Rae Brown

Rae Brown is probably best remembered for her portrayal of down-to-earth, warm-hearted Molly, the owner of Molly’s Reach Cafe in the long-running Beachcombers series which was shot on location in Gibsons, B.C.  Rae was a very private person and kept to herself a great deal, but she is lovingly remembered by cast and crew as constantly bringing treats to the set to brighten everyone’s day.  She was fond of crafts and enjoyed creating flowers, particularly roses, from dough which she then baked and painted, resulting in exquisite pieces of art.  Her association with CBUT-TV goes back much further than Beachcombers, however.  Back in 1956, in fact, with a role in the Pacific 13 drama series’ episode Johnny.  The following year, she loaned her voice to the children’s program, Peppermint Prince and also appeared in the drama production, A Gift of Love.  Over the next thirteen years, Rae was cast in many drama productions including Crown Versus Soren Quest in the Guilty Not Guilty series; Log, Light and Lobster in the Tidewater Tramp series; five episodes of Friday Island;Morton on the Sticks and One Man Crowd in Cariboo Country; three episodes of Studio Pacific; and Bell and Bonnie, Bonnie and Bell in The Manipulators.  Rae played in everything from musicals to comedy to tragedy and was a cast member in the very first play, The Hostage, ever staged at the Vancouver Playhouse.  Another career highlight was her role in the 1966 British feature film The Trap which was shot in B.C. and starred Rita Tushingham and Oliver Reed.  Rae was predeceased by her husband, Doug, and is survived by one son.  Rae died in December, 2000