Robert George Barrett (14 November 1942 – 20 September 2012)[citation needed] was a popular Australian author of numerous books, most of them featuring the fictional Australian character Les Norton.
Barrett was born and raised in Bondi, Sydney, where he worked mainly as a butcher. He left school at 14 to do a few odd jobs before taking on a trade as a butcher around the eastern suburbs of Sydney. He gave up his trade when a hind of beef fell on him and injured his shoulder. After 30 years he moved to Terrigal on the Central Coast of New South Wales. He appeared in a number of films and TV commercials but preferred to concentrate on his writing career.[1]
Best selling author
Just before his death, Barrett disclosed that the character "Les Norton" was based on two likeable Sydney "larrikin" identities, primarily his friend, Ken Wills (Willsy), a polyathlete who was a retired Sydney TRG/ water police officer, deep sea diver, first grade rugby league player for South Sydney in the mid 1970s, a professional boxer and a skiing gold medalist. The other character was an amateur boxer turned seaman/waterfront worker, William (Doogza) Davis, an underworld hard man.
Barrett worked as a DJ and his two friends worked as doormen at Randi Wix night club in Randwick, thinly veiled as the nightclub where Les Norton works in the tales. The nightclub in the books, the Kelly Club, is based on the Kellett Club, a small but well-known private casino in a terrace house in Kellett Street, Kings Cross. Both Doogsa and Willsy had associations with the Kellett club; Barrett did not. After work they would "grab drinks at the early opener at Kings Cross and swap stories" while Barrett jotted down the occasional note. A montage of these stories and the continuing life experiences of these two uniquely Australian individuals are what appears in the Les Norton series.
Barrett also wrote other single book stories. So What Do You Reckon? is a collection of his columns from when he was a columnist for the Australian People magazine. His books sold over 1,000,000 copies in Australia.[2]
robert, barrett, robert, george, barrett, november, 1942, september, 2012, citation, needed, popular, australian, author, numerous, books, most, them, featuring, fictional, australian, character, norton, bornrobert, george, barrett, 1942, november, 1942bondi, . Robert George Barrett 14 November 1942 20 September 2012 citation needed was a popular Australian author of numerous books most of them featuring the fictional Australian character Les Norton Robert G BarrettBornRobert George Barrett 1942 11 14 14 November 1942Bondi New South Wales AustraliaDied20 September 2012 2012 09 20 aged 69 Terrigal New South Wales AustraliaNationalityAustralianOccupationWriter Contents 1 Early life 2 Best selling author 3 Death 4 Books 4 1 Les Norton series 4 2 Standalone novels 4 3 Non fiction 5 References 6 External linksEarly life EditBarrett was born and raised in Bondi Sydney where he worked mainly as a butcher He left school at 14 to do a few odd jobs before taking on a trade as a butcher around the eastern suburbs of Sydney He gave up his trade when a hind of beef fell on him and injured his shoulder After 30 years he moved to Terrigal on the Central Coast of New South Wales He appeared in a number of films and TV commercials but preferred to concentrate on his writing career 1 Best selling author EditJust before his death Barrett disclosed that the character Les Norton was based on two likeable Sydney larrikin identities primarily his friend Ken Wills Willsy a polyathlete who was a retired Sydney TRG water police officer deep sea diver first grade rugby league player for South Sydney in the mid 1970s a professional boxer and a skiing gold medalist The other character was an amateur boxer turned seaman waterfront worker William Doogza Davis an underworld hard man Barrett worked as a DJ and his two friends worked as doormen at Randi Wix night club in Randwick thinly veiled as the nightclub where Les Norton works in the tales The nightclub in the books the Kelly Club is based on the Kellett Club a small but well known private casino in a terrace house in Kellett Street Kings Cross Both Doogsa and Willsy had associations with the Kellett club Barrett did not After work they would grab drinks at the early opener at Kings Cross and swap stories while Barrett jotted down the occasional note A montage of these stories and the continuing life experiences of these two uniquely Australian individuals are what appears in the Les Norton series Barrett also wrote other single book stories So What Do You Reckon is a collection of his columns from when he was a columnist for the Australian People magazine His books sold over 1 000 000 copies in Australia 2 Death EditBarrett died at Terrigal New South Wales on 20 September 2012 after a long battle with bowel cancer 3 Books EditLes Norton series Edit You Wouldn t Be Dead for Quids 1985 The Real Thing 1986 The Boys From Binjiwunyawunya 1987 The Godson 1989 Between the Devlin and the Deep Blue Seas 1991 White Shoes White Lines and Blackie 1992 And De Fun Don t Dun 1993 Mele Kalikimaka Mr Walker 1994 The Day of The Gecko 1995 Rider on the Storm and Other Bits and Barrett 1996 Guns N Rose 1996 Mud Crab Boogie 1998 Goodoo Goodoo 1998 The Wind and the Monkey 1999 Leaving Bondi 2000 Mystery Bay Blues 2003 Rosa Marie s Baby 2004 Crime Scene Cessnock 2005 Les Norton and the Case of the Talking Pie Crust 2007 High Noon in Nimbin 2010 Standalone novels Edit Davo s Little Something 1992 The Ultimate Aphrodisiac 2002 Trifecta 2004 Omnibus combining Mud Crab Boogie The Wind and the Monkey amp So What Do You Reckon The Tesla Legacy 2006 Still Riding on the Storm 2011 Non fiction Edit So What Do You Reckon 1997 References Edit Robert G Barrett Harper Collins Publishers Australia Retrieved 27 February 2021 Robert G Barrett Booktopia Retrieved 27 February 2021 Robert G Barrett Dinkum Aussies Archived from the original on 30 April 2003 Larrikin author Robert G Barrett dies ABC Retrieved 22 September 2012 Death notice Daily Telegraph Sydney 26 September 2012 External links EditOfficial website RobertGBarrett com Friday 3 January 2014 archived that day Welcome to the official website Wednesday 15 June 2005 at Harper Collins Australia archived that day Robert G Barrett at Library of Congress with 7 library catalogue records Robert G Barrett at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Robert G Barrett amp oldid 1164881753, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
