Mountain Life
  • Daily Content
    • Trips & Expeditions
    • Climbing
    • Mountain Biking
    • Mountain Lifer
    • Multiplicity
    • On The Trail
    • Paddling
    • Photography
    • Skiing
    • Snowboarding
    • Stay & Play
    • Surfing
    • The Great Outdoors
    • The ML Interview
    • Travel
  • GEAR
  • VIDEOS
  • STORE
  • Magazines
    • ML Coast Mountains
    • ML Rocky Mountains
    • Vie En Montagne
    • ML Blue Mountains
    • ML Annual
    • ML Subscriptions
  • ABOUT
    • What is ML?
    • Our Team
    • Newsletter
    • Adventure Grant
    • Distribution
  • Podcast
  • Contests
  • CONTACT
    • ML Agency
    • Advertising
    • Contribute
Subscription Form

Get notified of the best News

Social Links
Instagram 22K Followers
Facebook 25K Likes
Twitter 5K Followers
Pinterest 1K Followers
Vimeo 34 Followers
LinkedIn
22K Followers
25K Likes
5K Followers
1K Followers
Mountain Life
Mountain Life
  • Daily Content
    • Trips & Expeditions
    • Climbing
    • Mountain Biking
    • Mountain Lifer
    • Multiplicity
    • On The Trail
    • Paddling
    • Photography
    • Skiing
    • Snowboarding
    • Stay & Play
    • Surfing
    • The Great Outdoors
    • The ML Interview
    • Travel
  • GEAR
  • VIDEOS
  • STORE
  • Magazines
    • ML Coast Mountains
    • ML Rocky Mountains
    • Vie En Montagne
    • ML Blue Mountains
    • ML Annual
    • ML Subscriptions
  • ABOUT
    • What is ML?
    • Our Team
    • Newsletter
    • Adventure Grant
    • Distribution
  • Podcast
  • Contests
  • CONTACT
    • ML Agency
    • Advertising
    • Contribute
  • Mountain Lifer

Requiem for a Relic

  • May 16, 2022
  • Mountain Life Media
Total
24
Shares
24
0
0
0
0
0
Total
24
Shares
Share 24
Tweet 0
Pin it 0
Share 0
Share 0
Share 0

50 years after The Beachcombers first hit Canadian TV screens, Mountain Life celebrates a West Coast slacker icon. Words :: Grant Lawrence // illustration :: Ben Tour.

Before Schitt’s Creek, before Kim’s Convenience—even before Corner Gas, there was The Beachcombers. The Canadian TV show set in Gibsons, B.C. was an international smash hit, all about a group of salty blue-collar entrepreneurs whose lives revolved around their beat-up boats and a diner named Molly’s Reach.

This year, the show celebrates its 50th anniversary. It first aired on CBC Television on October 1, 1972 and ran weekly until 1990, making it the longest-running show in English Canadian TV history. And while plenty of The Beachcombers names and reference points have endured, the one moniker that is arguably the most synonymous with the show is… Relic.

The undisputed star of The Beachcombers was supposed to be Bruno Gerussi, who played protagonist Nick Adonidas, a proud Greek who ran a log salvage company with his First Nations buddy Jesse Jim, played by Pat John of the local Shíshálh Nation. But by the far the most beloved character was Relic who, played brilliantly by Robert Clothier, held a more antagonistic anti-hero role, and was once referred to as “Canada’s all-time most popular scoundrel” in the commemorative book Bruno and the Beach: The Beachcombers at 40. 

For this landmark anniversary of the show, we’re here to celebrate Relic’s underlying legacy in West Coast life, lore, and culture. The iconic wharf rat’s look was disheveled and unshaven, with unkempt hair sticking out from under his omnipresent well-worn toque. An unbuttoned mack jacket pulled over layers of colourless shirts. Canvas flood pants held up by suspenders revealed beat-up Converse-style sneakers. If you were to walk into any craft brewing tasting room along the coast today and look around, chances are you’d see many of the staff and half the patrons adorned in that slacker-barnacle-Relic-style clothing. Relic: the hipster template.

Jackson Davies, who played the bumbling and hilarious Constable Constable on The Beachcombers, notes that Relic always existed on a whole other level of classic cool. When I asked him why, Davies put together the following list:

“Relic could drive his ultracool jet boat at 100 kilometres an hour, with one hand on the wheel, and the other resting on the windshield while playing with a toothpick in his mouth, with his knee pushed down on the throttle.”

 “Relic was way ahead of the curve on the tiny housing craze, living in a one-room float house named the ‘Chuckchee’ down on the dock.” 

 “Relic’s actual character name was Stafford T. Phillips. The ‘T’ stood for Taffy.”

 “Relic’s woolen headwear was so famous that Roots sold a knockoff Beachcombers toque.”

 “Relic had omnipresent stubble long before Don Johnson. (Miami Vice ran for six years, The Beachcombers: 19).”

Relic’s last snarl came in the final episode of the series, entitled “Sunset,” in 1990. In 1996, Clothier suffered a stroke. He passed away in 1999 in North Vancouver at age 77. 

Clothier may be gone, but Relic and the show have lived on in popular culture, having been referenced by bands like Relic’s Jetboat, Molly’s Reach, and Bruno Gerussi’s Medallion, as well as gathering mentions on TV shows like The Simpsons and Corner Gas.


Related:

Friday Flick: A Tribute to the Sunshine Coast

This year, Bill Wouterloot, CBC Vancouver’s last remaining crew member from The Beachcombers, announced his retirement. When I asked Bill if he had any memories of Clothier’s Relic, he didn’t hesitate.

“Robert was the consummate professional. He always showed up on set knowing every one of Relic’s lines, and would accept any situation that they threw at Relic—no matter how disgusting.”

Clothier, also a decorated World War II pilot, had to be held back from doing many of the outrageous stunts involving his character, such as jumping the jet boat over a log boom or leaping into a mud pit, but in the episode where Relic does a swan dive fully clothed from the top of the Gibsons government wharf, yes, that’s really Clothier.

And while Relic was the ultimate duplicitous, miserly, grubby hermit, Wouterloot points out that Clothier was a gentleman. “What I always found so endearing,” continued Wouterloot, who did set design for the show, “was that if a small child came by, he would go out of his way to delight them with a story. That’s what I admired the most about Robert.”

So the next time you stop into Persephone Brewing in Gibsons, and the young, unshaven bartender in the toque and mack jacket serves up a cold glass of Coast Life Lager, be sure to raise a toast to the legacy of Robert Clothier’s Relic, icon of the coast. 

Grant Lawrence is a CBC personality and the author of the award-winning bestseller Adventures In Solitude, and the recently published follow-up Return To Solitude. Both books were directly influenced by The Beachcombers, Grant’s all-time favourite Canadian TV show. Check out Grant’s live storytelling at An Evening of Stories and Songs in the Mountains on Thursday, June 16 at the Maury Young Arts Centre in Whistler.

ML Coast Mountains: The Optimism Issue – Out Now
Total
24
Shares
Share 24
Tweet 0
Pin it 0
Share 0
Share 0
Share 0
Related Topics
  • COAST MOUNTAINS
  • Gibsons BC
  • The Beachcombers
Mountain Life Media

Previous Article
  • Videos

Friday Flick: Waterproofing 101

  • May 13, 2022
  • Sarah Bulford
View Post
Next Article
  • On The Trail
  • The Great Outdoors

Helly Hansen Presents: Adventure Planning 101 with Squamish SAR

  • May 16, 2022
  • Sarah Bulford
View Post
You May Also Like
Nic-Groulx-Sam-Dickie-on-the-Great-Divide-Trail crop
View Post
  • Mountain Lifer

The Legend of Sam Dickie & the Cougar

  • Mountain Life Media
  • June 23, 2022
Property-Valet-HQ-group-Kristin-Schnelten
View Post
  • Mountain Lifer
  • Ontario

Property Valet: Creating (and Managing) Beautiful Memories

  • Mountain Life Media
  • June 16, 2022
Rachel-Barkman-photographer-Marika-Sila-Inuk-Summer-cro
View Post
  • Ambassadors
  • Mountain Lifer
  • Rockies

Inuk Warrior Princess: Marika Sila

  • Mountain Life Media
  • June 14, 2022
Jessy-Braidwood-and-Neve-Petersen-Paradise-Valley-Squamish-REANNAN-SHAY
View Post
  • CLIMBING
  • Food & Drink
  • In This Issue
  • Mountain Biking
  • Mountain Lifer
  • Paddling
  • Photography
  • Trips & Expeditions

ML Coast Mountains Summer ’22 Issue Out Now

  • Mountain Life Media
  • June 8, 2022
Jamie-Mocrazy-portrait
View Post
  • Mountain Lifer
  • Skiing
  • The ML Interview

Jamie MoCrazy: Thriving after Traumatic Brain Injury

  • Mountain Life Media
  • May 17, 2022
View Post
  • Mountain Lifer
  • Paddling

For the Love of SUP

  • Sarah Bulford
  • May 10, 2022
Was-It-Worth-It-Kermode-bear-mcallister_PR
View Post
  • Mountain Lifer

Was It Worth It? A Wilderness Warrior’s Long Trail Home

  • Mountain Life Media
  • May 5, 2022
Helly-Hansen-search-and-rescue-helping-hand-OVERBECK_HH-SAR_4503
View Post
  • Mountain Lifer
  • The ML Interview
  • Videos

Friday Flick: What it Means to be a Search & Rescue Responder

  • Mountain Life Media
  • April 29, 2022
Featured Posts
  • VEM-Summer22-cover-and-spread 1
    Vie en montagne Summer/Fall 2022 Issue Out Now
    • June 30, 2022
  • ROLLRecovery-R1Percussion-MassageGun-MassageTool_1800x1800 2
    Gear Shed: Roll Recovery R1 Massage Device
    • June 22, 2022
  • Hiking-with-children-mountains-kid-and-parent-Todd-Lawson 3
    Hiking with Children: Suffering Builds Character
    • June 28, 2022
  • Diana-Lee-Sunrise-SUP 4
    What SUP: Hardboard or Inflatable?
    • June 27, 2022
  • Nic-Groulx-Sam-Dickie-on-the-Great-Divide-Trail crop 5
    The Legend of Sam Dickie & the Cougar
    • June 23, 2022
RECENT POSTS
  • Windy-Islands-Great-Lakes-SUP-Collage
    The SUP Destination We Can’t Share
    • July 5, 2022
  • Camp-Crewneck-sweater-white
    Gear Shed: Best Jackets + Tops for Summer
    • July 4, 2022
  • Mountain-Life-Blue-Mountains-Summer-2022-spreads-cover
    ML Blue Mountains Summer 2022 Issue Out Now
    • June 22, 2022
Social Links
Instagram 22K Followers
Facebook 25K Likes
Twitter 5K Followers
Pinterest 1K Followers
Vimeo 34 Followers
LinkedIn
INSTAGRAM
mountainlifemedia
22K Followers
From The Gear Shed: ML + partners have selected six noteworthy tops and jackets just for you! Check them out #linkinbio #gearshed #reviews #mountainlifer
Sunday night chill vibes 🥱 #mountainlifer
Yukon magic with @christieimages 😍✨#mountainlifer
👋 Hello July. May your day be filled with mist off the lake, a breeze in the mountains and a view to remember #mountainlifer
NEW MAG!!! This new issue of Vie en montagne puts the spotlight on duos, fellowships, groups of friends and tight-knit communities who can move mountains with their unified energy. Our contributors take you on journeys in words and pictures, such as an inclusive hike in the Eastern Townships, a look behind the scenes of a trail race on the Gaspé Peninsula or an exploration of the territory of the new generation of Inuit in Nunavik. Join us for this new human-powered sporting adventure because alone we may go faster, but together we go farther! –Frédérique Sauvée, Editor
Where will your adventurous soul take you this summer? 🏃#mountainlifer
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…
In the 10 years I’ve been paddleboarding, one of the most frequently asked questions I hear is, “Hardboard or inflatable: Which is better?” - @only1phoenixx
Morning rip with @jessemunden_ 🫡 #mountainlifer
Who’s having a multi-sport day?! 😆 @timemmett probably is.
Follow

Subscribe

Subscribe now to our newsletter

From The Gear Shed: ML + partners have selected six noteworthy tops and jackets just for you! Check them out #linkinbio #gearshed #reviews #mountainlifer
Sunday night chill vibes 🥱 #mountainlifer
Yukon magic with @christieimages 😍✨#mountainlifer
👋 Hello July. May your day be filled with mist off the lake, a breeze in the mountains and a view to remember #mountainlifer
NEW MAG!!! This new issue of Vie en montagne puts the spotlight on duos, fellowships, groups of friends and tight-knit communities who can move mountains with their unified energy. Our contributors take you on journeys in words and pictures, such as an inclusive hike in the Eastern Townships, a look behind the scenes of a trail race on the Gaspé Peninsula or an exploration of the territory of the new generation of Inuit in Nunavik. Join us for this new human-powered sporting adventure because alone we may go faster, but together we go farther! –Frédérique Sauvée, Editor
Where will your adventurous soul take you this summer? 🏃#mountainlifer
Mountain Life
  • Home
  • About
  • Contact
  • Subscribe
  • Advertising

Input your search keywords and press Enter.