Burl Barer

Last updated
Burl Barer
Born1947 (age 76–77)
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.

Barer has written two novels, both published in 1997, based upon the character of Templar. 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 combats human trafficking. In collaboration with producer William J. Macdonald, Barer wrote 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, [2] 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. [3] 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. [4]

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, [5] 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. [6]

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. [7] It was Barer's first contribution to an internationally distributed reference work. [8]

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 Gregg Olsen, Cathy Scott, and Daniel Genis. In May 2011, Howard Lapides, executive producer of Celebrity Rehab, joined the show as co-host when Woldman went on hiatus. [9] [10]

Personal life

Barer has two children. [11] Barer has spoken at events for Writers in Treatment, [12] 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. [13] 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 .. [14] 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 The Saint franchise, which includes motion pictures, radio dramas, comic strips, comic books, and three television series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leslie Charteris</span> 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 hero Simon Templar, alias "The Saint".

The Saint may refer to:

<i>The Saint in New York</i> 1935 novel by Leslie Charteris

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> 1936 novel by Leslie Charteris

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 Saint Meets the Tiger</i> 1943 film by Paul L. Stein

The Saint Meets the Tiger is a 1941 British mystery thriller film directed by Paul L. Stein and starring Hugh Sinclair, Jean Gillie and Clifford Evans. It was made by the British unit of RKO Pictures and released the same year, but was not distributed until 1943 in America. This was to be the last of the eight films in RKO's film series about the crimefighter the Saint. It was shot at Denham Studios outside London with sets designed by the art director Paul Sheriff. The previous entries in the series had all been made in Hollywood except The Saint's Vacation.

<i>She Was a Lady</i> 1931 novel by Leslie Charteris

She Was a Lady is the title of a mystery novel by Leslie Charteris featuring his creation, Simon Templar, alias The Saint. The novel was first published in serialized form in the magazine Thriller in February and March 1930, and after being rewritten by Charteris, was first published in complete form in the United Kingdom by Hodder and Stoughton in November 1931. This was the seventh book chronicling Templar's adventures, and the fourth full novel.

<i>Getaway</i> (The Saint) 1932 novel by Leslie Charteris

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 Steps In</i> 1943 novel by Leslie Charteris

The Saint Steps In is a mystery novel by Leslie Charteris featuring his creation, Simon Templar, alias The Saint. The book was first published in serialized form in November 1942 in Liberty, with its first bound publication in 1943 in an American edition by The Crime Club. Hodder and Stoughton published the first British edition in 1943.

<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 as was 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>Capture the Saint</i> 1997 novel by Burl Barer and based on characters by Leslie Charteris

Capture the Saint is the title of a 1997 mystery novel by Burl Barer, featuring the character of Simon Templar, alias "The Saint" who was created by Leslie Charteris in 1928.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Patricia Holm</span> 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.

<i>The Saint</i> (novel) Mystery novel by Burl Barer

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 Saint refers to eight B movies made by RKO Pictures between 1938 and 1941, based on some of the books in British author Leslie Charteris' long-running series about the fictional character Simon Templar, better known as The Saint.

<i>Body Count</i> (book)

Body Count: The Terrifying True Story of the Spokane Serial Killer is a non-fiction book released in December 2012 by Pinnacle Books and written by the crime writer Burl Barer about the American serial killer Robert Lee Yates from Spokane, Washington. It was first published in 2002, and then updated and re-released 10 years later.

References

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