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Laurie Blass and Pam Elder
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Rod Serling: The Creator of The Twilight Zone…

Rodman Edward Serling was born in Syracuse, New York, on December 25, 1924. He grew up in Binghamton, New York, with his parents and brother, Robert. Upon graduating from high school, Serling enlisted in the U.S. Army. He was sent into combat in the Philippines and wounded by shrapnel.

After being discharged in 1946, Serling enrolled in Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio, where he first studied Physical Education, and then switched to Language and Literature. While at Antioch, Serling wrote scripts for and directed productions at a local radio station. He sold his first television script, "Grady Everett for the People," in 1949, when he was still a student.

Serling married Carolyn Louise Kramer in 1948 and went to work as a staff writer for a radio station in Cincinnati, continuing his freelance writing. Once he started writing fulltime, he began to have great success. In the early 50s, he had over seventy television scripts produced, to both critical and public acclaim. In 1955, Serling's script for the television play Patterns won him the first of his six Emmy awards. He went on to write for the television program Playhouse 90. In 1957, he left Playhouse 90 to create a science fiction series called The Twilight Zone.

When The Twilight Zone series ended in January 1964, Serling continued to write for film and television. He also was politically active and spoke out against the Vietnam War in the late 60s and early 70s.

Rod Serling died on June 28, 1975 in Rochester, New York, of complications arising from a coronary bypass operation.

 

Resources

Plays, Screenplays, and Books by Rod Serling

Chilling Stories from Rod Serling's The Twilight Zone (Tempo, 1969); includes The Ghost of Ticonderoga, Back There, Judgment Night, The Curse of Seven Towers, The Avenging Ghost, Return From Oblivion, The House On The Square, Death's Masquerade, The Riddle of The Crypt, and Dead Man's Chest.

From the Twilight Zone (Nelson Doubleday, 1964); a collection of stories from Stories From The Twilight Zone, More Stories From The Twilight Zone, and New Stories From The Twilight Zone.

Into the Twilight Zone (Rivercity Press, 1964; ISBN: 0891904468); includes Two Live Ghosts, The Ghost Of The Dixie Belle, The Purple Testament, The Ghost Train, Beyond The Rim, The Ghost Of Jolly Roger, and The Man In The Bottle.

More Stories From the Twilight Zone (Bantam Books, 1961); includes The Lonely, Mr. Dingle, the Strong, A Thing About Machines, The Big, Tall Wish, A Stop at Willoughby, The Odyssey of Flight 33, and Dust.

New Stories From the Twilight Zone (Bantam Books, 1962); includes The Whole Truth, The Shelter, Showdown with Rance McGrew, Night of the Meek, The Midnight Sun, The Rip Van Winkle Caper.

Night Gallery (Bantam Books, 1971); includes The Sole Survivor, Make Me Laugh, Pamela's Voice, Does the Name Grimsby Do Anything to You?, Clean Kills and Other Trophies, and They're Tearing Down Tim Riley's Bar.

Night Gallery 2 (Bantam Books, 1972); includes Collector's Items, The Messiah on Mott Street, The Different Ones, Lindemann's Catch, and Suggestion.

The Season To Be Wary (Little, Brown and Company, 1967); includes Escape Route, Color Scheme, Eyes.

Stories From the Twilight Zone (Bantam Books, 1960; ISBN: 0553265148); includes The Mighty Casey, Escape Clause, Walking Distance, The Fever, Where Is Everybody?, and The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street.

The Twilight Zone - Complete Stories (TV Books Inc. 1999; ISBN: 157500111X).

The Twilight Zone Omnibus (Amereon Ltd., 1940; ISBN: 0891901140).

Twilight Zone Revisited (Tempo, 1967).

Books About Rod Serling

Peter Wolfe, In the Zone: The Twilight World of Rod Serling; Bowling Green State University, 1997 (ISBN: 0879727306).

Gordon F. Sander, The Rise and Twilight of Television's Last Angry Man; Dutton, 1992 (ISBN: 0525935509).

Scott Skelton, Jim Benson, John Astin, Rod Serling's Night Gallery - An After Hours Tour; Syracuse University Press, 1998 (ISBN: 0815605358).

Joel Engel, Rod Serling: The Dreams and Nightmares of Life in the Twilight Zone; Contemporary Books, 1989 (ISBN: 0809245388).

Ron Labrecque, Special Effects : Disaster at Twilight Zone : The Tragedy and the Trial; S&S Trade, 1988 (ISBN: 0684189437).

Books About the Twilight Zone

Don Presnell and Marty McGee, A Critical History of Television's The Twilight Zone, 1959-1964; McFarland & Company, 1998 (ISBN: 0786404485).

Jean-Marc and Randy Lofficier, Into the Twilight Zone; Virgin Books, 1995 (ISBN: 0863698441).

Stephen Farber and Marc Green, Outrageous Conduct : Art, Ego, and the Twilight Zone Case; Ivy Books, 1989 (ISBN: 0804104786).

Marc Scott Zicree, The Twilight Zone Companion; Silman-James Press, 1992 (ISBN: 1879505096).

Arlen Schumer, Visions of the Twilight Zone; Chronicle Books, 1990 (ISBN: 0877016828).

Magazine

The Twilight Zone magazine, April 1981 ­ June 1989.

Websites About The Twilight Zone and Rod Serling

Sci Fi Channel's Twilight Zone site: www.scifi.com/twilightzone/; (click on Episode Guide, or go to http://www.scifi.com/twilightzone/episodes/.).

The Fifth Dimension Twilight Zone site: http://www.thetzsite.com/.

Pete's Twilight Zone: http://roswell.fortunecity.com/vortex/475/tz/index2.html.

"Professor Neon's TV & Movie Mania": http://www.vortex.com/profneon.

Websites about Science Fiction and Fantasy Genres

World Science Fiction Society: http://www.wsfs.org/.

Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, Inc.: http://www.sfwa.org/.

The Hugo Award (Science Fiction Achievement Award): http://worldcon.org/hugos.html. The Hugo Awards were named in honor of Hugo Gernsback, "The Father of Magazine Science Fiction," as he was described in a special award given to him in 1960.

 

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