Rod Serling's Main TV Roles Show Character(s) The Twilight Zone (1959) Narrator Night Gallery Host The Match Game Rod Serling Ichabod and Me Eugene Holl… Fractured Flickers Rod Serling Hollywood Talent Scouts Rod Serling

Main Movie Roles 1983 - Twilight Zone: The Movie 1974 - Phantom of the Paradise

BIOGRAPHY:

A former boxer, paratrooper and general all-around angry young man, Rod Serling was one of the radical new voices that made the "Golden Age" of television. Long before "The Twilight Zone" (1959), he was known for writing such high-quality scripts as "Patterns" and "Requiem for a Heavyweight," both later turned into films (Patterns (1956) and Requiem for a Heavyweight (1962)). Even "The Twilight Zone" (1959) featured forays into controversial grounds like racism, Cold War paranoia and the horrors of war. His maverick attitude eventually drove him from regular network television.


TRIVIA:

• In 1975, Serling had two severe heart attacks before entering Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester for heart bypass surgery. He had a third heart attack during the operation and died the following day, at the age of 50.
• Born into a Reform Jewish family, he later became a Unitarian upon his marriage in 1948.
• Appears on a 44¢ USA commemorative postage stamp, issued 11 August 2009, in the Early TV Memories issue honoring _"The Twilight Zone" (1959)_ (qv).
• Graduated from Binghamton High School in 1943.
• In 1994, 19 years after his death, he returned to "host" the pre-show area of "The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror" attraction at The Disney-MGM Studios Theme Park in Orlando, Florida. Through clever use of carefully edited vintage _"The Twilight Zone" (1959)_ (qv) footage, new footage processed in black & white and special additional dialogue recorded by a Serling soundalike (reportedly selected personally by Serling's widow, Carol), Serling appears in a "Twilight Zone" episode based on the ride's storyline and introduces theme park visitors to the attraction. This brief introduction, which is shown on a special vintage television in the attraction's pre-show area, represents the first "new" introduction of "The Twilight Zone" that he appears in since the series' end in 1964.
• He wanted 'Richard Egan (I)' (qv) to do the narration for _"The Twilight Zone" (1959)_ (qv) because of his rich, deep voice. However, due to strict studio contracts of the time, Egan was unable to. Serling said "It's Richard Egan or no one. It's 'Richard Egan (I)' (qv), or I'll do the thing myself," which is exactly what happened.
• Interred at Interlaken Cemetery, Interlaken, New York, USA.
• He usually dictated his scripts into a tape recorder and had his secretary type them up.