By
Laylan Connelly , The Orange County Register
Posted:
02\/01\/17, 7:38 PM PST | Updated: 31 secs ago
Gregory Harrison already was an accomplished actor when he was cast for the film \u201cNorth Shore.\u201d
He was a celebrity often surrounded by Hollywood\u2019s elite. But it was the surf stars he was acting alongside on this movie, famous surfers such as Laird Hamilton and Gerry Lopez, who made him tongue-tied.
\u201cThey were my childhood heroes,\u201d said Harrison, who played the fatherly Zen character of Chandler in the cult classic. \u201cI don\u2019t ever get that in professional acting; I don\u2019t feel that way any more. But I\u2019m still a kid when it comes to surfers.\u201d
The 1987 film turns 30 this year, and Harrison will speak today at the International Surfing Museum in Huntington Beach as part of the new \u201cOn the Couch\u201d series, in which Peter \u201cPT\u201d Townend, professional surfing\u2019s first world champion, hosts a dialogue with well-known surfers.
Harrison grew up on Catalina Island, where his grandfather migrated to start a glass-bottom boat company. His father ran the boats, and he was in line to take over the family business.
In 1959, however, a tourist came to the island with board in arm to ride waves on the south side of the small island, where only about 2,000 people lived.
\u201cSomeone had seen him surfing, and word spread in a little town like that in minutes,\u201d Harrison said.
Some of the older men on the island got longboards, He was 9 when his dad took him and a few buddies to surf.
\u201cI remember the first wave I bellied in on a board,\u201d said Harrison, now 66. \u201cI was hooked.\u201d
At the same time, he was intrigued when film crews came to the island looking for a tropical setting. He quietly observed when the movie \u201cThe Glass Bottom Boat\u201d with Doris Day was filmed on his family boat in 1965. \u201cI was 15 years old and I realized what they were doing wasn\u2019t a magical process, it was something I could do.\u201d Harrison moved to the mainland and made a name for himself in television shows such as \u201cLogan\u2019s Run\u201d and \u201cCentennial,\u201d then the series \u201cTrapper John, M. D.\u201d Meanwhile, his passion remained strong for surfing, and he traveled to places such as Bali, Tahiti and Australia. He eventually bought a home just above the famous Rincon surf spot near Santa Barbara.
He was 37 when a friend brought him the script for the role of Chandler in \u201cNorth Shore.\u201d
\u201cIt seemed like a dream job. I was going to do what I loved to do already,\u201d he said. \u201cI had been surfing the North Shore for 20 years when I got cast in the movie. I was obviously right for it. It wasn\u2019t a challenging role… it was an aspect of myself that already exists.\u201d
In the film, a young, ambitious surfer named Rick Kane, winner of a wave pool contest in Arizona, heads to Hawaii to take on big waves on the North Shore. Along the way, he meets pro surfers including Mark Occhilupo and comes up against his nemesis, played by Laird Hamilton, in a surf contest.
Chandler is Kane\u2019s mentor, a soul surfer teaching him there\u2019s more to surfing than just competition.
\u201cI thought it captured the essence of what\u2019s magical about the North Shore,\u201d Harrison said. \u201cThe essence of the brotherhood of surfing and the majesty of it, the soulfulness of it is really captured in the film, which I take pride in. That it isn\u2019t just a competitive sport, it\u2019s a lifestyle and religion and it\u2019s a number of things to different people. As silly as the plot is, the movie captures that and that\u2019s why it continues to reverberate and have emotional weight.\u201d
When the movie came out, it flopped in the theaters.
\u201cIt didn\u2019t appeal to the mid-America audience,\u201d he said. \u201cI wasn\u2019t disappointed in the film. I was disappointed it didn\u2019t resonate with a wider audience.\u201d
But then, even to Harrison\u2019s surprise, it became a cult classic among surfers.
\u201cWhen we shot it, we had no idea it would become an iconic film, that groms would memorize every word,\u201d he said. \u201cWhat we didn\u2019t realize, the people who appreciated it loved it and revered it and became that cult audience, who loved it and still love it.\u201d
In real life, Harrison is similar to the role he played in \u201cNorth Shore.\u201d
\u201cTo me, surfing has never been a competitive act \u2014 it\u2019s a soulful, singular, focused, appreciative, natural moment,\u201d he said. \u201cIt isn\u2019t just about riding the wave, although that is a highlight. It\u2019s about the ceremony \u2014 the ceremony of getting up in the morning; the anticipation of getting in our car and trying to go where it\u2019s going to be best; changing into your wetsuit and waxing your board. It\u2019s a ceremony.\u201d He said there\u2019s no plans for a \u201cNorth Shore\u201d remake. About a decade ago, he and the film\u2019s producers and directors tried to get rights to the script, but Universal didn\u2019t want to release them, he said.
\u201cThey didn\u2019t want to do it themselves, because it wasn\u2019t successful by their standards, but they didn\u2019t want someone else to make it successful. It\u2019s pretty much standard Hollywood,\u201d he said.
Harrison is still acting, with recent parts in the series \u201cRizzoli & Isles,\u201d and he and his daughter Lily Anne are in a film called \u201cFair Haven\u201d coming out in March.
And he still surfs as much as possible.
\u201cIt centers me and makes me more balanced in life,\u201d he said. \u201cMore tolerant, less demanding, more satisfied, more mellow.\u201d
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Find out more:
What: Gregory Harrison will be at the International Surfing Museum in Huntington Beach for the first \u201cOn the Couch,\u201d a casual discussion with well-known surfers hosted by Peter \u201cPT\u201d Townend.
When: 7-9 p.m. today
Reach the author at lconnelly@scng.com
or follow Laylan on Twitter: @ocbeaches .<\/p>\n

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