Barry Sullivan

Actor who played Simon Templar, alias The Saint, on Radio

The Saint on Old-Time Radio

The Saint was first brought to life on the radio in 1940 by Terence De Marney (aka Terrance De Marney) on Radio Athlone. It was then a five-year wait before NBC picked up the option, and featured Edgar Barrier as Simon Templar, alias The Saint. Later in 1945, Brian Aherne took over the role when the show switched over to CBS. Then in 1947, probably the most famous Radio Saint of all-time, Vincent Price, added his golden voice to the role. Vincent Price was once quoted as saying the most difficult thing about the show was coming up with new and unique ways to get conked on the head. After a large number of episodes, Price finally left and his replacement Barry Sullivan only lasted a few episodes before the show was cancelled. It was resurrected due to public demand, with Vincent Price returning to save the day. In 1951, Tom Conway (George Sanders' brother), of The Falcon fame, played The Saint for the last few episodes, with Lawrence Dobkin stepping in for a single episode when Conway was unavailable. Between 1953 and 1957, Tom Meehan starred as The Saint on Springbok Radio in South Africa (in English) with fresh adaptations of the original Charteris stories. It wasn't until 1995 that the Saint returned to radio with new episodes, with Paul Rhys portraying The Saint in three scripts taken directly from the orginal Charteris stories.

IMDB Mini Biography

Sullivan was a theater usher and department store employee at the time he made his first Broadway appearance in January 1936, in "I Want a Policeman" at the Lyceum Theatre, which lasted only 47 performances. Other plays he appeared in on the Great White Way were the drama "St. Helena" (Oct 1936) and the 1938 comedies "All That Glitters" and "Eye On the Sparrow." All three plays were flops. He finally appeared in a hit play when he transferred into the role of Bert Jefferson in "The Man Who Came to Dinner," by Moss Hart and George S. Kaufman.

In the 1941-42 season, he appeared in three more flops: "Mr. Big," "Ring Around Elizabeth," and "Johnny 2 X 4." Wisely, he stayed away from Broadway for a decade, when he again transferred into a hit, taking over the role of Barney Greenwald from Henry Fonda in "The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial." (He was nominated for a Best Actor - Single Performance Emmy Award in 1955 when he assayed the role in the play's television broadcast on the "Ford Star Jubilee.") His last appearance on Broadway, in the original "Too Late the Phalarope" in 1956, was -- true to his performance form -- a flop.

In the late 1930s, Sullivan gained movie acting experience in two-reel comedies produced by the Manhattan-based Educational Studios. After giving up on his Broadway career, Sullivan made his "official" film debut in a 1943 western "Woman of the Town." Sullivan never caught on as a lead, but excelled at supporting roles in which he could play tough, aggressive characters. His most notable roles were as the eponymous "The Gangster" (1947) (one of his leads), his Tom Buchanan in the Alan Ladd vehicle "The Great Gatsby" (1949), and his movie director in "The Bad and the Beautiful." He continued acting in the movies until 1977, rounding off a near 40-year movie career with an appearance in "Oh God." He continued to appear on television until 1980, though he had one last role in 1987.

Biography by Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

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Other Actors Who've Played The Saint

Portrals of Simon Templar on Film in Movie Motion Pictures:

Louis Hayward, George Sanders, Hugh Sinclair, Jean Marais, and Val Kilmer

The Saint Radio shows on Old-Time Radio:

Vincent Price, Barry Sullivan, Brian Aherne, Edgar Barrier, Felix Marten, Lawrence Dobkin, Paul Rhys, Terence De Marney, Tom Conway, and Tom Meehan

Actors who played The Saint on Television TV Programs:

Roger Moore, Ian Ogilvy, Andrew Clarke, Simon Dutton, and Adam Rayner

Starring as The Saint in Photoplay:

Leslie Charteris