Rod Serling

Rod Serling Headshot

Writer • Producer • Actor

Birth Date: December 25, 1924

Death Date: June 28, 1975

Birth Place: Syracuse, New York

Best-remembered for creating, producing, hosting and (sometimes) writing the classic TV horror and sci-fi series "The Twilight Zone" (CBS, 1959-64), Serling himself preferred his earlier TV writing. He grew up in the bucolic small town of Binghamton, NY, a milieu he would often return to in his work. After serving as a paratrooper in WWII, Serling wrote radio plays at college and eventually turned pro. He broke into TV in 1951, and was soon supplying scripts for "Kraft Television Theater" (NBC), "Studio One" (CBS), "Matinee Theater" (NBC) and "Playhouse 90" (CBS). Serling's first big hit was the psychological drama "Patterns," shown on "Kraft Television Theater" in 1955 and made into a film that same year. Winning the first of six Emmys, he was signed to a first-purchase rights contract by CBS and went on to pen the Emmy-winning dramas "Requiem for a Heavyweight" (1956) and "The Comedian" (1957), and scores of other TV scripts.

But it took "The Twilight Zone" to make him a star, in a way few writers ever attained. The darkly handsome Serling hosted the clever, adult series, introducing each episode in his own sly, velvety-voiced style. The high quality of the show not only attracted many old-time guest stars (Ed Wynn, Gladys Cooper, Buster Keaton, Burgess Meredith, Franchot Tone), but introduced several newcomers to the public (Robert Redford, Jean Marsh, Inger Stevens, Elizabeth Montgomery, Burt Reynolds, a very young Ann Jillian). When the show went off the air (still at the height of its popularity), Serling never quite regained his footing.

Serling's dark western series, "The Loner," lasted only one season (1965-66) on CBS, and his movie "The Doomsday Flight" (NBC, 1966) tortured him by inspiring an actual hijacking.

Serling's big-screen career never really took off. He wrote a handful of films, among them "Saddle the Wind" (1958), "Seven Days in May" (1964) and "Assault on a Queen" (1966), but his only big hit was the 1968 sci-fi classic "Planet of the Apes" (written with Michael Wilson). He also hosted a game show, "The Liar's Club" (syndicated, 1969), and lent his distinctive voice and image to many documentaries and advertisements. Serling's next series, "Night Gallery" (NBC, 1971-73), was no "Twilight Zone," but it did occasionally shine--the premiere, directed by neophyte Steven Spielberg, brilliantly showcased Joan Crawford. In his last years, Serling wrote the TV movies "A Storm in Summer" and "A Storm in Winter" (both NBC, 1970), and "Oath: The Sad and Lonely Sundays" (ABC, 1976). A heavy smoker, Serling was only 50 when he died during bypass surgery in 1975.

Credits

The Twilight Zone

Host
Show
2010

The Twilight Zone

Writer
Show
2010

The Twilight ZoneStream

Writer
Series
2002

A Storm in Summer

Writer
Movie
2000

A Town Has Turned to Dust

Writer
Movie
1998

Twilight Zone: Rod Serling's Lost Classics

Screenwriter
Movie
1994

Rekvijem za teskasa

Screenwriter
Movie
1974

Encounter With the Unknown

Narrator
Movie
1973

In Search of Ancient Mysteries

Narrator
Movie
1973

Deadly Fathoms

Narrator
Movie
1972

Night Gallery

Host
Series
1970

Night Gallery

Writer
Series
1970

Night Gallery

Host
Movie
1969

The Dick Cavett ShowStream

Guest
Talk
1968

Rowan & Martin's Laugh-InStream

Guest
Variety Show
1968

Planet of the ApesStream

Screenwriter
Movie
1968
87%

Planet of the ApesStream

Writer
Movie
1968
87%

Ancient Astronauts

Director
Movie
1967

The Loner

Writer
Show
1965

Der neue Mann

Writer
Movie
1965

Seven Days in MayStream

Writer
Movie
1964
92%

Carol for Another ChristmasStream

Screenwriter
Movie
1964

The Danny Kaye ShowStream

Guest
Variety Show
1963

Fractured Flickers

Guest
Show
1963

Requiem For A HeavyweightStream

Writer (Screenplay)
Movie
1962
89%

The Twilight ZoneStream

Host
Series
1959
92%

The Twilight ZoneStream

Producer
Series
1959
92%

The Twilight ZoneStream

Writer
Series
1959
92%

Playhouse 90: The Velvet Alley

Writer
Show
1959

Pursuit

Actor
Show
1958

Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse

Writer
Series
1958

Saddle the Wind

Screenwriter
Movie
1958

The Mike Wallace Interview

Guest
Show
1957

Requiem for a Heavyweight

Screenwriter
Movie
1956

Patterns

Screenwriter
Movie
1956

Climax!Stream

Writer
Series
1954

The United States Steel Hour

Writer
Show
1953

The Jack Benny ProgramStream

Guest
Series
1950

Stars Over Hollywood

Writer
Show
1950

Fireside Theater

Writer
Show
1949

SuspenseStream

Writer
Series
1949

Studio OneStream

Writer
Series
1948

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