Burl Barer

Last updated
Burl Barer
Born1947 (age 74–75)
Walla Walla, Washington
Occupation
  • Crime writer
  • novelist
  • radio host
NationalityAmerican
Period1978–present
Genre Fiction
Subject True crime
Children2
Relativesnephews Tod Goldberg and Lee Goldberg
Website
burlbarer.net

Burl Barer (born 1947 in Walla Walla, Washington) is an American author, literary historian and radio host. He is best known for his writings about the character Simon Templar.

Contents

Career

Fiction

The Saint

The Saint: A Complete History in Print, Radio, Television, and Film was first published in 1992 and republished in 2003. Barer received a 1994 Edgar Award for the book. [1] In 2010, Barer began research on a second edition for McFarland and Co., expanding the time period from 1992 through 2013 to include everything about the character of Simon Templar.

Considered an expert on Simon Templar and the work of the character's creator, Leslie Charteris, [2] Barer has written two novels, each published in 1997, based upon the character. The first was a novelization of the screenplay for the 1997 film adaptation of The Saint starring Val Kilmer, although the film was loosely based on the character. It was followed by Capture the Saint , which was released by The Saint Club (an organization founded by Charteris) to mark the 70th anniversary of the character's first appearance in Meet - The Tiger! . It is the most recent Saint story to be published as of 2006. In June 2010, Barer began writing The Return of the Saint , also known as The Saint Strikes Back, a novel set in the U.K. in which Simon Templar takes a personal interest in combating international human trafficking. In collaboration with producer William J. MacDonald, Barer penned a two-hour screenplay, The Saint in New Orleans, as a pilot episode for a new Saint television series that was set to begin filming in July 2011. Unexpected delays, including changes in the lead actor, shut down initial production. As of September 2011, the pilot was cut down to one hour by another screenwriter, and a search was launched for a new lead actor. In 2013, Barer consulted for a new television pilot for "The Saint," starring Adam Rayner as Simon Templar.

True crime

Barer is the author of true crime non-fiction books, including Man Overboard: The Counterfeit Resurrection of Phil Champagne , which was nominated for an Anthony Award by the World Mystery Convention in the category of Best True Crime, [3] Murder in the Family, Body Count , Head Shot, Mom Said Kill, Fatal Beauty, and Broken Doll.

Barer and co-writer Frank Girardot collaborated on the 2016 true crime tale A Taste for Murder. [4] The two authors reunited that same year to write "Betrayal in Blue" based on the memoir of former corrupt NYPD officer Ken Eurell.

Barer is listed by the Williamsburg Regional Library in its list of 100 plus narrative non-fiction authors to read. [5]

Barer is known for using real people in his novels and using the names of fictional characters from his novels as "replacement names" in his true crime books, for people who do not want their real names used. Barer, who was once also a "distance reader" (psychic/mentalist), appears in his own true crime book, Body Count, as psychic/mentalist/true crime author Jeff Reynolds, the name of his fictional protagonist in the novel Headlock. Chet Rogers, Travis Webb, and Donna McCooke are other real people who appear in both his works of fiction and non-fiction. Rogers and Webb are journalists, and McCooke is a prominent health care professional in the UK. Rogers appears as a newsman in Barer's novelization of The Saint, and McCooke appears as a love interest for a jet pilot in the novelization of Stealth , published first in Japan and later in the US and UK as an e-book demonstrating the craft of writing novelizations. He contributed "The Alaska Mail Bomb Conspiracy," to the anthology Masters of True Crime , edited by R. Barri Flowers and published by Prometheus Books in 2012.

Television

In the 1980s, Barer and Kenneth H. Thompson established a cable television advertising interconnect in Eastern Washington. Barer Cable Advertising, Inc., utilizing a proprietary method of inventory allocation, became the highest grossing interconnect in America, garnering over 1000 X the national average in dollar per subscriber household revenue per month. The markets were later sold to the Multi-System Operators in the various markets.

In 2012, Barer and Don Woldman, previously teamed on Outlaw Radio's True Crime Uncensored, reunited as contributors to various true crime-related specials and discussions on Hart D. Fisher's American Horrors channel, featured as part of the basic tier of channels offered on filmon.com.

Barer has appeared on Investigation Discovery television shows, including Deadly Women (2011), Snapped (2011), Scorned: Love Kills (2012), Deadly Sins (2013), and Behind Mansion Walls (2013).

Barer and his dog, Isis, [6] were featured in two episodes of the series Dog Whisperer with Cesar Millan .

In 2013, Barer served as a consultant to the television pilot series, "The Saint," starring Adam Rayner as Simon Templar.

Radio

Before becoming an author, Barer was a radio personality in the Pacific Northwest. He began his broadcast career on KUJ (AM) in Walla Walla, Washington, KTEL (AM) in Walla Walla, KYAC Seattle, KJR Seattle, KOL AM & FM Seattle, KIRO Seattle, KQUIN Burien, Washington, and KZOK-FM. [7]

In partnership with Terry McManus, Barer wrote and produced national radio commercials for many touring performers, including Frank Sinatra and Bob Dylan.

Barer frequently contributed to the Robert W. Morgan Special of the Week.

He received Gold Records for "Nights in White Satin," "Layla," and "Walk on the Wild Side."

A compilation by Burl Barer, Selections from the Holy Qurʼan: Translations and Emendations by Shoghi Effendi , appeared as an appendix in James Heggie's Baháʼí References to Judaism, Christianity and Islam. [8] It was Barer's first contribution to an internationally distributed reference work. [9]

Returning to Walla Walla, Washington in the 1980s, Barer teamed with Thomas D. Hodgins to launch several radio stations including Lucky 98, Power 99, and KUJ-FM.

Barer lived in the Seattle area from 1999 to 2002 before relocating to Las Vegas, Nevada until 2005.[ citation needed ]

In 2007, Barer became a regular participant on the long-running Internet radio program Outlaw Radio hosted by Matt Alan.

In March 2008, Barer teamed with Woldman for their own show, with a focus on crime. True Crimes won the 2009 In Cold Blog Detective Award for Best True Crime Radio Program. The show was renamed "True Crime Uncensored" in 2010, and features interviews with authors such as Gary Grossman, Gregg Olsen, Cathy Scott, Pavle Stanimirović and Daniel Genis. In May 2011, Howard Lapides, executive producer of Celebrity Rehab, joined the show as co-host when Woldman went on hiatus. [10] [11]

Personal life

Barer has two children, Anea Barer and Jordan Barer. [12] Barer has spoken at events for Writers in Treatment, [13] a nonprofit organization founded by Robert Downey Sr and Leonard Lee Buschel that provides assistance to writers who have problems related to substance abuse and addictive behaviors. He is the uncle of authors Lee Goldberg and Tod Goldberg. [14] A cousin, Shlomo Barer, formerly with the BBC, is also an author of historical non-fiction. A distant relative, songwriter Marshall Barer, composed the "Mighty Mouse Theme (Here I Come to Save the Day)," and co-wrote the book and composed the lyrics for the musical Once Upon a Mattress .. [15] Two other distant relatives, Ariela Barer and Libe Barer, have appeared in various TV shows.

Related Research Articles

The Saint is the nickname of the fictional character Simon Templar, featured in a series of novels and short stories by Leslie Charteris published between 1928 and 1963. After that date, other authors collaborated with Charteris on books until 1983; two additional works produced without Charteris's participation were published in 1997. The character has also been portrayed in motion pictures, radio dramas, comic strips, comic books and three television series.

Leslie Charteris British-Chinese author

Leslie Charteris, was a British-Chinese author of adventure fiction, as well as a screenwriter. He was best known for his many books chronicling the adventures of his charming hero Simon Templar, alias "The Saint".

The Saint may refer to:

<i>Return of the Saint</i> Television series (1978–1979)

Return of the Saint is a British action-adventure television series that aired for one season in 1978 and 1979 in Britain on ITV, and was also broadcast on CBS in the United States. It was co-produced by ITC Entertainment and the Italian broadcaster RAI and ran for 24 episodes.

<i>The Saint in New York</i>

The Saint in New York is a mystery novel by Leslie Charteris, first published in the United Kingdom by Hodder and Stoughton in 1935. It was published in the United States by Doubleday in January 1935. A shorter version of the novel had previously been published in the September 1934 issue of The American Magazine.

<i>Saint Overboard</i>

Saint Overboard is the title of a 1936 mystery novel by Leslie Charteris, one of a long series of novels featuring Charteris' creation Simon Templar, alias "The Saint". An edited version was previously published in November 1935 in The American Magazine as The Pirate Saint. Some paperback editions append the article The to the title.

<i>The Saints Return</i> 1953 film by Seymour Friedman

The Saint's Return is a British crime thriller film from 1953, produced by Hammer Film Productions in London.

<i>Enter the Saint</i>

Enter the Saint is a collection of three interconnected adventure novellas by Leslie Charteris first published in the United Kingdom by Hodder and Stoughton in October 1930, followed by an American edition by The Crime Club in April 1931.

<i>Getaway</i> (The Saint)

Getaway is a mystery novel by Leslie Charteris first published in the United Kingdom in September 1932 by Hodder and Stoughton. This was the fifth full-length novel featuring the adventures of the modern day Robin Hood-inspired crimebuster Simon Templar, and the ninth Saint book published overall since 1928. When first published in the United States by The Crime Club in February 1933, the title was modified to The Saint's Getaway which was later adopted by future UK editions.

<i>The Saint and the Fiction Makers</i> 1968 novel by Leslie Charteris

The Saint and the Fiction Makers is the title of a 1968 mystery novel featuring the character of Simon Templar, alias "The Saint".

<i>The Saint in Pursuit</i>

The Saint in Pursuit is the title of a 1970 mystery novel featuring the character of Simon Templar, alias "The Saint". The novel is credited to Leslie Charteris, who created the Saint in 1928, but the book was authored by Fleming Lee and is adapted from a comic strip story by Charteris. Charteris served in an editorial capacity on the adaptation. It was the first full-length Saint novel since 1964's Vendetta for the Saint and the first to be based upon a Charteris story since the author's final solo work, The Saint in the Sun in 1963.

<i>Salvage for the Saint</i>

Salvage for the Saint is the title of a 1983 mystery novel featuring the character of Simon Templar, alias "The Saint". The novel was written by Peter Bloxsom based on the two-part Return of the Saint episode, "Collision Course" by John Kruse, but per the custom at this time, the author credit on the cover went to Leslie Charteris, who created the Saint in 1928, and who served in an editorial capacity.

<i>Meet the Tiger</i> Novel by Leslie Charteris

Meet the Tiger is an action-adventure novel written by Leslie Charteris. In England it was first published by Ward Lock in September 1928; in the United States it was first published by Doubleday's The Crime Club imprint in March 1929 with the variant title Meet – the Tiger!. It was the first novel in a long-running series of books featuring the adventures of Simon Templar, alias "The Saint". It was later reissued under a number of different titles, including the unofficial Crooked Gold by Amalgamated Press in 1929 which failed to credit the authorship of Charteris, and the best-known reissue title, The Saint Meets the Tiger. In 1940 the Sun Dial Press changed the title to Meet – the Tiger! The Saint in Danger.

Patricia Holm Fictional character

Patricia Holm is the name of a fictional character who appeared in the novels and short stories of Leslie Charteris between 1928 and 1948. She was the on-again, off-again girlfriend and partner of Simon Templar, alias "The Saint", and shared a number of his adventures. In addition, by the mid-1930s, Holm and Templar shared the same flat in London, although they were unmarried. Although such co-habitation between unmarried partners is commonplace today, it was rare, shocking in the 1930s. The two also appeared to have a somewhat "open" relationship, with Holm accepting Templar's occasional dalliances with other women.

<i>Daredevil</i> (novel) 1929 novel by Leslie Charteris

Daredevil is the title of a mystery novel by Leslie Charteris which was first published by Ward Lock in 1929. This was Charteris' fourth full-length novel, and is one of the few full-length books in his canon that does not feature the character of Simon Templar, alias "The Saint". However, the book does have a connection to the Saint series.

Claud Eustace Teal Fictional character

Claud Eustace Teal is a fictional character who made many appearances in a series of novels, novellas and short stories by Leslie Charteris featuring The Saint, starting in 1929. A common spelling variation of his first name in reference works and websites is Claude, however in his works Charteris uses the spelling without the 'e'.

<i>The Saint</i> (novel)

The Saint is a mystery novel by Burl Barer published by Pocket Books in 1997. It was based upon the screenplay for the film The Saint, which in turn was loosely based upon the character Simon Templar, created by Leslie Charteris. Val Kilmer portrayed Templar and is pictured on the book's front cover.

The Saint's Lady is an unpublished novel by Joy Martin featuring the character of criminal-turned-detective Simon Templar who had been created by Leslie Charteris in 1928.

Bet on the Saint is the title of an unpublished novel by Fleming Lee, featuring the character of criminal-turned-detective Simon Templar, created by Charteris in 1928.

The Hirondel is a fictional car driven by Simon Templar, the protagonist of a book series by Leslie Charteris. The Hirondel is an opulent, eight-cylinder, cream and red vehicle costing £5,000 and is a recurring element in many of The Saint books. The Hirondel is also used by Storm in the non-Saint novel Daredevil.Daredevil also features inspector Teal. The Hirondel was featured in a 1972 issue of Automobile Quarterly.

References

  1. ↑ Consumer Help Web: Books, Edgar Allan Poe Awards Archived 2009-10-12 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ↑ Welcome Back . . . The Saint! | Blogcritics
  3. ↑ Bouchercon World Mystery Convention : Anthony Award Nominees and Winners Archived February 7, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
  4. ↑ "A Taste For Murder" https://wildbluepress.com/a-taste-for-murder-burl-barer-frank-c-girardot/
  5. ↑ 100+ Narrative Nonfiction Writers | Williamsburg Regional Library
  6. ↑ Dog Whisperer II : Isis & Tina, Nugget, and Katrina Dogs | National Geographic - Digital Signage Archived November 9, 2013, at the Wayback Machine
  7. ↑ SeaTacRadio.com, "Burl Barer gets religion," June 22, 2011 [ permanent dead link ]
  8. ↑ Oxford: George Ronald, 1986
  9. ↑ Baháʼí Library Online, "Questions about Aspects of the Baháʼí Teachings," (see item 11), 6 August 1997
  10. ↑ Investigation Discovery: The Criminal Report Daily, "Investigation Discovery's David Lohr will be a live call in guest this weekend on True Crimes," October 23, 2008 Archived November 23, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  11. ↑ Zimbio, "True Crime Uncensored Features Mob Author Tony DeStefano," June 24, 2011
  12. ↑ KOL-KJR Personality Burl Barer
  13. ↑ Board of Directors & Advisory Board Archived 2014-07-14 at the Wayback Machine , Writers in Treatment
  14. ↑ Mystery One Bookstore – Interview with Tod Goldberg
  15. ↑ Nolan, Frederick (28 August 1998). "Obituary: Marshall Barer". The Independent. Retrieved 22 July 2016.
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