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".
Barer's best-known work is The Saint: A Complete History in Print, Radio, Television, and Film which was first published in 1992 and republished in 2003. He received a 1994 Edgar Award for this book, which is a chronological examination of The Saint in all media. In 2010, McFarland and Company, Publishers, requested Barer to write an updated second edition covering 1992-2012.
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 . In June of 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.
True crime
Barer is also a prolific author of true crime books and was praised by Pulitzer Prize nominee Jack Olsen for "writing true crime at its best."
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 well known "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.
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. 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.
Radio
Before becoming an author, Barer was a prominent radio personality 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. It was Barer's first contribution to an internationally distributed reference work.
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.
According to the Internet Movie Database, Barer is also credited with a small acting role in the 1991 film, The Last Ride. He also appeared in various independent films and documentaries by film director Karl Krogstad,
Barer is a Bahá'í by religion. 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, is also a well known journalist formerly with the Desert Sun, and author of two books including the recently well-reviewed "Active Senior Living." Burl 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 a respected author of historical non-fiction. Cousin Helen Barer writes mysteries.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 the Seattle Mayor Charles Royer's task force advocating education and prevention programs dealing with youth alcoholism and addiction .While Barer is officially a Texas resident, his TRUE CRIMES show is broadcast live from Encino, California. Barer, a frequent traveler, divides his time between the Lone Star State, Hollywood, and the Pacific Northwest. He has a fast growing fan page on facebook..
