Series Description

The Saint TV show was a 60 minute British spy action series that aired on ITV in the UK and on NBC in the U.S. It was about a thief who only stole from criminals and then usually got them caught and put in prison. He was kind of a "self-hired and self-paid" law enforcement officer. That would be a good enough story line in itself, but there's another twist! He was constantly chased by a real lawman called Inspector Teal who didn't see the difference between The Saint (Simon Templar) and any other criminal! That kept Simon looking over his shoulder while he went after the loot!

The Saint Cast

Roger Moore .... Simon Templar (The Saint)
Ivor Dean .... Inspector Teal

The Saint Trivia

The original idea for The Saint TV show was from the more than 100 books about the Saint that author Leslie Charteris wrote during his lifetime. About 40 of those books were written in French and have never been translated into English!

Before the Saint TV show, there was a Saint Radio show that aired from October 18, 1940 through October 21, 1951!. Several actors played the role of Simon Templar over the 200+ epiosde run with the most notable being horror star, Vincent Price!

Roger Moore's father was a policeman. During his tour of national service, he served in Military Intelligence. At one time, he collected hotel towels but stopped after a newspaper article titled "Roger Moore is a Towel Thief" was printed. His contract for the James Bond films required the producers to provide him with an unlimited supply of Montecristo cigars running up tabs of thousands of pounds. He was awarded the title of "Commander Of The Most Excellent Order Of The British Empire) in 1999.

The TV show was so successfull that the producers eventually ran out of books that were adaptable for TV scripts so they started sending Leslie Charteris ideas for new plotlines. He would give his opinions, ideas and (hopefully) approval and those ideas would be made into scripts under his supervision. Remarkably, Charteris was running out of ideas for stories for his "The Saint Magazine". He was able to adapt the new TV scripts into new articles for the magazine!

Nine episodes of the program were directed by Roger Moore. The episode numbers below are: 36, 40, 53, 68, 71, 85, 100, 107 and 112. When he signed his first contract to star in the show, he thought he was agreeing to do 26 one-half hour shows. Then he found out he actually agreed to appear in 26 one-hour shows and had signed for too little money.

In the Saint books, Simon Templar drove a "Hironel" and would occasionally drive a "Furillac" or a "Desurio". Those auto brands were all fictional. Then when the TV show started, the producers decided they wanted either a Volvo P1800 and/or a Jaguar XK-E. Volvo provided a car and Jaguar didn't and, after the resounding success of the show, they regreted it! They later did give the show, "The Return of the Saint" a Jaguar XJ-S. In the Saint movie starring Val Kilmer, he drove a red Volvo C70 Turbo Coupe.

Donald Sutherland appeared in episodes #62 "The Happy Suicide" and #85 "Escape Route".

"The Saint" was in over 100 books, a comic strip, magazine articles (in various magazines), its own magazine, 15 movies, a radio program, 3 TV shows, and its own bubblegum cards!

Roger Moore was not the first choice to play Simon Templar. Leslie Charteris wanted Cary Grant and the producers wanted Patrick McGoohan (The Prisoner). This series was "resurrected" for one season in 1978-1979 and called, "The Return of the Saint". It starred Ian Ogilvy as Simon Templar.

Opening Narrative

"Join The Saint as he deals in danger, dices with death and always surrounded by a galaxy of gorgeous girls. Whether its girls or guns, The Saint can handle the situation. Follow that roaring adventurer, Simon Templar through the scenery and cities of the world."