January 6, 1945. On this day one of the genre's most famous characters made his official first appearance on American radio, played by Edgar Barrier. Simon Templar, alias the Saint, was a loveable rogue, created by Leslie Charteris in the 1928 novel
Meet The Tiger. The show started on NBC and bounced around to several networks indifferent incarnations until 1951.
Charteris frequently feuded with the producers of the radio show, complaining that their Templar was too passive, a man who was constantly being dragged into adventures, rather than seeking them out. You can find some of his cranky letters in Burl Barer's Edgar-winning
The Saint: A Complete History in Print, Radio, Television, and Film.
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