The Beachcombers is a Canadian comedy drama television series that ran on CBC Television from October 1, 1972, to December 12, 1990. With over 350 episodes, it is one of the longest-running dramatic series ever made for Canadian English-language television.
35-486: The Beachcombers followed the life of Nick Adonidas ( Bruno Gerussi ), a Greek Canadian log salvager in British Columbia who earned a living traveling the coastline northwest of Vancouver with his partner Jesse Jim ( Pat John ) aboard their logging tug Persephone tracking down logs that broke away from barges and logging booms . Their chief business competitor is Relic ( Robert Clothier ) (whose actual name
70-498: A Gemini Award nomination for Best Performance by a Lead Actor in a Continuing Dramatic Role in 1990 for the final season of The Beachcombers . He won the Geminis' Earle Grey Award posthumously for lifetime achievement in 1996. His children Rico and Tina accepted it on his behalf. Gerussi was married to Ida Edith Trento Gerussi. After she died in 1965, he left Stratford and raised their two children, then 13 and 10 years old, as
105-403: A film set for the series, used mainly for exterior shots and storage. The building only became a café after the series ended. After The Beachcombers was cancelled in 1991, the building sat vacant for a time with an uncertain future. Eventually, investors converted it into a functioning restaurant under the television-inspired name " Molly's Reach ". As of August 2023, the restaurant is closed and
140-508: A line of microwave ovens in the late-1970s/early-1980s. He appeared in commercials for a variety of food products. He was the host of the first Genie Awards broadcast in 1980. On 21 November 1995, Bruno Gerussi died of a heart attack in Vancouver at the home of his companion, Judge Nancy Morrison. The TV movie The New Beachcombers (2002), was dedicated in his memory. A new series was broadcast from 2002 to 2004. Gerussi received
175-478: A room to Nick as living quarters and office space for his salvage business. Molly had two grandchildren living with her, Hughie (Bob Park) and his younger sister Margaret played by Nancy Chapple in the first season then by Juliet Randall from the second season onward. Other characters included Nick's Indigenous business partner and friend Jesse Jim (Pat John), and RCMP Constable John Constable (played by Alberta -born Jackson Davies ). The series' pilot episode
210-618: A run for their money, didn’t we?” The show was an active window into Canada's multicultural heritage. Gerussi's character, Nick Adonidas was a Greek and one storyline in a later season chronicled Nick's return to his homeland, while Clothier's character, Relic, was of Welsh ancestry. Pat John , who played Jesse Jim, was a member of the shíshálh Nation . Other Indigenous cast members were Charlene Aleck as Jesse’s sister Sara, Marianne Jones as Jesse’s wife Laurel, and Chief Dan George as Chief Moses Charlie. A short lived spin-off television show called Constable Constable ran in 1985. The show
245-539: A single parent raising two children, Gerussi was less able to travel for work and so he joined CHIN radio as its morning man hosting Gerussi, Words and Music for four hours a day from 6 to 10 AM. After the show began in January 1967, the Toronto Daily Star' s Barbara Frum reported that the show had no listeners for the first two-and-a-half hours of its premiere. The show became popular, however, and in
280-563: A single parent. Both of Gerussi's children went on to work in film and television. His daughter, Tina Gerussi, is a casting director. His son, Rico Gerussi, is an assistant director as well as a lead guitarist/vocalist in R&;B band The Raging Butanes in Toronto . He died at the age of 67 of an apparent heart attack. Gibsons, British Columbia Gibsons is a coastal community of 4,758 in southwestern British Columbia , Canada on
315-547: A stand-in for Marblehead, Massachusetts ); and Needful Things (1993), starring Max von Sydow and Ed Harris . Gibsons, like the remainder of the Sunshine Coast, is inaccessible by road directly from the rest of the lower mainland, and is primarily accessed by a BC Ferries ferry from Horseshoe Bay in West Vancouver . The land currently known as Gibsons is part of the traditional and ancestral lands of
350-649: A stonemason, and his wife Teresina Lazzorotto. The two married in 1927 and moved to Medicine Hat . The family subsequently moved to Exshaw , where Enrico worked as a sectionman on the Canadian Pacific Railway . Bruno Gerussi grew up in Exshaw and later moved with his family to New Westminster , British Columbia . He attended the Banff School of Fine Arts on a scholarship. Bruno was just 22 when his father committed suicide by hanging himself in
385-492: A three-decade transition from a forestry- and fishing-based economy to a more diverse one with construction trades, business services, retail and tourism becoming prominent. Between 2016 and 2021, its population grew 3.3% compared with BC's overall growth rate of 7.6%. In 2021, the median resident age was 56.0 years, compared with the provincial median of 42.8 years. Gibsons is in a temperate coastal climate , with mild, rainy winters and warm, dry summers. The region's landscape
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#1732783405393420-461: Is Stafford T. Phillips), a somewhat unsavoury person who will occasionally go to great lengths to steal business (and logs) from Nick. The series also focused on a supporting cast of characters in Nick's hometown of Gibsons , often centering on a café, Molly's Reach , run by Molly (Rae Brown), a mother figure to virtually all the characters in the series (including Relic). In addition, Molly rented out
455-536: Is in a temperate rainforest . In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada , Gibsons had a population of 4,758 living in 2,282 of its 2,482 total private dwellings, a change of 3.3% from its 2016 population of 4,605. With a land area of 4.31 km (1.66 sq mi), it had a population density of 1,103.9/km (2,859.2/sq mi) in 2021. According to the 2021 census , religious groups in Gibsons included: In February 2005, Gibsons won
490-817: The CBC Television series The Beachcombers from 1972 to 1990. He also performed onstage at the Stratford Festival , worked in radio, and hosted Celebrity Cooks , a daily cooking/variety show, on CBC from 1975 to 1979 then on the Global Television Network from 1980 to 1987. Gerussi was born in Medicine Hat , Alberta , as the eldest son of Enrico Gerussi, a coal miner working in Lethbridge , who had trained in Italy as
525-739: The Pacific Coastal Rainforest , adjacent the Salish Sea and the Coast Mountains , and its position as gateway to the rest of the Sunshine Coast, Gibsons is a regional tourist destination . In 2009, the International Awards for Liveable Communities (LivCom) named Gibsons the most liveable community in the world with a population under 20,000. Gibsons is perhaps best known in Canada as the setting of
560-608: The Stratford Festival in its second season. During the next few years he went on to act in many stage productions in Canada and the United States, including performing the role of Feste in Twelfth Night , which he later reprised on CBC Television in 1964, and as Romeo opposite Julie Harris in the Stratford Festival's first production of Romeo and Juliet in 1960. His wife Ida died in 1965. As
595-620: The Sunshine Coast , where the southwest bank of Howe Sound meets the Strait of Georgia . During its early history as a European-descended settlement, the town was a local centre for forestry and commercial fishing . However, changing economics and resource availability have led Gibsons to increasingly become a bedroom community to workers in Greater Vancouver (especially remote or hybrid workers ). Due to its location in
630-588: The Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw , which also includes parts of Greater Vancouver and the Squamish River watershed. Sḵwx̱wú7mesh oral history tells that the region around Gibsons was the birthplace of the Squamish people after what is called The Great Flood . The European settlement town of Gibsons was established in 1886 by George Gibson and his sons. It was incorporated in 1929 as Gibson's Landing, and in 1947
665-778: The Berkeley Springs International Water Tasting contest, coming first in the world. In October 2009, the town was declared the "Most Liveable Community in the World" (under 20,000 population) at the international Livcom Awards. Endorsed by the United Nations Environment Programme , the LivCom competition focuses on best practices for local environmental management. In 2009 Gibsons won an Energy & Climate Action Award for Community Planning and Development from
700-522: The fall of 1967, CBC Radio gave him a national daily morning show, Gerussi! , which aired until 1971 and became the model for the network's This Country in the Morning and Morningside in the 1970s and 1980s. Gerussi's best-known role arrived in 1972, when he was signed to play Nick Adonidas in The Beachcombers , a comedy-adventure-drama created by Marc and Susan Strange and set on
735-771: The man in the second craft was impersonating Relic. He was stealing logs and hassling local residents until Relic saved the day at the end in a duel of jet boats. The series was syndicated around the world and was shown by ITV in the United Kingdom, SCTV in Indonesia and on PBS (as well as in syndication on commercial stations) in the United States. It has also been shown in Australia , New Zealand , Hong Kong , South Africa , Ireland , Greece , Italy , Kuwait , Seychelles , Malaysia , Brunei and Egypt . The West German television station ZDF also broadcast
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#1732783405393770-516: The popular and long-running CBC Television series The Beachcombers , which aired from 1972 to 1990. The storefront "Molly's Reach" (a former cafe now up for lease as of 2023), the restored tug Persephone , and a display about the series at the Sunshine Coast Museum and Archives are popular attractions. Other films that have used Gibsons as a location include Charlie St. Cloud (2010), starring Kim Basinger and Zac Efron (as
805-445: The property is available for lease. Persephone , the boat used by Nick Adonidas during filming, was a tug and work boat named John Henry built in 1965. The tug was chartered during series production from Harry Smith, who donated it to the town of Gibsons in 1991. The vessel sat outside at a town works department gravel pit where it deteriorated quite badly until it was restored by the Sunshine Coast Museum and Archives. Persephone
840-571: The series, and Jackson Davies, who starred in the series as Constable John Constable. In October 2022, it was announced that The Beachcombers would be remade as an animated series that was slated to air in Spring 2023 but is currently delayed. The series was filmed on location in Gibsons , British Columbia , and the surrounding area. The café featured in the show was built as a hardware store in 1934 and served various retail functions until rented as
875-508: The series, as Strandpiraten ("Beach Pirates"). The show was seen in reruns on Vision TV and the pre-news channel version of Sun TV in Canada as well as the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network (APTN) in Canada and ALN in the United States. Bruno Gerussi Bruno Santos Gerussi (7 May 1928 – 21 November 1995) was a Canadian stage and television actor, best known for the lead role in
910-474: The show's last season in production, 1987. The Celebrity Cooks episode featured the last public appearance of actor Bob Crane of Hogan's Heroes fame, who was murdered soon afterwards. The taping of Crane's episode was dramatized in the 2002 film Auto Focus , in which actor John Kapelos portrayed Gerussi. Gerussi's appearances in Celebrity Cooks led him to become commercial spokesperson for
945-479: The soundtracks of the series, including Cos Natola. The series' removed "The" from its title, becoming simply Beachcombers in 1988 (with the CBC announcing that the intent was to give the aging show a new look), coinciding with the replacement of the show's original theme music with a new composition. Subsequent funding cutbacks at the government-supported CBC, however, led to Beachcombers being cancelled even though it
980-483: The west coast of Canada. The Beachcombers ran for 387 episodes between 1972 and 1990 and remains Canada's longest-running weekly dramatic series. During part of his time with The Beachcombers , Gerussi hosted the CBC cooking program Celebrity Cooks in the late 1970s and most of the 1980s. The series filmed for 12 seasons, with a Monday-to-Friday time slot for most of those years and Gerussi hosted 478 episodes before
1015-864: The woods behind the provincial mental hospital at Essondale. Gerussi began acting in high school in New Westminster, British Columbia , when he played the lead in a school production of The Valiant . He won a scholarship to the Banff School of Fine Arts and, after graduating, joined the Seattle Reparatory Theatre. In 1949, he returned to Vancouver where he played Stanley Kowalski in Totem Theatre's production of A Streetcar Named Desire and co-starred with Lon Chaney, Jr. in Of Mice and Men . In 1954, Gerussi joined
1050-457: Was also produced. A documentary about the show called Welcome Back to Molly's Reach aired in 2002. On July 27–29, 2007, former cast and crew gathered in Gibsons, British Columbia , for the show's 35th anniversary. A best selling book, Bruno and The Beach: The Beachcombers at 40 celebrating its 40th anniversary was released in December 2012. It was co-written by Marc Strange, co-creator of
1085-700: Was based on Jackson Davies's Beachcombers character Constable John Constable. The series was filmed in Vancouver and starred Jackson Davies and Walter Learning . Jackson Davies, Pat John and Charlene Aleck were the only original cast members who had speaking parts in the show's follow up television movie The New Beachcombers , produced in 2002, a pilot for a revived series that ran for two years. Bob Park (Hugh) and Dion Luther (Pat) appeared in cameo roles. By this time, Gerussi, Clothier, and Brown all had died, so new characters were introduced played by (among others) Dave Thomas , Graham Greene , Cameron Bancroft , and Deanna Milligan . A sequel, A Beachcombers Christmas ,
The Beachcombers - Misplaced Pages Continue
1120-528: Was called "Jesse's Car" and was turned down by CBC for broadcast. The first episode to air was called "Partners" and described how Jesse and Nick formed their business ties. During the run of the series, storylines became more complex as the characters developed. Many episodes focused on Nick's Greek heritage. The series' musical score was composed and orchestrated by Canadian composer and producer Bobby Hales and later by Vancouver based composer, Claire Lawrence . Numerous Vancouver-area musical artists appeared on
1155-459: Was installed in a small park near Molly's Reach in 2007. There were two jet boats used by the character Relic. The one most fans remember was called Hi Baller II and was used from the second season until the end. The first craft, Hi Baller I , was used for just the first season. She was slightly smaller than her successor and had more square windows. She did reappear for an episode called "Jet Boat Gemini" in 1974. Both boats were seen together as
1190-611: Was renamed Gibsons at the residents' request. The town's two main sections are: Gibsons is the first town in British Columbia to accept styrofoam at its recycling facility, the Gibsons Recycling Depot. Its staff has travelled widely to promote styrofoam recycling; founder Buddy Boyd was invited to address an international Zero Waste conference in Florianopolis, Brazil. The Sunshine Coast has seen
1225-416: Was still popular in its homeland and syndicated around the world, though attempts to revamp the series by giving it more suspenseful storylines and making it more action oriented met with fan criticism. The final episode had Nick Adonidas accused of stealing logs during a time when rising expenses were causing many beachcombers to seek another occupation. The story ended with Nick saying to Relic, “We gave ‘em
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