“What a beautiful way to go out.”
It’s been two weeks since the surf film god and Tom Selleck-lookalike Jack McCoy died at his home on NSW’s mid-North Coast on May 26.
Jack McCoy, who was seventy-six and suffering an unspecified lung disease, died two days after wrapping up a thirteen-city tour of his documentary Blue Horizon.
Each show included lengthy post-show question-and-answer sessions with Jack McCoy and the film’s star Dave Rastovich, McCoy delivering surf culture artefacts one after the other, a legacy of him being the creator of what would become folklore.
“Jack McCoy looked like a leaner meaner version of Tom Selleck, spoke well, amazing voice, and above all had unlimited confidence and ambition. Whatever Jack was doing, whatever the project, whatever he was focused on—he’d just tractor-beam you. He’d just pull you in. He was a force of nature. Jack stayed in the game longer than anybody, and literally and figuratively covered the most ground. And looked like Magnum PI while doing it,” wrote Matt Warshaw in a BeachGrit obituary.
His exit from this mortal coil was classic Jack McCoy, touring his best movie and putting his final touch on a culture he shaped in no small way.
Now, his family have released a profoundly moving video of his final public moments, on stage, in silhouette, glasses pushed onto the beak of his nose, watching the stirring final sequence in Blue Horizon.
The final show. The final sequence.
We didn’t know it at the time but the final act of one of the greatest showman to ever live
Dad loved nothing more than to watch his films on the big screen and share the stoke with the surfing tribe.
What a beautiful way to go out watching two of the best trading perfect waves in front of a packed house.
The applause at the end says it all.
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That photo with the silhouetted McCoy watching the fruits of his life on screen two days before he passed is extremely moving. Better than the Medina kick out pic.
I’m Happy for Jack. A life well lived.
Also, The Aussie gov plans to ban fishing (and other activities) in 30% of Aussie ocean space. Good for surfers’ health and bad for some surfers’ lives.
It’ll really be up to rogue fishermen to illegally keep shark populations from exploding. I’ve come to the conclusion that the general public, outside of affected communities, will never care about losing a few surfers or swimmers’ lives a year.
Also, fried shark can taste really nice. I don’t eat it anymore because around here shark populations are very stressed. But it was a popular dish growing up.
Sunset Dreaming!! 🌅