Marc Strange
Works by Marc Strange:
From ABC BookWorld, "Writer and actor Marc Strange was co-creator of The Beachcombers (with L.S. Strange), writing, directing and/or story-editing over seventy episodes between 1972 and 199. His co-authored book was shortlisted for the Roderick Haig-Brown Regional Prize to recognize the author(s) of the book that contributes most to the enjoyment and understanding of British Columbia, as well as the Bill Duthie Booksellers Choice Award."
From Toronto Star article by Madhavi Acharya-Tom Yew,
Sunday, May 20, 2012, "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.
Mizrahi pushed out of The One development at Yonge and Bloor — Skygrid to take over project
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. . .
Strange died Saturday at Perram House, a palliative care facility in Toronto following a battle with esophageal cancer."