The Saint
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.
Updated: 50 weeks 2 days ago
Roy Henry Bowyer-Yin (1910-2010)
Leslie Charteris' brother Roy Henry (Bowyer) Yin, who recently celebrated his 100th birthday on October 7th, passed away at the age of 100 in Singapore this past Tuesday, December 14th.
Both Leslie and Roy were born in Singapore, with elder brother Leslie appearing in 1907 with Roy following in 1910. Roy went to King's College as an Maths undergraduate in 1929, then switched to History and graduated in 1932. Roy developed a passion for the music of the church, and formed lifelong friendships with the Dean of Chapel, Eric Milner-White and the distinguished choirmaster, Director of Music Boris Ord.
in 1934, at the early age of 23, Rev. Yin became the Chaplain (Deacon) at King's College where he served until 1937, and then went on to Hurstpierpoint College in Sussex, where he was Chaplain from 1937 to 1945. In 1946 he became Chaplain and Master of the Choir at St Thomas' College in Mount Lavinia, Sri Lanka, where he stayed until 1962.
He was a vicar at St Hilda's Church in Katong, and finally capped-off his illustrious career as a resident priest at St Andrew's Cathedral -- where his services were always popular with parishioners.
Roy Henry Bowyer-Yin was well-loved, and active in the church until his 90s. He died of old age on Tuesday at his home on the East Coast of Singapore at the age of 100.
Categories: The Saint
The Saint in New Orleans
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.
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.
Categories: The Saint
Happy 83rd Birthday to Sir Roger Moore Today!
Sir Roger celebrates his 83rd birthday today, October 14th. If you would like to leave your congratulations, you can visit Roger Moore's personal site
By the way, yes Roger Moore is on Twitter. Follow him today and send him birthday greetings there too!
Roger Moore played The Saint on TV, and his son Geoffrey is working to bring the Saint back to TV in 2011!
By the way, yes Roger Moore is on Twitter. Follow him today and send him birthday greetings there too!
Roger Moore played The Saint on TV, and his son Geoffrey is working to bring the Saint back to TV in 2011!
Categories: The Saint
DVR Alert: The Saint Films Marathon on TCM This Tuesday
Double 0 Section reports that there will be a marathon film festival of The Saint films showing on Turner Classic Movies (TCM) this week!
Tomorrow, Tuesday, October 12, TCM will air a marathon of the original black and white Saint movies, titles which remain stubbornly unavailable on DVD in the United States.
The line-up, from TCM's website, is as follows:
10:00 AM The Saint In New York (1938)
11:15 AM The Saint Strikes Back (1939)
12:30 PM The Saint In London (1939)
1:45 PM The Saint's Double Trouble (1940)
3:00 PM The Saint Takes Over (1940)
4:15 PM The Saint In Palm Springs (1941)
5:30 PM The Saint's Vacation (1941)
6:45 PM The Saint Meets the Tiger (1943)
Tomorrow, Tuesday, October 12, TCM will air a marathon of the original black and white Saint movies, titles which remain stubbornly unavailable on DVD in the United States.
The line-up, from TCM's website, is as follows:
10:00 AM The Saint In New York (1938)
11:15 AM The Saint Strikes Back (1939)
12:30 PM The Saint In London (1939)
1:45 PM The Saint's Double Trouble (1940)
3:00 PM The Saint Takes Over (1940)
4:15 PM The Saint In Palm Springs (1941)
5:30 PM The Saint's Vacation (1941)
6:45 PM The Saint Meets the Tiger (1943)
Categories: The Saint
Roy Ward Baker (1916-2010)
Sad to hear the news today that Roy Ward Baker has passed away a few days ago. Baker is most famous for directing A Night To Remember (1958) for which he won a Golden Globe award, which was then re-done as the Academy Award winning film Titanic.
Saint fans will remember him for directing many episodes of The Saint with Roger Moore, and The Return of The Saint with Ian Ogilvy.
He also directed a large number of lavish low-budget British horror films in the 1960s that have a cult following.
Roy Ward Baker was born in London in 1916, and passed away on Tuesday, October 5, 2010.
Saint fans will remember him for directing many episodes of The Saint with Roger Moore, and The Return of The Saint with Ian Ogilvy.
He also directed a large number of lavish low-budget British horror films in the 1960s that have a cult following.
Roy Ward Baker was born in London in 1916, and passed away on Tuesday, October 5, 2010.
Categories: The Saint
Tony Curtis (1925-2010)
We're sad to hear that famed actor, Tony Curtis, passed away yesterday. According to reports, Curtis died at his Las Vegas home on September 29, 2010, of an apparent cardiac arrest.
Tony Curtis co-starred with Roger Moore in the TV series The Persuaders! which was based on The Saint episode titled "The Ex-King of Diamonds". The interesting dynamic between the suave Englishman Simon Templar played by Roger Moore and a crass Texas oilman (played by Stuart Damon) was a great combination that Robert S. Baker and Lew Grade extended to a new series starring Tony Curtis in the role of the texan, while keeping Roger Moore as The Saint series came to an end. The Persuaders also featured a number of other parties to The Saint, including many supporting cast members, many of the same writers, and the same director.
Tony was a good friend of Roger Moore's, and was on-hand via conference call when Roger received a blue plaque at Elstree Studios in October 2006.
"He was a fine actor ... I shall miss him," said British actor Roger Moore, who starred alongside Curtis in TV's "The Persuaders."
"He was great fun to work with, a great sense of humour and wonderful ad libs," Moore told Sky News. "We had the best of times."
Roger has also posted the following on his website, "Hearing the news about Tony deeply saddened me today. He was a great friend and a great co-star, and I will forever remember the laughs and fun we shared on The Persuaders and the friendship which endured ever after. His legacy is huge as was his star. I will miss my friend. My thoughts are with Jill and his children at this sad, sad time and I send them much love."
Tony Curtis co-starred with Roger Moore in the TV series The Persuaders! which was based on The Saint episode titled "The Ex-King of Diamonds". The interesting dynamic between the suave Englishman Simon Templar played by Roger Moore and a crass Texas oilman (played by Stuart Damon) was a great combination that Robert S. Baker and Lew Grade extended to a new series starring Tony Curtis in the role of the texan, while keeping Roger Moore as The Saint series came to an end. The Persuaders also featured a number of other parties to The Saint, including many supporting cast members, many of the same writers, and the same director.
Tony was a good friend of Roger Moore's, and was on-hand via conference call when Roger received a blue plaque at Elstree Studios in October 2006.
"He was a fine actor ... I shall miss him," said British actor Roger Moore, who starred alongside Curtis in TV's "The Persuaders."
"He was great fun to work with, a great sense of humour and wonderful ad libs," Moore told Sky News. "We had the best of times."
Roger has also posted the following on his website, "Hearing the news about Tony deeply saddened me today. He was a great friend and a great co-star, and I will forever remember the laughs and fun we shared on The Persuaders and the friendship which endured ever after. His legacy is huge as was his star. I will miss my friend. My thoughts are with Jill and his children at this sad, sad time and I send them much love."
Categories: The Saint
Paul Rhys BBC Radio Show of The Saint on audio CD
On May 6, 2010, BBC Audiobooks released a CD containing two episodes of The Saint in the UK, and in August they made them available in the USA as well. These are two of the three radio shows that were made in the 1990s and star Paul Rhys as Simon Templar. The episodes included are Saint Overboard and The Saint Plays With Fire. No word yet as to why The Saint Closes the Case has not been included.
This is a two-CD set, with a running time of 2 hours for the two BBC Radio 4 dramatizations of The Saint from 1995.
Neville Teller writes: Back in 1995 I put up to the BBC the idea of dramatising some of the Saint novels. We agreed on three titles, but the commissioning editor suggested that I dramatise two of them (“Saint Overboard” and “The Saint Plays With Fire”) while the third be given to Roger Danes to dramatise (“The Saint Closes the Case”). The director of all three was to be Matthew Walters, and he cast Paul Rhys as Simon Templar. The three 60-minute plays went on air at the end of August and the beginning of September 1995, and got pretty extensive, and complimentary, coverage on Radio Times and by the national radio critics. Even so, and despite intensive efforts, I have found it impossible to persuade the powers-that-be at the Beeb to accept any further Saint material. The good news is that BBC Radio 7 accepted the three plays onto their schedules quite early on, and listeners have had several chances over the years to hear them again. Now, with my two dramatisations issued by BBC Worldwide as part of their Radio Collection, those two at least are now freely available for people to enjoy. Paul Rhys stars as The Saint in these two full-cast dramatizations, co-starring Patsy Kensit as Loretta, and Fiona Fullerton as Valerie. The series was dramatized by Neville Teller and Roger Danes. These two thrilling radio dramas of The Saint are full of the charm and verve of the original stories.
The Saint BBC Radio set is available from both Amazon USA and Amazon UK
This is a two-CD set, with a running time of 2 hours for the two BBC Radio 4 dramatizations of The Saint from 1995.
Neville Teller writes: Back in 1995 I put up to the BBC the idea of dramatising some of the Saint novels. We agreed on three titles, but the commissioning editor suggested that I dramatise two of them (“Saint Overboard” and “The Saint Plays With Fire”) while the third be given to Roger Danes to dramatise (“The Saint Closes the Case”). The director of all three was to be Matthew Walters, and he cast Paul Rhys as Simon Templar. The three 60-minute plays went on air at the end of August and the beginning of September 1995, and got pretty extensive, and complimentary, coverage on Radio Times and by the national radio critics. Even so, and despite intensive efforts, I have found it impossible to persuade the powers-that-be at the Beeb to accept any further Saint material. The good news is that BBC Radio 7 accepted the three plays onto their schedules quite early on, and listeners have had several chances over the years to hear them again. Now, with my two dramatisations issued by BBC Worldwide as part of their Radio Collection, those two at least are now freely available for people to enjoy. Paul Rhys stars as The Saint in these two full-cast dramatizations, co-starring Patsy Kensit as Loretta, and Fiona Fullerton as Valerie. The series was dramatized by Neville Teller and Roger Danes. These two thrilling radio dramas of The Saint are full of the charm and verve of the original stories.
The Saint BBC Radio set is available from both Amazon USA and Amazon UK
Categories: The Saint
Moonstone Comics and The Saint
Moonstone Comics is hard at work on comic books or graphic novels of The Saint's adventures. The early sketches of the Saint are very reminiscent of Gregory Peck, who Leslie Charteris mentioned as a perfect actor to play the role of Simon Templar.
Moonstone is known for publishing fine and distinct comic books, graphic novels, and prose... books that are meant to be read -- featuring both new and classic heroes in thrilling tales of adventure, mystery, and horror from the dark Side to the light...The Saint is an adventurer, but a gentleman above all else. He reads the paper, eager to find a cause exciting to involve himself in. His moral code is strong, and is motives are also good: he would never hurt, steal from, or kill anyone who doesn't completely deserve it. The Saint is the Robin Hood of modern crime: he robs from the evil and heartless rich, and gives to the wronged and deserving poor--in the process, keeping a percentage for his own expenses. He doesn't work for the law, the government, or anyone else. He is a lone wolf, but he doesn't hesitate to team up or collaborate with anyone, including official agencies, when the need arises. He is also a romantic who believes in the excitement of living.
Very little is known about Simon Templar's background, or how he became the Saint. If his origin and circumstances of his youth seem to be shrouded in mystery, it is because he chooses not to reveal it. He has a great sense of humor as well as a great zest for life. He is well-to-do, well dressed, drives fast cars, goes to the best places with the most attractive girls, all without any visible means of support.
The police, particularly Chief Inspector Claud Eustace Teal, have their own ideas about the sources of his apparent wealth and for years have been unsuccessfully trying to prove it.
But behind the Saint's sophisticated facade there is a very different man.
Had he lived in the Middle Ages you would see him as a knight in shining amour--a Sir Lancelot, a Robin Hood, a Don Juan, or in the great western tradition, a one man vigilante.
His enemy is not so much crime, but injustice. His impetus, the plight of the innocent soul in need of a patron Saint.
In achieving his objectives he can be cold, hard and always independent. Behind the casual banter there is always the aura of a coiled spring. Hating violence, he will not only turn the other cheek he will turn it so fast that all you are going to hit is the wall you thought he was up against.
Simon Templar faces doom with a cavalier disdain. Yet this is not to say he isn't in constant jeopardy. For if he moves in dangerous places and is himself, the most dangerous of men, he is nonetheless only a man. Mortal.The adventures of Simon templar have been documented in The Saint books by Leslie Charteris, The Saint movies and films, old-time radio shows, comic strips, and The Saint and The Return of The Saint television series.
Moonstone is known for publishing fine and distinct comic books, graphic novels, and prose... books that are meant to be read -- featuring both new and classic heroes in thrilling tales of adventure, mystery, and horror from the dark Side to the light...The Saint is an adventurer, but a gentleman above all else. He reads the paper, eager to find a cause exciting to involve himself in. His moral code is strong, and is motives are also good: he would never hurt, steal from, or kill anyone who doesn't completely deserve it. The Saint is the Robin Hood of modern crime: he robs from the evil and heartless rich, and gives to the wronged and deserving poor--in the process, keeping a percentage for his own expenses. He doesn't work for the law, the government, or anyone else. He is a lone wolf, but he doesn't hesitate to team up or collaborate with anyone, including official agencies, when the need arises. He is also a romantic who believes in the excitement of living.
Very little is known about Simon Templar's background, or how he became the Saint. If his origin and circumstances of his youth seem to be shrouded in mystery, it is because he chooses not to reveal it. He has a great sense of humor as well as a great zest for life. He is well-to-do, well dressed, drives fast cars, goes to the best places with the most attractive girls, all without any visible means of support.
The police, particularly Chief Inspector Claud Eustace Teal, have their own ideas about the sources of his apparent wealth and for years have been unsuccessfully trying to prove it.
But behind the Saint's sophisticated facade there is a very different man.
Had he lived in the Middle Ages you would see him as a knight in shining amour--a Sir Lancelot, a Robin Hood, a Don Juan, or in the great western tradition, a one man vigilante.
His enemy is not so much crime, but injustice. His impetus, the plight of the innocent soul in need of a patron Saint.
In achieving his objectives he can be cold, hard and always independent. Behind the casual banter there is always the aura of a coiled spring. Hating violence, he will not only turn the other cheek he will turn it so fast that all you are going to hit is the wall you thought he was up against.
Simon Templar faces doom with a cavalier disdain. Yet this is not to say he isn't in constant jeopardy. For if he moves in dangerous places and is himself, the most dangerous of men, he is nonetheless only a man. Mortal.The adventures of Simon templar have been documented in The Saint books by Leslie Charteris, The Saint movies and films, old-time radio shows, comic strips, and The Saint and The Return of The Saint television series.
Categories: The Saint
