Richard Sapir
Encyclopedia
Richard Ben Sapir is best known for The Destroyer series of novels that he co-created with Warren Murphy
. The first Destroyer was written in 1963, while Sapir worked as a city hall reporter in Jersey City
and Murphy served as secretary to the city's mayor. Ahead of its time with a plot centered upon a brash young westerner trained in the martial arts by a master assassin from North Korea
, the book went unpublished until June 1971 but eventually spawned a highly successful adventure series with over 30 million copies in print by the late 1990s.
Before arriving on the illustrious shores of Sinanju
, Sapir worked as an editor and in public relations. In addition to The Destroyer series, Sapir wrote five novels: Bressio (1975), The Far Arena
(1978), The Body
(1983), Spies (1984), and Quest (1987), a modern day search for the Holy Grail. The Body, which was made into a movie in 2001, is about a Jewish archaeologist who finds a skeleton underneath an Arab shopkeeper's basement that might be the body of Jesus and the American Jesuit priest who is sent by the Vatican to investigate.
Richard Sapir was a graduate of Columbia University
and lived with his wife in New Hampshire
before he died in 1987 from a heart attack.
"Not knowing if, or indeed when, I will need to do a 'number two' makes every day a source of pure fascination to me."
Warren Murphy
Warren Murphy is an American author, most famous as the co-creator of The Destroyer series, the basis for the film Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins. He worked as a reporter and editor and after service during the Korean War, he drifted into politics.Murphy also wrote the screenplay for Lethal...
. The first Destroyer was written in 1963, while Sapir worked as a city hall reporter in Jersey City
Jersey City, New Jersey
Jersey City is the seat of Hudson County, New Jersey, United States.Part of the New York metropolitan area, Jersey City lies between the Hudson River and Upper New York Bay across from Lower Manhattan and the Hackensack River and Newark Bay...
and Murphy served as secretary to the city's mayor. Ahead of its time with a plot centered upon a brash young westerner trained in the martial arts by a master assassin from North Korea
North Korea
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea , , is a country in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Pyongyang. The Korean Demilitarized Zone serves as the buffer zone between North Korea and South Korea...
, the book went unpublished until June 1971 but eventually spawned a highly successful adventure series with over 30 million copies in print by the late 1990s.
Before arriving on the illustrious shores of Sinanju
Sinanju
Sinanju is the name of a worker's district near an inlet in Anju city, South Pyongan province, North Korea. The name literally means "Comfortable New Village."-History:On May 9th, 1951, the U.S...
, Sapir worked as an editor and in public relations. In addition to The Destroyer series, Sapir wrote five novels: Bressio (1975), The Far Arena
The Far Arena
The Far Arena is a 1979 novel by Richard Sapir, writing under the slightly modified pen name of Richard Ben Sapir. It chronicles the adventures of Eugeni, a Roman gladiator from the age of Domitian, who, due to a highly unlikely series of events, is frozen in ice for nineteen centuries before being...
(1978), The Body
The Body (novel)
The Body is a mystery/thriller written by Richard Ben Sapir, co-author of Destroyer series.The book later made into a 2001 film, The Body, starring Antonio Banderas and Olivia Williams.-Plot summary:...
(1983), Spies (1984), and Quest (1987), a modern day search for the Holy Grail. The Body, which was made into a movie in 2001, is about a Jewish archaeologist who finds a skeleton underneath an Arab shopkeeper's basement that might be the body of Jesus and the American Jesuit priest who is sent by the Vatican to investigate.
Richard Sapir was a graduate of Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
and lived with his wife in New Hampshire
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...
before he died in 1987 from a heart attack.
Personal Quotes
"Time has a wonderful way of weeding out the trivial.""Not knowing if, or indeed when, I will need to do a 'number two' makes every day a source of pure fascination to me."