“I kidded him about it one time and he gave me a very stern look and said, ‘Hey it’s my job. I write from nine-to-five.’”

Davies remembers Strange as a “Renaissance man” who could write, sing, and paint with great ease and skill.

“Marc wrote the last episode of The Beachcombers, a show called ‘Sunset’ and did a great job. It’s very subtle, very clever. He gave Bruno the last line. It was, ‘We gave ‘em a run for their money, didn’t we?’” Davies said.

“He was like a lot of Canadian actors and writers that fly a bit below the radar. He did so much, he probably didn’t get the respect he deserved for his work. But that never bothered him. He had to work; he would work.”

In the days before his death, Strange was hard at work finishing a book about the 40th anniversary of The Beachcombers, to be published this October.

“It was deeply emotional to look back at a time in his life when he was well and life was full and he had a family and successful career,” Petersen said.

Strange died Saturday at Perram House, a palliative care facility in Toronto following a battle with esophageal cancer.

He is survived by his daughter Sarah and son Josh, his brother Bob and sister Beth.

A public memorial service will be held at a later date.

Filmography

Acting

Film

Year     Title            Role            Notes

1968    Isabel            Jason   

1986    The Morning Man            Det. John Mailer     

1987            Blindside          Hawk  

1987    The Big Town            Madigan         

1991    Run            Chief Travers

1993    Cold Sweat   Dr. Kellar  

1995    Tommy Boy      'Toy-Car' Executive 

1999    Ghosts of the Rain Forest            Narrator            Documentary

2002    Jane Goodall's Wild Chimpanzees            Narrator            Documentary

2008    One Week   Art Carey  

2010    Oliver Sherman            Raymond Saddler       

Television

Year     Title            Role            Notes

1963–1965            The Forest Rangers            1st Engineer / Hank / Charlie Snell     4 episodes

1965    Seaway            Thaddeus Rybak            Episode: "Border Incident"

1967    Hatch's Mill      Saul Hatch            Episode: "The Contest"

1967    Festival            Jamie Taylor            Episode: "The Paper People"

1968            Shadow on the Land            Maj. Shepherd McCloud            Television film

1969            Adventures in Rainbow Country            Wilbur Massey            Episode: "Roar of the Hornet"

1970–1971            The Manipulators            Rick Nicholson            9 episodes

1984    Kate Morris Vice President            Ross            Television film

1985    For the Record John Maclin            Episode: "Tools of the Devil"

1985, 1988            Night Heat     Dr. Gold / Nelson            2 episodes

1985            Shellgame        Mitchell            Television film

1985    Jimmy Valentine            O. Henry            Television film

1986    Act of Vengeance            Pete            Television film

1986            Adderly          Camillo            Episode: "Capture the Flag"

1987    Hoover vs. The Kennedys            Clyde Tolson  2 episodes

1987–1989            Street Legal    Denis Tourangeau / Edmund Purvis            2 episodes

1988            Betrayal of Silence            Brother Thomas            Television film

1989    Love and Hate            Ed Swayze            Television film

1990, 1992            E.N.G.            Mr. Logan / Detective Barnes  2 episodes

1992            Tropical Heat            Collingswood            Episode: "Party Girl"

1992            Teamster Boss: The Jackie Presser Story    Garrity            Television film

1992    Forever Knight            Inspector Fiori            Episode: "Dead Issue"

1992–1996            X-Men            Forge            20 episodes; voice

1993            Counterstrike            Balinger            Episode: "The Raw Truth"

1993            Shattered Trust: The Shari Karney Story    Philip Fowler            Television film

1993    Dieppe            Dwight D. Eisenhower            Television film

1996            Gridlock          Joe Gorsky            Television film

1996    Undue Influence            Judge            Television film

1998    Silver Surfer   Lord Glenn   4 episodes

1998            Highlander: The Raven            Ludwig Weiss            Episode: "Cloak and Daggar"

1998–1999            Traders            Leo Baker   5 episodes

1999    Mythic Warriors            Old Nomad            Episode: "Cadmus and Europa"

2003    Beat Cops            Lieutenant            Television film

2005    Slings & Arrows            Mr. Henderson            Episode: "Birnam Wood"

2005            Murdoch Mysteries            Judge Pedlow            Episode: "Under the Dragon's Tail"

2006–2007            ReGenesis       Toumas Sandstrom            8 episodes

2007    In God's Country            The Prophet            Television film

2008    Anne of Green Gables: A New Beginning            Mr. Harding            Television film

2010    Rookie Blue     Walter Froug            Episode: "Mercury Retrograde"

Video games

Year     Title            Role            Notes

1999    X-Men: Mutant Academy 2            Forge            Voice

Directing

Television

Year     Title            Notes

1971    The Manipulators            Episode: "The Flock"; also writer

1987    Street Legal            Episode: "A Little Knowledge"

1989–1990            The Beachcombers            5 episodes

Writing

Television

Year     Title            Notes

1972–1990            The Beachcombers            Creator and writer

1978    Leo and Me            Staff writer

1980            Huckleberry Finn and His Friends            Episode: "Huck Becomes the Victim"

1986    The Campbells            2 episodes

1986, 1988            Danger Bay      2 episodes

1987    Street Legal    3 episodes

1995            Frostfire            Television film

2002    The New Beachcombers            Television film

2004    A Beachcombers Christmas            Television film