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The Saint's Blog devoted to news and rumors about The Saint and Leslie Charteris. Simon Templar, alias The Saint, was played by Roger Moore in the 1960's TV show featuring the Volvo 1800.
Please e-mail any current news and rumors about The Saint to: 
Saturday, December 11, 2010
Noted author of the continuing novels of The Saint, Burl Barer, reports: It's been non-stop SAINT the past few weeks as we work on the screenplay for the new two hour TV-Movie THE SAINT IN NEW ORLEANS. We keep revising, re-writing, answering network notes, etc. It keeps getting better, and there ARE some very funny lines and some hot-hot action! I thought we had nailed it good with the most recent version, and now we only have a couple very minor notes to address, which we will do tomorrow. So, if all goes well, the world will once again experience the joy, humor, and melodrama of Leslie Charteris' famous hero, THE SAINT.
What was I working on when I paused to write THE SAINT IN NEW ORLEANS? I was working on THE RETURN OF THE SAINT -- a new full length novel set in UK, Malibu, Central America, and (briefly) Finland! Mostly it is in the UK where Inspector Teal has been dragged out of retirement, and finds himself once again dealing with our endearingly dangerous desperado, Simon Templar. Hopefully you will see the new TV show, and the new novel in 2011. Labels: 2010, Burl Barer, TV
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for The Saint in New Orleans  
Friday, September 10, 2010
Capture The Saint by Burl Barer is quickly climbing the UK Kindle charts. Burl reports on Twitter that it is currently #26 on the Amazon UK charts for British Detective mystery books on the Kindle! Move him up!
An excerpt from Capture The Saint is available on www.saint.org, and it begins:Why are you still alive, Mr. Templar"
Simon Templar, alias the Saint, was only momentarily taken aback by the one unreherarsed question posed by perky television talk-show host Connie Cain during the live afternoon broadcast of Seattle, Washington's most popular local program.
"Mythological characters such as myself seldom age at the going rate," responded the Saint cheerfully. "And if survival is the topic," offered Simon, "I have been shot at, shackled, handcuffed, gassed, and interviewed by trained broadcast journalists -- the relative degree of danger inherent in each being open to debate."
The small studio audience laughed warmly and applauded with approval as the mildly bemused and professionally coiffed hostess signaled for a commercial break.
"You are very good at this, Mr. Templar. Do you do a lot of television?" Her question seemed curiously genuine in contrast to the alternately sanguin and sacharine couching of her on-air delivery.
"I find precious little on television worth watching," stated Simon with disarming honesty. "But this is more fun than being either shackled or gassed, although I was once grilled for information under lights almost as intense as these."
"Did you talk?"
You can read more on your Kindle by buying Burl Barer's Capture The Saint, UK Kindle edition from Amazon UK, or if you're in the United States, you can have Capture The Saint for $2.99 for the US version of the Amazon Kindle.
If you don't already own an Amazon Kindle, they just announced a newly lower-price model:
You can also read Kindle books on your PC for free, by installing the free Amazon Kindle for your PC software.Labels: 2010, Amazon.com, Burl Barer
3 comments
for Capture The Saint climbing the Kindle Charts on Amazon UK
Friday, April 16, 2010
Burl Barer, the Edgar-Award-Winning author is currently writing RETURN OF THE SAINT!
Burl writes:A new Simon Templar adventure, RETURN OF THE SAINT, is in the works, and my previous SAINT novel, Capture the Saint, is now available in a Kindle edition. Yes, Bill Macdonald is still doing his best to bring the world a new SAINT TV show, and he's got a few angels on his shoulder -- Roger Moore, Ian Dickerson, and some fellow named Burl Barer. I'm sure it will all work out. Watch for the Sign of the Saint... Labels: 2010, Burl Barer
5 comments
for Return of The Saint by Burl Barer
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
 Burl Barer's wonderful addition to the Saint saga, Capture The Saint, is now available in e-book format for Amazon's Kindle!
The price is just $1.99 and all Kindle Books include wireless delivery - you'll be reading Capture The Saint on your Kindle within a minute of placing your order.
Capture The Saint, is the first all new Saint novel approved by the Estate of Leslie Charteris, and finds the famous Simon Templar encountering beautiful women and dangerous criminals in the Emerald City of Seattle, Washington. Written by Burl Barer, Edgar Award winning author of The Saint: A Complete History, and The Saint: A Novel; Capture The Saint has been described as "Fast, Funny and blissfully faithful" by Dick Lochte of the Los Angeles Times and "Wonderful entertainment" by the Washington Post.Labels: 2010, Amazon.com, Burl Barer
5 comments
for Capture The Saint: Kindle Edition
Sunday, August 12, 2007
 Before Roger Moore became The Saint, he had a recurring role on the TV series, Maverick, starring either James Garner and Jack Kelly.
Now that Maverick is being re-run on TV in various countries, including Good Life in the US, watch for a young pre-Saint Roger Moore in 14 episodes from 1959 to 1961. Roger was a regular on the show beginning in 1960 (he had been in one episode, The Rivals before that), co-starring as Beauregard "Beau" Maverick, Bret and Bart Maverick’s cousin. His regular appearances were due to the fact that James Garner had left the show over a contract dispute.
Maverick was a clever show that used a lot of comedy to lighten up the action. There are many Saintly touches, in that the Maverick cousins are basically good people who will go outside the law to correct wrongs that need to be righted. The intelligent con games of outsmarting your rivals instead of beating them up will certainly appeal to Saint fans who want to see a young Roger Moore playing a Texas Templar.
 Episode 80 on September 18, 1960, entitled Bundle from Britain, introduced Roger Moore as the "white sheep" of the family -- he had the misfortune of earning a medal in the Civil War, and Pappy had banished him to England for five years because no Maverick had ever been a hero.
Very soon, Maverick will be coming out in a special Maverick First Season DVD set . For now, you'll just have to watch Maverick on DVD
Another connection between The Saint and Maverick has nothing to do with Roger Moore at all. Noted award-winning author Burl Barer who has penned a number of Saint items, was called to do the "Behind The Scenes" book, Maverick: The Making of the Movie - The Official Guide to the Television Series, on the making of the 1994 Maverick movie starring Mel Gibson, Jodi Foster, and James Garner.
For more information, please visit Wikipedia for their entry on the Maverick TV series and complete episode guide.Labels: 2007, Burl Barer, James Garner, Maverick, Roger Moore, Wikipedia
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for Roger Moore, The Maverick Years
Monday, July 16, 2007
 Burl Barer reports a few more details about the upcoming BBC Radio 4 special by Barbra Paskin on the author of The Saint, Leslie Charteris.
Leslie Charteris – A Saintly Centennial
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
11:30am - 12:00noon BBC Radio 4This year marks the centenary of the birth of popular fiction writer Leslie Charteris, best known for his many books chronicling the adventures of Simon Templar, alias The Saint.
In this special programme, actor and Saint portrayer Roger Moore explores the life and legacy of Charteris and reveals a world of adventure, torment, insecurity, failed marriages and enormous success as a thriller writer.
The adventures of The Saint have appeared continuously since 1928, making Simon Templar the longest-running character in contemporary detective fiction. But there was more to Charteris's literary acuity than The Saint alone. He was fluent in several languages; he had a monthly column in the epicurial delight, Gourmet magazine; and he devised a pictorial sign language which he called "Paleneo" and wrote a book about it. He was also one of the earliest members of Mensa.
Despite his film-star looks, with a hint of exoticism, Charteris suffered from a long-standing insecurity about his appearance, arising from his mixed racial origin. In later years he dated some of Hollywood's most beautiful women, among them Marlene Dietrich and Jean Harlow.
It wasn't until 1963, when Lou Grade cast Roger Moore and filmed the first television series of The Saint, that Charteris at last felt he'd received the final seal of approbation that had eluded him for 30 years.
Among those exploring the world and psyche of Charteris are Dan Bodenheimer, who runs the official Saint website; Burl Barer, author of The History Of The Saint; and Charteris's biographer Ian Dickerson. Labels: 2007, Barbra Paskin, BBC, Burl Barer, Ian Dickerson, Leslie Charteris, Roger Moore
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for Leslie Charteris - A Saintly Centennial on BBC
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
 Barbra Paskin, a British yet Hollywood-based, journalist has been commissioned by BBC Radio 4 to create a radio show celebrating the 100th year of Leslie Charteris. Barbra, who is most recently noted for her fine biography of Dudley Moore, is an excited Saint fan who has been looking forward to making a show like this for many years. As noted on LeslieCharteris.com, she's a life-long Charteris fan who grew up enraptured with Simon Templar. Her brother Simon (not actually named after Simon Templar), from earliest memory, has always called himself 'ST' and signs all his personal letters with a stick symbol and a halo.
The 30-minute show is in production at the moment and will feature contributions from such notables as Roger Moore, Ian Ogilvy, Patricia Charteris, Dan Bodenheimer, Ian Dickerson, and Burl Barer. More details, including a broadcast date and time, will be posted here as and when we know them.
There are many ways to listen to Radio 4, including online.Labels: 2007, Barbra Paskin, BBC, Burl Barer, Ian Dickerson, Ian Ogilvy, Leslie Charteris, Roger Moore
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for BBC Radio 4 on 100 Years of Leslie Charteris
Monday, April 02, 2007
Author Burl Barer has just posted some interesting notes on his novel, Capture The Saint, on his web blog: My original Saint novel, CAPTURE THE SAINT,is the only Saint novel in which the copyright rests with someone other than Leslie Charteris. That honor belongs to me. For that reason, television and movie producers often contact me about acquiring the rights to this singular adventure -- and then send a contract proposal that, in the fine print, give them all sorts of rights to which they are not entitled. This has happened more than three times in the past four years. The TV rights to the Saint character are currently in the hands of my buddy Bill Macdonald; Robert Evans has sequel rights to his Val Kilmer film, and RKO has remake rights to their old films. Capture the Saint, of course, is a wonderful book, written by a true genius and approved by the Estate of Leslie Charteris. The literary concept and execution of the novel (although the execution was not fatal) is that it replicates, chapter by chapter, the progression of styles used by Charteris between the 1930's and the 1950's. Actually, it begins in the style of the 1950's, then works backwards to the 30's and forward again --not in time, but in writing style. Of course, it's not a copy of Charteris' style exactly, but rather a combination of affectionate homage and occasional outright satire of Charteris' intentionally overwritten prose. He once said that this is what his readers paid for, much as Cadillac owners pay for the big fins and all that chrome. Striped of his verbosity and prolixity, he said, he was left with his skinny "fundaments" exposed. Before I wrote THE SAINT: A NOVEL (the movie tie-in) the publisher read CAPTURE THE SAINT, and said "today's readers are not sophisticated enough to get the humor. In the new novel for us, can you be less literary?" I replied, "You mean, dumb it down?" "Yeah, that's what we mean." Well, I don't think today's readers are dumb or not sophisticated enough to get my humor. However, I did alter the writing style for the novelization - more streamlined, etc. I wanted to keep Charteris' in-joke approach, but I needed a different way of pulling it off. Hence, I crammed the book with all manner of references to old Saint stories, characters, actors, titles, and even worked in the Bishop and the Actress in the first chapter.
If you want a copy of CAPTURE THE SAINT, be prepared to pay well over $100.00. They are collectors items as the first edition was limited to 600 signed and numbered copies, and the second edition (from Volvo) was only 200 copies distributed at the international test drive of their new vehicles in, I believe, 1998 or 1999. [Search ABE Books]
CAPTURE THE SAINT will be reprinted soon via The Authors Guild "Back in Print" program. And yes, movie and TV producers still call me about the rights. As Mr. Macdonald has the TV rights to the Saint character, it only makes sense to allow his company the opportunity to make a television adaptation. We will discuss this further in the near future...stay tuned and watch for the sign of the Saint...he will be back!
Read and comment on this article at Burl Barer's blog.Labels: 2007, Burl Barer, Leslie Charteris, RKO, Val Kilmer, William J. MacDonald
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for Burl Barer Captures The Saint
Monday, March 19, 2007
Lots of news last week about the new version of The Saint series that is in development for TNT. Roger Moore's son, Geoffrey Moore, has teamed up with producer William J. MacDonald to create a new series for television. Jorge Zamacona is working on the script for a 90-minute pilot, and they are getting consulting advice from such notable long-time Saints as Ian Dickerson and Burl Barer -- both who are huge fans of the Leslie Charteris books, and hopefully can exert some influence in keeping with the gentleman thief character of Simon Templar.
There is certainly some concern, as William (Bill) J. MacDonald was one of the producers (along with Robert Evans) of the Val Kilmer Saint film by Paramount back in 1997 – a movie so un-Saint-like, that Leslie Charteris’ name was removed from the credits. The Saint (1997) was a tough movie for die-hard fans as the character that they knew and loved didn’t actually show up until the end of the movie – such is the problem with “origin stories.” That said, Bill MacDonald has surrounded himself with some great Saint this time, including Roger’s son, and we are very hopeful for a clever gentleman with his own code of moral values to emerge without the need to spend any time telling the story of how Simon Templar became The Saint.
As yet, nobody has been cast as the Saint. There was some initial speculation that it might be Geoffrey Moore himself, and that option has not been completely taken off the table as they look for The Saint of 2007.
Your thoughts? Comment below.Labels: 2007, Burl Barer, Geoffrey Moore, Ian Dickerson, Ian Ogilvy, Jorge Zamacona, Leslie Charteris, Simon Dutton, TNT, William J. MacDonald
3 comments
for New series of The Saint coming to TNT
Friday, March 16, 2007
 Noted Saintly author, Burl Barer, has posted some interesting news about his part in the new series of The Saint on TNT. This show is really going to be great, and follow in the footsteps of Roger Moore, Ian Ogilvy, and Simon Dutton. If I have anything to say about it, and supposedly I do, the new SAINT TV project for TNT will retain the flavor of Charteris' original.
The Roger Moore series that began in 1962 used the "glob trotting celebrity" character found in Charteris later short stories, and due to the restrictive TV codes of the time, Charteris lamented that the Saint on TV bore as much similarity to his creation as Winnie the Pooh did to Captain Blood.
Times have changed -- restrictions have relaxed. Soooo...this version of The Saint will be the more dangerous and picaresque adventurer, having way too much fun as he takes on recalcitrant and contumacious oppressors while bedding the requisite bevy of beauties -- including the mercurial and romantic Ms Patricia Holm. As all Saint fans know, Simon Templar parks his shoes in numerous international locales, but Holm is where he hangs his hat -- or halo.
Bill Macdonald asked me to serve as "consultant" to the project, and has honestly taken my suggestions to heart (and page). The show should be really cool, faithful to the character, and won't have Charteris getting what he termed Graveyard Torque from spinning in his metaphoric grave. What I like best about the project, of course, is that I'm supposedly getting paid for my wit and wisdom. As with any TV or film project - or publishing for that matter -- I will be 100% convinced when the check clears the bank. As Bill has never deceived me in the past, I trust it will all come out in the wash, even if the spin cycle makes me crazy. Labels: 2007, Burl Barer, Ian Ogilvy, Leslie Charteris, Roger Moore, Simon Dutton, TNT, TV, William J. MacDonald
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for Burl Barer to Consult on TNT Saint Show
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
Squidoo was started by Seth Godin and allows anyone to create a unique vantage point, called a "lens," of the worldwide web with a certain focus. It is an interesting idea that benefits charities and gives everyone a forum for sharing their view of the world.
The Saint's Volvo This is a lens all about The Saint's Volvo 1800 as seen on the 1960s TV show starring Roger Moore.
Leslie Charteris and The Saint Leslie Charteris was the author of The Saint books. His modern-day Robin Hood was named Simon Templar, whose alias was The Saint. Roger Moore drove around TV in the 1960s in a white Volvo P1800 on the TV series, The Saint.
The Saint's Jaguar XJS In the late 1970's Robert S. Baker starting gathering a production team for The Son of The Saint in which a young and up-and-coming star would play Simon Templar's son. The idea would be to have Roger Moore introduce the series, and then occasionally...
Burl Barer, Edgar Award Winning Brilliant Author Burl Barer is an Edgar Award winner and two time Anthony Award nominee with ten or eleven or twelve books in print, depending upon what country you live in, and what language you read. Burl Barer has extensive media, advertising, marketing, and publi...Labels: 2007, Burl Barer, Jaguar, Leslie Charteris
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for The Saint's Squidoo Lenses
Saturday, January 20, 2007
The Saint FAQ at www.saint.org/faq.htm has been freshly updated with a lot of great new information.
The frequently asked questions (FAQ) about The Saint and Leslie Charteris was started in 1997 by Ian Dickerson, Honorary Secretary of The Saint Club, and is maintained with help of Dan Bodenheimer, webmaster of www.saint.org, and Burl Barer, author of "The Saint: A Complete History in Print, Film, Radio and Television. 1928 - 1992" and "The Saint" (movie tie-in paperback).
Please send all suggestions, corrections, questions, etc. to saint.club@gmail.com or use the comment links below.Labels: 2007, Burl Barer, Ian Dickerson, Leslie Charteris
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for The Saint FAQ
Tuesday, January 02, 2007
 Burl Barer has written a short story that is exclusively for sale on Amazon.com entitled, The Treasure of Sir Thomas Conway. It is priced at only 49 cents, and well worth the small investment!
This story is a very clever satire written in a Saintly manner by the noted author of a number of books on The Saint. It is a classic caper with a twist at the end, with its roots firmly entrenched in The Falcon, Raffles, The Saint, and the other gentleman thieves. Watch for Burl's classic touches with regards to the title, the main character's name, and others.
Burl Barer Speaks About The Treasure of Sir Thomas Conway:
I've always held affection for the classic gentleman crooks featured in motion pictures produced in the 1930's and 1940s by RKO. I also favor the once-popular literary form known as the novelette. In “The Treasure of Sir Thomas Conway,” our hero's name, Falcon Arcaio, sets the satirical tone for this modern day reworking of an old fashioned recipe for adventure.Labels: 2007, Amazon.com, Burl Barer, Raffles
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for The Treasure of Sir Thomas Conway
Friday, November 03, 2006
 Burl Barer reports on his blog that there is some interest in Capture The Saint in the busy offices of the Hollywood movie business. There is nothing confirmed, of course, but the fact is that Robert Evans, the famed Producer of the Val Kilmer The Saint movie in 1997 is currently reading a personally signed copy of Capture The Saint by Burl Barer.
Robert Evans, as you might remember, not only produced The Saint. He has had quite a remarkable career and is most remembered for his years on the Paramount lot during Chinatown, The Godfather, The Conversation and other heady days of the 1970s. His Wikipedia entry has a lot more detail for your reading enjoyment. A new Saint film under his belt would be a lot of fun.
Robert Evan's book, The Kid Stays in The Picture chronicles the life and times of one of Hollywood's greatest producers is also available in Audio Book and DVD formats.
I've read Capture The Saint and I think it would make an excellent movie. And keep reading Burl Barer's Blog for updated news on this subject.Labels: 2006, Amazon.com, Burl Barer, DVD, Val Kilmer, Wikipedia
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for Capture The Saint as a Movie?
Saturday, September 02, 2006
Here are some links to a few other blogs that have interesting news and commentary about The Saint and Leslie Charteris.
Labels: 2006, Burl Barer, Leslie Charteris
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for The Saint in the Blogsphere
Friday, September 01, 2006
Saint Projects in 2007
Well, there may be all sorts of new SAINT stuff in 2007 -- rumor has it that a big shot TV producer, currently helming one of the the highest rated shows in the history of the UK, may be launching a new SAINT television project. Burl Barer, Brilliant Author, intends penning more SAINT novels if publishing arrangements are finalized.
In the meantime, I know Burl is researching a new true-crime book with the working title, MOM SAID KILL.Labels: 2006, Burl Barer, TV
1 comments
for Saint Projects in 2007
Thursday, August 31, 2006
I have updated www.saint.org to have a page dedicated to noted Saint author, Burl Barer. Visit http://www.saint.org/burl-barer/ to see the new area!Labels: 2006, Burl Barer
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for Visit the new Burl Barer page
Using Blogger technology I have created The Saint's Blog at www.saint.org/blog to make it easier for multiple people to post news and rumors about The Saint and to allow all the Saint fans to comment on the posts! I think this will certainly be a lot easier to maintain than the manual text editing I have been doing since 1995 -- I apparently was blogging before it was even called blogging!
I will be converting all the news and rumors from 2004, 2005, and 2006 into this new blog format, and the rest of the news from previous years will remain in it's current archive and accessible.
The Saint's Blog Dream Team consists of:Labels: 2006, Burl Barer, DVD, French, Ian Dickerson, Jean-Marc Lofficier, Roger Moore
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for Introducing The Saint's Blog
Wednesday, January 28, 2004
 Broken Doll by Edgar-award winning saintly author, Burl Barer, is now available for ordering from Amazon.com for $6.50 in paperback. Broken Doll will be released in May by Pinnacle Books, and continues Burl's explorations into the dark and twisted world of true crime stories.
Burl Barer is the author of the following books:
1993 - The Saint: A Complete History (hardback), reference
1994 - Maverick: The Making of the Movie, reference
1995 - Man Overboard, true crime
1997 - Capture The Saint, fiction
1997 - The Saint, movie novelization
2000 - Murder in the Family, true crime
2000 - Headlock, A Jeff Reynolds Mystery
2001 - Headshot, true crime
2002 - Body Count, true crime
2003 - The Saint: A Complete History (paperback), reference
2004 - Broken Doll, true crime
Burl is currently working on the finishing touches of Broken Doll, as well as a sequel to Headlock -- his Jeff Reynolds Mystery series.Labels: 2004, Amazon.com, Burl Barer
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for Burl Barer's Latest
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