Burl Barer (born 1947, Walla Walla, Washington) is an American author and literary historian. He is best known for his fiction and non-fiction writings about the character Simon Templar, also known as "The Saint."
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The Saint: A Complete History in Print, Radio, Television, and Film was first published in 1992 and republished in 2003. He received a 1994 Edgar Award for the book. In 2010, Barer wrote a second edition for McFarland and Co., which covered the period of 1992 to 2012.
Considered a leading expert on Simon Templar and the work of the character's creator, Leslie Charteris, Barer has also written two novels, both 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 itself was only loosely based upon Charteris' creation. This was followed by Capture the Saint, which was published 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 have been published as of 2006[update]. In June 2010, Barer began writing The Return of the Saint, a new 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 the 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, delayed production. As of September 2011, the pilot was being cut down to one hour by another writer, and a search was on for a new lead actor.
Barer is also the author of true crime books and was praised by Pulitzer Prize nominee Jack Olsen for "writing true crime at its best."[1]
Barer is also known for using real people in his fiction books and using the names of fiction characters from his novels as "replacement names" in his true crime books, for people who don't 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 his novel Headlock. Chet Rogers, Travis Webb, and Donna McCooke are other real people who appear in both his works of fiction and his non-fiction books. Rogers and Webb are both 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 only in Japan.
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. He personally wrote and directed thousands of local and regional television commercials, and won the Tri-City Advertising Federation Award for Outstanding Television Production. The markets were later sold to the Multi-System Operators in the various markets.
In 2011, Barer and famed attorney Don Woldman began hosting True Crimes on the American Horrors channel, featured as part of the basic tier of channels offered on filmon.com, and syndicated world wide by Hart D. Fisher.
Before becoming an author, Barer was a radio personality in the Pacific Northwest. He began his broadcast career on KUJ in Walla Walla, Washington, KTEL in Walla Walla, KYAC (Soul Radio)Seattle, KJR Seattle, KOL AM & FM Seattle, KIRO Seattle, KQUIN Burien, Washington, KZOK-FM and other stations in the Pacific Northwest. In partnership with Terry McManus, Barer wrote and produced national radio commercials for many touring performers, including Frank Sinatra and Bob Dylan. He also created electronic media campaigns for such cult classic films as Harold and Maude, Orson Welles' F for Fake, the theatrical re-release of The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, and Len Russell's Mahler. A long time friend and collaborator with Billboard Award winner Allen Goldblatt, Barer frequently contributed to the Robert W. Morgan Special of the Week. He is the recipient of Gold Records for Knights in White Satin, Layla, and Walk on the Wild Side. A compilation by Burl Barer, Selections from the Holy Qur'an: Translations and Emendations by Shoghi Effendi, appeared as an appendix in James Heggie's Bahá'í References to Judaism, Christianity and Islam.[2] It was Barer's first contribution to an internationally distributed reference work.[3] Returning to Walla Walla in 1990s, Barer teamed with Thomas D. Hodgins to launch several radio stations for Hodgins broadcast company, with Barer handling programming and/or on air talent. Among these were Lucky 98, Power 99, and KUJ-FM. Barer returned to the Seattle area from 1999 to 2002 before relocating to Las Vegas, Nevada, until 2005.
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 attorney Don 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 title was changed to "True Crime Uncensored" in 2010. In May 2011. famed media maven Howard Lapides, Executive Producer of Celebrity Rehab joined the show as co-host when Don Woldman went on indefinite hiatus. Woldman reunited with Barer for a 2012 syndicated television series produced by Hart D. Fisher for the American Horrors channel.
According to the Internet Movie Database, Barer is also credited with a small acting role in the 1991 film, The Last Ride.[4] He also appeared in various independent films and documentaries by film director Karl Krogstad,
Barer is a Bahá'í by religion.[5] and has two grown children, Anea Barer and Jordan Barer. Burl's brother, Stan (an attorney and a Seattle community leader) serves on the University Of Washington Board Of Regents. Burl's sister, Jan Curran, who died in 2010, was also a journalist formerly with the Desert Sun and author of two books, including 2010's Active Senior Living. Barer is the uncle of authors Lee Goldberg and Tod Goldberg. His nieces, Linda Woods and Karen Dinino, are also well-known writers famed for their books on art and journaling. In addition, cousin Shlomo Barer, formerly with the BBC, is also an author of historical non-fiction. Cousin Helen Barer writes mysteries. A distant relative, Marshall Barer composed the "Mighty Mouse" theme. Barer conducted human potential seminars in the 1970s and established ongoing programs in the Washington State Penitentiary to reduce recidivism. He was a founding member of Seattle Mayor Charles Royer's task force for education and prevention programs dealing with youth alcoholism and addiction, and was a founding member of the Walla Walla Race Unity Coalition, sponsors of the annual Race Unity Day Multicultural Arts Festival, and the annual Freedom From Discrimination Month.