View source for Rod Serling

{{Short description|American screenwriter (1924–1975)}}
{{Use American English|date=August 2022}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2022}}
{{infobox writer <!-- for more information see [[:Template:Infobox writer/doc]] -->
| image            = Rod Serling photo portrait 1959.JPG
| alt              = Dark-haired man holding a lit cigarette
| caption          = Serling in 1959
| birth_name       = Rodman Edward Serling
| birth_date       = {{Birth date|1924|12|25|mf=y}}
| birth_place      = [[Syracuse, New York]], U.S.
| death_date       = {{Death date and age|mf=yes|1975|06|28|1924|12|25}}
| death_place      = [[Rochester, New York]], U.S.
| resting_place    = {{ubl|Lake View Cemetery|[[Interlaken, New York]], U.S.}}
| occupation       = {{Hlist|Playwright|screenwriter|television producer|narrator|actor}}
| education        = [[Antioch College]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|B.A.]])
| years_active     = 1946–1975
| genre            = {{hlist|Drama|[[speculative fiction]]|[[science fiction]]|[[horror fiction]]}}
| subject          = 
| movement         = <!-- Please do not add items without providing references. -->
| notableworks     = {{Plainlist|
* ''[[Patterns (Kraft Television Theatre)|Patterns]]''
* ''[[Requiem for a Heavyweight]]''
* ''[[The Twilight Zone]]''
* ''[[Seven Days in May]]''
* ''[[Night Gallery]]''
* ''[[Planet of the Apes (1968 film)|Planet of the Apes]]''
}}
| awards           = {{Plainlist|
* [[Emmy Award|Emmy]]
* [[Hugo Award|Hugo]]
* [[Inkpot Award|Inkpot]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.comic-con.org/awards/inkpot|title=Inkpot Award|date=December 6, 2012|website=Comic-Con International: San Diego}}</ref> 
* [[Peabody Award|Peabody]]
* [[Golden Globe Award|Golden Globe]]
* [[Edgar Allan Poe Award|Edgar]]
}}
| spouse           = {{Marriage|Carolyn Louise Kramer|1948}}
| children         = 2
| relatives        = [[Robert J. Serling]] (brother)
| website          = 
}}

'''Rodman Edward Serling''' (December 25, 1924 – June 28, 1975) was an American screenwriter and television producer best known for his live television dramas of the 1950s and his [[Anthology series|anthology television series]] ''[[The Twilight Zone (1959 TV series)|The Twilight Zone]]''. Serling was active in politics, both on and off the screen, and helped form television industry standards. He was known as the "angry young man" of Hollywood, clashing with television executives and sponsors over a wide range of issues, including [[censorship]], [[racism]], and war.

==Early life==
Serling was born on December 25, 1924, in [[Syracuse, New York]], to a [[Jews|Jewish]] family.<ref name="Sander1992" /> He was the second of two sons born to Esther (née Cooper, 1893–1958), a homemaker, and Samuel Lawrence Serling (1892–1945).<ref name= CAO>{{cite web | website= galegroup.com |publisher = Contemporary Authors Online, Gale | date= 2010| title=Document H1000089528 | url = http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/BioRC}}</ref> Serling's father had worked as a secretary and amateur inventor before his children were born but took on his father-in-law's profession as a grocer to earn a steady income.<ref name=Sander1992/>{{rp|15}} Sam Serling later became a butcher after the [[Great Depression]] forced the store to close. Rod had an older brother, novelist and aviation writer [[Robert J. Serling]].<ref name= Sander1992/>{{rp|23}}<ref name= Scribner>"Serling, Rodman Edward ('Rod')". ''The Scribner Encyclopedia of American Lives Thematic Series: The 1960s''. Ed. William L. O'Neill and Kenneth T. Jackson, eds. 2 vols. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 2003. Reproduced in Biography Resource Center. Farmington Hills, Michigan: Gale, 2010. Document K3436600553.</ref>

Serling spent most of his youth {{cvt|70|mi}} south of Syracuse in [[Binghamton, New York]], after his family moved there in 1926.<ref name=CAO/> His parents encouraged his talents as a performer. Sam Serling built a small stage in the basement, where Rod often put on plays (with or without neighborhood children).<ref name=Sander1992/>{{rp|17–18}} His older brother, writer Robert, recalled that, at the age of six or seven, Rod entertained himself for hours by acting out dialogue from [[pulp magazine]]s or movies he had seen. Rod would often ask questions without waiting for their answers. On an hour trip from Binghamton to Syracuse, the rest of the family remained silent to see if Rod would notice their lack of participation. He did not, and he talked nonstop through the entire car ride.<ref name=CAO/>

In elementary school, Serling was seen as the class clown and dismissed by many of his teachers as a lost cause.<ref name= Sander1992/>{{rp|19–20}} His seventh-grade English teacher, Helen Foley, encouraged him to enter the school's public speaking extracurriculars.<ref name=Sander1992/>{{rp|19}} He joined the debate team and was a speaker at his high school graduation. He began writing for the school newspaper, in which, according to the journalist Gordon Sander, he "established a reputation as a social activist".<ref name=Sander1992/>{{rp|19}}
[[File:Rod-Serling-HS-yearbook.jpg|thumb|Serling as a senior in high school, 1943]]

Serling was interested in sports, and excelled at [[tennis]] and [[table tennis]]. When he attempted to join the varsity [[American football|football]] team, he was told he was too small at {{convert|5|ft|4|in|cm|0|abbr=on}} tall.<ref name= Sander1992/>{{rp|18–22}}

Serling was interested in radio and writing at an early age. He was an avid radio listener, especially interested in thrillers, fantasy, and horror shows. [[Arch Oboler]] and [[Norman Corwin]] were two of his favorite writers.<ref name=Grams/> He also "did some staff work at a Binghamton radio station ... tried to write ... but never had anything published."<ref name=Grams/> He was accepted into college during his senior year of high school. However, the United States was involved in [[World War II]] at the time, and Serling decided to enlist rather than start college immediately after he graduated from [[Binghamton High School|Binghamton Central High School]] in 1943.<ref name=Scribner/><ref name= Rosenbaum/>

As editor of his [[high school newspaper]], Serling encouraged his fellow students to support the war effort. He wanted to leave school before graduation to join the fight, but his [[civics]] teacher talked him into waiting for graduation. "War is a temporary thing," Gus Youngstrom told him. "It ends. Education doesn't. Without your degree, where will you be after the war?"<ref name= Sander1992/>{{rp|36}}

==American military service==
Serling enlisted in the [[United States Army|U.S. Army]] the morning after high school graduation, following his brother Robert.<ref name=Sander1992/>{{rp|34, 37}}

Serling began his military career in 1943 at [[Camp Toccoa]], Georgia, under General [[Joseph May Swing]] and Colonel [[Orin D. Haugen]]<ref name= Sander1992/>{{rp|36–37}} and served in the [[511th Parachute Infantry Regiment (United States)|511th Parachute Infantry Regiment]] of the [[11th Airborne Division (United States)|11th Airborne Division]].<ref name=Scribner/> He eventually reached the rank of [[Technician Fourth Grade]] (T/4).<ref>{{cite web| url = http://army.togetherweserved.com/army/servlet/tws.webapp.WebApps?cmd=ShadowBoxProfile&type=Person&ID=180324| title=Serling, Rodman, T/4 | first=Trey W. |last=Franklin| work= TogetherWeServed.com| access-date= October 31, 2016| archive-date= October 31, 2016|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20161031235004/http://army.togetherweserved.com/army/servlet/tws.webapp.WebApps?cmd=ShadowBoxProfile&type=Person&ID=180324 | url-status=live}}</ref>

Over the next year of paratrooper training, Serling and others began [[boxing]] to vent aggression. He competed as a [[flyweight]] and had 17 bouts, rising to the second round of the division finals before being knocked out.<ref name= Sander1992/>{{rp|40}} He was remembered for his [[Berserker]] style, and for "getting his nose broken in his first bout and again in the last bout".<ref name= Hudson /> He tried his hand at the [[Golden Gloves]], with little success.<ref name=Grams />

On April 25, 1944, Serling received his orders and saw that he was being sent west to California. He knew that he would be fighting against the [[Empire of Japan]] rather than [[Nazi Germany]]. This disappointed him because he had hoped to help fight against [[Adolf Hitler]].<ref name= Sander1992/>{{rp|40–41}} In May, he was assigned to the [[Pacific Ocean theater of World War II|Pacific Theater]] in [[New Guinea]] and the [[Philippine islands]].<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cwzIDAAAQBAJ&q=%22He+was+assigned+in+may+1944+to+the+Pacific%22&pg=PA3|url-access= subscription| isbn=978-1491720134| last= Reynolds| first=Kenneth|title=The Twilight Zone: Rod Serling's Wondrous Land| year= 2014 |page=3|publisher= iUniverse|access-date=July 6, 2019}}</ref>

[[File:511th PIR at Manarawat, 1944.jpg|thumb|left|Troops of the 511th Parachute Infantry Regiment evacuate a wounded soldier to an aid station at Manarawat on the island of [[Leyte, Philippines]] dated on December 1944.]]
In November 1944, his division first saw combat, landing in the [[Philippines]]. The [[11th Airborne Division]] was not used as paratroopers, however, but as light infantry during the [[Battle of Leyte]]. The division helped secure the area after the five divisions that had gone ashore earlier.<ref name= Sander1992/>{{rp|43}}

For a variety of reasons, Serling was transferred to the 511th's demolition platoon, nicknamed "The Death Squad" for its high casualty rate. According to Sergeant Frank Lewis, leader of the demolitions squad, "He screwed up somewhere along the line. Apparently he got on someone's nerves."<ref name= Sander1992/>{{rp|45}} Lewis also judged that Serling was not suited to be a field soldier: "he didn't have the wits or aggressiveness required for combat."<ref name= Sander1992/>{{rp|45}} At one point, Lewis, Serling, and others were in a firefight, trapped in a foxhole. As they waited for darkness, Lewis noticed that Serling had not reloaded any of his extra magazines. Serling sometimes went exploring on his own, against orders, and got lost.<ref name=Sander1992/>{{rp|45}}

Serling's time in Leyte shaped his writing and political views for the rest of his life. He saw death every day while in the Philippines, at the hands of his enemies and his allies, and through freak accidents such as that which killed another Jewish private, Melvin Levy. Levy was delivering a comic monologue for the platoon as they rested under a palm tree when a food crate was dropped from a plane above, decapitating him. Serling led the funeral services for Levy and placed a [[Star of David]] over his grave.<ref name= Sander1992/>{{rp|45}} Serling later set several of his scripts in the Philippines and used the unpredictability of death as a theme in much of his writing.<ref name= Sander1992/>{{rp|46}} In the 1960 ''Twilight Zone'' episode "The Purple Testament", a prologue written by Serling stated, "Infantry platoon, U.S. Army, Philippine Islands, 1945. These are the faces of the young men who fight, as if some omniscient painter had mixed a tube of oils that were at one time earth brown, dust gray, blood red, beard black, and fear—yellow white, and these men were the models. For this is the province of combat, and these are the faces of war."

Serling returned from the successful mission in Leyte with two wounds, including one to his kneecap,<ref name= Sander1992/>{{rp|47}} but neither kept him from combat when General [[Douglas MacArthur]] deployed the paratroopers for their usual purpose on February 3, 1945. Colonel Haugen led the 511th Parachute Infantry Regiment as it landed on [[Tagaytay|Tagaytay Ridge]], met the [[188th Infantry Regiment (United States)|188th Glider Infantry Regiment]] and marched into [[Manila]]. It met minimal resistance until it reached the city, where Vice Admiral [[Sanji Iwabuchi]] had arranged his 17,000 troops behind a maze of traps and guns and ordered them to fight to the death.<ref name= Sander1992/>{{rp|47–49}} During the next month, Serling's unit battled block by block for control of [[Battle of Manila (1945)|Manila]].

When portions of the city were taken from Japanese control, local civilians sometimes showed their gratitude by throwing parties and hosting banquets. During one of these parties, Serling and his comrades were fired upon, resulting in many soldier and civilian deaths. Serling, still a private after three years, caught the attention of Sergeant Lewis when he ran into the line of fire to rescue a performer who had been on stage when the artillery started firing.<ref name=Sander1992/>{{rp|49}}

As it moved in on Iwabuchi's stronghold, Serling's regiment had a 50% casualty rate, with over 400 men killed or wounded. Serling was wounded and three comrades were killed by shrapnel from rounds fired at his roving demolition team by an anti-aircraft gun.<ref name=Sander1992/>{{rp|50}} He was sent to [[New Guinea]] to recover but soon returned to Manila to finish "cleaning up".

Serling's final assignment was as part of the [[Occupation of Japan|occupation force in Japan]].<ref name= Sander1992/>{{rp|51}}  During his military service, Private Serling was awarded the [[Purple Heart]], the [[Bronze Star Medal|Bronze Star]],<ref name=AAYA>''Rod Serling''. Authors and Artists for Young Adults, vol. 14. Gale Research, 1995. Reproduced in Biography Resource Center. Farmington Hills, Michigan: Gale, 2010.</ref>  and the [[Philippine Liberation Medal]].<ref name= Scribner/><ref>{{cite web| url= http://www.military.com/veteran-jobs/career-advice/military-transition/famous-veteran-rod-serling.html| title=Famous Veteran: Rod Serling|  work= [[Military.com]] | access-date= October 31, 2016| archive-date= October 26, 2016| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20161026164425/http://www.military.com/veteran-jobs/career-advice/military-transition/famous-veteran-rod-serling.html| url-status=live}}</ref>

Serling's combat experience affected him deeply and influenced much of his writing. It left him with nightmares and [[Flashback (psychology)|flashback]]s for the rest of his life.<ref name= Scribner/> He said, "I was bitter about everything and at loose ends when I got out of the service. I think I turned to writing to get it off my chest."<ref name= CAO/>

===Awards===
{| style="margin:1em auto; text-align:center;"
|colspan="12"|[[File:Combat Infantry Badge.svg|200px]]
|-
|colspan="12"|{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=olc|ribbon=Bronze Star Medal ribbon.svg|width=106}} {{Ribbon devices|number=0|type=service-star|ribbon=Purple Heart BAR.svg|width=106}}
|-
|{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|ribbon=Army Good Conduct Medal ribbon.svg|width=106}}
|{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|ribbon=American Campaign Medal ribbon.svg|width=106}}
|{{ribbon devices|number=4|type=service-star|other_device=arrowhead|ribbon=Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal ribbon.svg{{!}}border|width=106}}
|-
|{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=olc|ribbon=World War II Victory Medal ribbon.svg{{!}}border|width=106}}
|{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|ribbon=Army of Occupation ribbon.svg|width=106px}}
|{{ribbon devices|number=1|type=service-star|ribbon=Phliber rib.svg|width=106}}
|-
|colspan="12"|[[File:USAAF - Glider Pilot 4.png|106px]] [[File:US Army Airborne basic parachutist badge.gif|106px]]
|-
|colspan="12"|{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=olc|ribbon=U.S. Army and U.S. Air Force Presidential Unit Citation ribbon.svg|width=106}} {{ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|ribbon=Philippines Presidential Unit Citation.png|width=106px}}
|}
{| class="wikitable" style="margin:1em auto; text-align:center;"
|-
|colspan="12"|[[Combat Infantryman Badge]]
|-
|colspan="6"|[[Bronze Star]]
|colspan="6"|[[Purple Heart]]
|-
|colspan="4"|[[Army Good Conduct Medal]]
|colspan="4"|[[American Campaign Medal]] 
|colspan="4"|[[Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal]] <br /> with [[arrowhead device]] and four [[campaign stars]]
|-
|colspan="4"|[[World War II Victory Medal (United States)|World War II Victory Medal]]
|colspan="4"|[[Army of Occupation Medal]] 
|colspan="4"|[[Philippine Liberation Medal]] <br /> with one [[service star]]
|-
|colspan="6"|[[Glider Badge]]
|colspan="6"|[[Parachutist Badge]] 
|-
| colspan="6"|[[Presidential Unit Citation (United States)|Army Presidential Unit Citation]]
| colspan="6"|[[Philippine Republic Presidential Unit Citation|Philippine Presidential Unit Citation]]
|}

==Postwar life, education, and family==
After being discharged from the Army in 1946, Serling worked at a rehabilitation hospital while recovering from his wounds. His knee troubled him for years. Later, his wife, Carol, became accustomed to the sound of him falling on the stairs when his knee would buckle.<ref name=Rosenbaum/>

When he was fit enough, he used the federal [[G.I. Bill|G.I. bill's educational benefits]]<ref name=Hudson/> and disability payments<ref name=Rosenbaum/> to enroll in the physical education program at [[Antioch College]] in [[Yellow Springs, Ohio]]. He had been accepted to Antioch (his brother's ''alma mater'') while in high school.<ref name=Sander1992/>{{rp|53}} His interests led him to the theater department and then to broadcasting.<ref name=Rosenbaum/> He changed his major to literature and earned his [[Bachelor of Arts]] degree in 1950.<ref name=CAO/> "I was kind of mixed up and restless, and I kind of liked their work-for-a-term, go-to-school-for-a-term set-up," he recounted.<ref name=Sander1992/>{{rp|53}}

{{multiple image
| image1=Rod and Carol Serling at home 1959.jpg
| image2=Rod Serling with daughters 1959.jpg
| width2=190
| footer=Serling with his wife, Carol, and with their daughters, 1959
}}
As part of his studies, Serling became active in the campus radio station, an experience that proved useful in his future career. He wrote, directed, and acted in many radio programs on campus, then around the state, as part of his work study.<ref name=DuBrow>{{cite news | last =DuBrow | first = Rick | title = Assessing the Astonishing Impact of Rod Serling's 'Twilight Zone' : Television: KTLA Channel 5 presents its eighth annual marathon of the venerable hit today. Serling's widow calls the show a 'cottage industry.' | date= July 4, 1990 | newspaper = [[Los Angeles Times]] |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-07-04-ca-275-story.html }}</ref> Here he met Carolyn Louise "Carol" Kramer (February 3, 1929 — January 9, 2020),<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/23/arts/television/carol-serling-dead.html|title=Carol Serling, Rod's Wife and Tender of 'Twilight Zone' Flame, Dies at 90|first=Richard|last=Sandomir|newspaper=The New York Times |date=January 23, 2020}}</ref> a fellow student, who later became his wife. At first, she refused to date him because of his promiscuous campus reputation, but she eventually changed her mind.<ref name=CAO/> In college he joined the [[Unitarianism|Unitarian]] church,<ref name=Scribner/> which married him and Kramer on July 31, 1948.<ref name=CAO/> They had two daughters, Jodi (born 1952) and Anne (born 1955).<ref name=CAO/><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/archives/la-me-rod-serling-19750629-20160623-snap-story.html|title=From the Archives: TV's Rod Serling, 50, Dies 2 Days After Heart Surgery |date=June 29, 1975|newspaper= [[Los Angeles Times]]|access-date=August 11, 2017|language=en-US|issn=0458-3035}}</ref><ref>{{cite book | last=Serling | first=Anne | title=As I Knew Him:: My Dad, Rod Serling | publisher=Citadel Press | year=2014 | isbn=978-0-8065-3674-3 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TxIfAwAAQBAJ }}</ref>

Carol Serling's maternal grandmother, Louise Taft Orton Caldwell,<ref name=Sander1992/>{{rp|60}} had a summer home on [[Cayuga Lake]] in [[Interlaken%2C New York|Interlaken, New York]], which was the honeymoon destination for the newlyweds. The Serling family continued to use this house annually throughout Rod's life, missing only two summers in the years when his daughters were born.<ref name=Rosenbaum>Rosenbaum, Bob. "Life With Rod: A Conversation with Carol Serling". ''Twilight Zone'' magazine, April 1987.</ref>

For extra money in his college years, Serling worked part-time testing parachutes for the [[United States Army Air Forces]]. According to his radio station coworkers, he received $50 for each successful jump and had once been paid $500 (half before and half if he survived) for a hazardous test.<ref name=Sander1992/>{{rp|58}} His last test jump was a few weeks before his wedding. In one instance, he earned $1,000 for testing a jet ejection seat that had killed the previous three testers.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://hotspringsdaily.com/2016/03/celebrities-who-served-rod-serling/ |title=Celebrities Who Served: Rod Serling |website=HotSpringsDaily.com |access-date=May 3, 2016 |location=Hot Springs, Arkansas |archive-date=June 2, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160602111033/http://hotspringsdaily.com/2016/03/celebrities-who-served-rod-serling/ |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name=Sander1992/>{{rp|61}}

==Career==

===Radio===
Serling volunteered at [[WNYC]] in New York as an actor and writer in the summer of 1946.<ref name=Grams>{{cite web| last=Grams | first=Martin Jr. |author-link=Martin Grams, Jr. |title=The Radio Career of Rod Serling |publisher=Audio Classics Archive |url=http://www.audio-classics.com/mgarticle021.html |access-date=September 6, 2013| archive-date= January 8, 2009| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090108125208/http://www.audio-classics.com/mgarticle021.html| url-status=live}}</ref> The next year, he worked at that station as a paid intern in his Antioch work-study program.<ref name=Sander1992/>{{rp|57}} He then took odd jobs in other radio stations in New York and Ohio.<ref>Chicago radio personality [[Dick Biondi]] mentions Serling writing commercials for WINR in Binghamton, New York, in {{cite web|url=http://www.manteno.com/wcfl/biondi.html |title=Dick Biondi |first=Bill |last=Schenold |publisher=Manteno.com |year=1985 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030812235549/http://www.manteno.com/wcfl/biondi.html |archive-date=August 12, 2003 |quote=I went on to WINR in Binghamton.&nbsp;. ... At the same time, a guy by the name of Rod Serling was there working writing commercials. |url-status=dead }}</ref> "I learned 'time', writing for a medium that is measured in seconds," Serling later said of his early experiences.<ref name=Grams/>

While attending college, Serling worked at the Antioch Broadcasting System's radio workshop and was managing the station within a couple of years. He then took charge of full-scale radio productions at Antioch which were broadcast on WJEM, in Springfield. He wrote and directed the programs and acted in them when needed. He created the entire output for the 1948–1949 school year. With one exception (an adaptation), all the writing that year was his original work.<ref name=Grams/>

While in college, Serling won his first accolade as a writer. The radio program, ''[[Dr. Christian]]'', had started an annual scriptwriting contest eight years earlier. Thousands of scripts were sent in annually, but very few could be produced.<ref name=Grams/> Serling won a trip to New York City and $500 for his radio script "To Live a Dream".<ref name=Warrick>{{cite news | last=Warrick| first=Pamela| title=Serling the Storyteller and Master Dreamer | work =[[Los Angeles Times]] | date= October 3, 1999 | url = https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1999-oct-03-cl-18030-story.html| archive-date= December 23, 2012| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20121223142826/http://articles.latimes.com/1999/oct/03/news/cl-18030 | url-status=live}}</ref> He and his new wife, Carol, attended the awards broadcast on May 18, 1949, where he and the other winners were interviewed by the star of ''Dr. Christian'', [[Jean Hersholt]]. One of the other winners that day was [[Earl Hamner, Jr.]], who had also earned prizes in previous years. 
Serling's first job out of college was with WLW radio as copy writer. The position had just been vacated by Hamner who left to concentrate on his writing.
Hamner later wrote scripts for Serling's ''The Twilight Zone''.<ref name=Grams/>

In addition to earning $45 to $50 a week at the college radio station, Serling attempted to make a living selling freelance scripts of radio programs, but the industry at that time was involved in many lawsuits, which affected willingness to take on new writers (some whose scripts were rejected would often hear a similar plot produced, claim their work had been stolen, and sue for recompense).<ref name=Grams/> Serling was rejected for reasons such as "heavy competition", "this script lacks professional quality", and "not what our audience prefers to listen to".<ref name=Grams/>

In the autumn of 1949, Martin Horrell of ''[[Grand Central Station (radio)|Grand Central Station]]'' (a radio program known for romances and light dramas) rejected one of Serling's scripts about boxing, because his mostly female listeners "have told us in no uncertain terms that prize fight stories aren't what they like most". Horrell advised that "the script would be far better for sight than for sound only, because in any radio presentation, the fights are not seen. Perhaps this is a baby you should try on some of the producers of television shows."<ref name=Grams/>

Realizing the boxing story was not right for ''Grand Central Station'', Serling submitted a lighter piece called ''Hop Off the Express and Grab a Local'', which became his first nationally broadcast piece on September 10, 1949.<ref name=Grams/> His ''Dr. Christian'' script aired on November 30 of that year.

Serling began his professional writing career in 1950, when he earned $75 a week as a network [[Continuity (broadcasting)|continuity writer]] for [[WLW]] radio in [[Cincinnati, Ohio]].<ref name=Grams/><ref name=Rosenbaum/> While at WLW, he continued to freelance. He sold several radio and television scripts to WLW's parent company, [[Crosley Broadcasting Corporation]]. After selling the scripts, Serling had no further involvement with them. They were sold by [[Powel Crosley|Crosley]] to local stations across the United States.<ref name=Grams/>

Serling submitted an idea for a weekly radio show in which the ghosts of a young boy and girl killed in World War II would look through train windows and comment on day-to-day human life as it moved around the country. This idea was changed significantly but was produced from October 1950 to February 1951 as ''Adventure Express'', a drama about a girl and boy who travel by train with their uncle. Each week they found adventure in a new town and got involved with the local residents.<ref name=Grams/>

Other radio programs for which Serling wrote scripts include ''Leave It to Kathy'', ''Our America'', and ''Builders of Destiny''. During the production of these, he became acquainted with a voice actor, Jay Overholts, who later became a regular on ''The Twilight Zone''.<ref name=Grams/>

Serling said of his time as a staff writer for radio: {{cquote|From a writing point of view, radio ate up ideas that might have put food on the table for weeks at a future freelancing date. The minute you tie yourself down to a radio or TV station, you write around the clock. You rip out ideas, many of them irreplaceable. They go on and consequently can never go on again. And you've sold them for $50 a week. You can't afford to give away ideas—they're too damn hard to come by. If I had it to do over, I wouldn't staff-write at all. I'd find some other way to support myself while getting a start as a writer.<ref name=Grams/>}}

Serling believed radio was not living up to its potential, later saying, "Radio, in terms of&nbsp;... drama, dug its own grave. It had aimed downward, had become cheap and unbelievable, and had willingly settled for second best."<ref name=Sander1992/>{{rp|69}} He opined that there were very few radio writers who would be remembered for their literary contributions.<ref name=Sander1992/>{{rp|69}}

===Television===
{{Quote box
| width  = 38em
| align  = right
| quote  = I think Rod would have been one of the first to say he hit the new industry, television, at exactly the right time. The first job he got out of school was as a continuity writer at (radio station) WLW in Cincinnati. He worked there for over a year before he could free-lance. At that point, he was really working on television scripts. [I]n 1951 and 1952, the new industry was grabbing up a lot of material and needed it. It was a very propitious time to be graduating from school and getting ready to find a profession.
| source = —Carol Serling, ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'', 1990 interview<ref name=DuBrow/>
}}
[[File:Rod Serling 1959.JPG|thumb|upright=0.9|Rod Serling, 1959]]
Serling moved from radio to television, as a writer for [[WKRC-TV]] in [[Cincinnati]]. His duties included writing [[testimonial]] advertisements for dubious medical remedies and scripts for a comedy duo.<ref name=CAO/> He continued at WKRC after graduation and, amidst the mostly dreary day-to-day work, also created a series of scripts for a live television program, ''The Storm'', as well as for other anthology dramas (a format which was in demand by networks based in New York).<ref name=Scribner/> Following a full day of classes (or, in later years, work), he spent evenings on his own, writing. He sent manuscripts to publishers and received forty rejection slips during these early years.<ref name=CAO/>

In 1950, Serling hired Blanche Gaines as an agent. His radio scripts received more rejections, so he began rewriting them for television. Whenever a script was rejected by one program, he would resubmit it to another, eventually finding a home for many in either radio or television.<ref name=Grams/>

As Serling's college years ended, his scripts began to sell. He continued to write for television<ref name=Hudson>{{cite news | last = Hudson | first= Edward | title = Rod Serling of 'Twilight Zone' and 'Night Gallery' on TV Dies | url = http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F20711FA355C127A93CBAB178DD85F418785F9 | newspaper= [[The New York Times]] | date = June 29, 1975 | page =35 | access-date= September 16, 2013}} Abstract of pay-site article.</ref> and eventually left WKRC to become a full-time freelance writer. He recalled, "Writing is a demanding profession and a selfish one. And because it is selfish and demanding, because it is compulsive and exacting, I didn't embrace it. I succumbed to it."<ref name=CAO/>

According to his wife, Serling "just up and quit one day, during the winter of 1952, about six months before our first daughter Jody was born—though he was also doing some freelancing and working on a weekly dramatic show for another Cincinnati station."<ref name=Rosenbaum/> He and his family moved to [[Connecticut]] in early 1953. Here he made a living by writing for the live dramatic anthology shows that were prevalent at the time, including ''[[Kraft Television Theatre]]'', ''[[Appointment with Adventure]]'' and ''[[Hallmark Hall of Fame]]''.<ref name=CAO/> By the end of 1954, his agent convinced him he needed to move to New York, "where the action is."<ref name=Rosenbaum/>

The writer [[Marc Scott Zicree]], who spent years researching his book ''[[Twilight Zone literature#Guides|The Twilight Zone Companion]]'', noted, "Sometimes the situations were clichéd, the characters two-dimensional, but always there was at least some search for an emotional truth, some attempt to make a statement on the human condition."<ref name=CAO/>

====Gaining fame====
In 1955, the nationwide ''[[Kraft Television Theatre]]'' televised a program based on Serling's 72nd script. To Serling, it was just another script, and he missed the first live broadcast. He and his wife hired a babysitter for the night and told her, "no one would call because we had just moved to town. And the phone just started ringing and didn't stop for years!"<ref name=Rosenbaum/> The title of this episode was "[[Patterns (Kraft Television Theatre)|Patterns]]", and it soon changed his life.
[[File:Patterns01.jpg|left|thumb|[[Ed Begley]], [[Everett Sloane]] and [[Richard Kiley]] in ''Patterns'' (1955)]]

"Patterns" dramatized the power struggle between a veteran corporate boss running out of ideas and energy and the bright, young executive being groomed to take his place. Instead of firing the loyal employee and risk tarnishing his own reputation, the boss enlists him into a campaign to push aside his competition.<ref name=Gould1955a>{{cite news| last=Gould | first=Jack | author-link=Jack Gould | title=Television in Review; 'Patterns' Is Hailed as a Notable Triumph |newspaper=[[The New York Times]]| date=January 17, 1955| page= 32 |url= https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1955/01/17/83347480.html?pageNumber=32 }}</ref> Serling modeled the character of the boss on his former commander, Colonel Orin Haugen.<ref name=Sander1992/>{{rp|37}}

''[[The New York Times]]'' critic [[Jack Gould]] called the show "one of the high points in the TV medium's evolution" and said, "[f]or sheer power of narrative, forcefulness of characterization and brilliant climax, Mr. Serling's work is a creative triumph."<ref name=Gould1955a/> [[Robert Lewis Shayon]] stated in ''Saturday Review'', "in the years I have been watching television I do not recall being so engaged by a drama, nor so stimulated to challenge the haunting conclusions of an hour's entertainment."<ref name=CAO/> The episode was a hit with the audience as well, and a second live show was staged by popular demand one month later.<ref name=Notes>{{Citation |last=Shanley |first= J. P. |title= Notes on 'Patterns' And A Familiar Voice |url= https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1955/02/06/83351530.html?pageNumber=296 |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=February 6, 1955 |page= X15 }}</ref> During the time between the two shows, Kraft executives negotiated with people from Hollywood over the rights to "Patterns". Kraft said they were considering rebroadcasting "Patterns", unless the play or motion picture rights were sold first.<ref name=Gould1955b>{{Citation |last=Gould |first= Jack |title=Television: A Saint and a Sinner; Portion of 'Bleecker Street' on C. B. S. 'Naughty Marietta' Has Revival on N. B. C. |url= https://www.nytimes.com/1955/01/19/archives/television-a-saint-and-a-sinner-portion-of-bleecker-street-on-c-b-s.html |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date= January 19, 1955 |page= 35 }}</ref>

Immediately following the original broadcast of "Patterns", Serling was inundated with offers of permanent jobs, congratulations, and requests for novels, plays, and television or radio scripts.<ref name=Notes/> He quickly sold many of his earlier, lower-quality works and watched in dismay as they were published. Critics expressed concern that he was not living up to his promise and began to doubt he was able to recreate the quality of writing that "Patterns" had shown.<ref name=CAO/>

Serling then wrote "[[Requiem for a Heavyweight]]" for the television series ''[[Playhouse 90]]'' in 1956, again gaining praise from critics.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Gould |first1=Jack |title=TV: "Requiem for a Heavyweight"|newspaper= [[The New York Times]] |date= October 12, 1956 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1956/10/12/archives/tv-requiem-for-a-heavyweight-rod-serlings-drama-scores-a-knockout.html| quote= ... a play of overwhelming force and tenderness. It was an artistic triumph that featured a performance of indescribable poignancy by Jack Palance...}} (abstract at subscription site)</ref>

In the autumn of 1957, the Serling family moved to California. When television was new, shows aired live from New York, but as studios began to tape their shows, the business moved from the East Coast to the West Coast.<ref name=Rosenbaum/> The Serlings would live in California for much of his life, but they kept property in Binghamton and Cayuga Lake as retreats for when he needed time alone.<ref name=Rosenbaum/>

====Corporate censorship====
The early years of television often saw [[sponsor (commercial)|sponsors]] working as editors and censors. Serling was often forced to change his scripts after corporate sponsors read them and found something they felt was too controversial. They were wary of anything they thought might make them look bad to consumers, so references to many contemporary social issues were omitted, as were references to anything that might compete commercially with a sponsor. For instance, the line "Got a match?" was deleted because one of the sponsors of "Requiem for a Heavyweight" was [[Ronson (company)|Ronson]] [[lighter]]s.<ref name=CAO/>
[[File:Rod Serling relaxing at home 1959.JPG|thumb|left|upright|Serling at home in 1959, with three of his Emmys on the cabinet behind him]]

The initial story-line of his teleplay ''Noon on Doomsday'' (aired April 25, 1956) was set in the [[Southern United States]] about the lynching of a Jewish pawnbroker. However, when Serling mentioned in a radio interview that it was inspired by the events and racism that led to the murder of [[Emmett Till]], censorship by advertisers and the TV network resulted in significant changes. The program as shown was set in New England and concerned the killing of an unknown foreigner.<ref name="SmithsonianMag_April2019">{{cite web |last1=Mansky |first1=Jackie |title=An Early Run-In With Censors Led Rod Serling to 'The Twilight Zone' |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/early-run-censors-led-rod-serling-twilight-zone-180971837/ |website=The Smithsonian Magazine |access-date=July 3, 2020}}</ref> He subsequently returned to the Till events when writing ''[[A Town Has Turned to Dust (Playhouse 90)|A Town Has Turned to Dust]]'' for 'Playhouse 90' but had to set it a century in the past and remove any inter-racial dynamics before it would be produced by CBS TV.<ref name="SmithsonianMag_April2019" />

Gould, ''The New York Times'' reviewer, added this [[editorial]] note at the end of a glowing review for ''A Town Has Turned to Dust'', a show about racism and bigotry in a small [[Southwestern United States|Southwestern]] town: "'Playhouse 90' and Mr. Serling had to fight executive interference&nbsp;... before getting their play on the air last night. The theater people of Hollywood have reason to be proud of their stand in the viewers' behalf."<ref name=Gould1958>{{Citation |last=Gould | first=Jack | author-link=Jack Gould | title=Prejudice Dissected; Rod Serling's 'A Town Has Turned to Dust' Offered on 'Playhouse 90'  |newspaper=[[The New York Times]]| date=June 20, 1958 | page= 47 |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1958/06/20/80782921.html?pageNumber=47 }}</ref>

Frustrated by seeing his scripts divested of political statements and ethnic identities (and having a reference to the [[Chrysler Building]] removed from a script sponsored by Ford), Serling decided the only way to avoid such artistic interference was to create his own show. In an interview with [[Mike Wallace]], he said, "I don't want to fight anymore. I don't want to have to battle sponsors and agencies. I don't want to have to push for something that I want and have to settle for second best. I don't want to have to compromise all the time, which in essence is what a television writer does if he wants to put on controversial themes."<ref name=CAO/>

Serling submitted "The Time Element" to CBS, intending it to be a pilot for his new weekly show, ''The Twilight Zone''. Instead, CBS used the science fiction script for a new show produced by [[Desi Arnaz]] and [[Lucille Ball]], ''[[Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse]],'' in 1958. The story concerns a man who has vivid nightmares of the [[attack on Pearl Harbor]]. The man goes to a psychiatrist and, after the session, the [[plot twist|twist ending]] (a device which Serling became known for) reveals the "patient" had died at Pearl Harbor, and the ''psychiatrist'' was the one actually having the vivid dreams.<ref name=CAO/> The episode received so much positive fan response that CBS agreed to let Serling go ahead with his pilot for ''The Twilight Zone''.<ref name=CAO/>

====''The Storm''====
Before ''The Twilight Zone'', Serling created a local television show in Cincinnati on WKRC-TV, ''The Storm'', in the early 1950s. Several of these scripts were rewritten for later use on national network TV.<ref>{{cite news|last1 = Kiesewetter|first1 = John|title = 'The Twilight Zone' Had Roots in Cincinnati|url = http://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/history/2014/05/27/rod-serling-twilight-zone-wkrc-tv/9624063/|access-date = January 22, 2016|work = [[Cincinnati Enquirer]] |publisher = USA Today Network|date = May 27, 2014| archive-date= October 7, 2015| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151007161630/http://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/history/2014/05/27/rod-serling-twilight-zone-wkrc-tv/9624063/?from=global&sessionKey=&autologin=| url-status=live}}</ref>  A copy of an episode is located in the Cincinnati Museum Center Historical Cincinnati Library on videotape.<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.enquirer.com/editions/1998/02/08/loc_wlwbar.html |title=Watch Early Shows |date=February 8, 1998 |work=Cincinnati Enquirer |access-date=January 22, 2016 |archive-date=May 28, 2024 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20240528001608/https://www.webcitation.org/6lgIONKcC?url=http://www.enquirer.com/editions/1998/02/08/loc_wlwbar.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

====''The Twilight Zone''====
{{Main|The Twilight Zone|The Twilight Zone (1959 TV series)}}

[[File:Rod Serling dictating script 1959.jpg|thumb|upright|Serling working on a script with a dictating machine, 1959]]
In early 1959,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Variety |url=https://archive.org/details/variety214-1959-04 |title=Variety (April 1959) |date=April 1959 |publisher=Variety |others=Media History Digital Library}}</ref> Serling formed his own film production company, Cayuga Productions, and in July 1959 signed an exclusive three-year contract with [[CBS]], stipulating that he would continue delivering telescripts for ''Playhouse 90'', as well as create, write, and produce new properties for the network (one of which became the new series, [[The Twilight Zone (1959 TV series)|''The Twilight Zone'']]).<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/motionpicturedai86unse |title=Motion picture daily |date=1959 |location=New York |publisher=Motion Picture Daily |others=MBRS Library of Congress}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=1959-08-06 |title=Fort Worth Star-Telegram from Fort Worth, Texas |url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/639313436/ |access-date=2025-03-11 |website=Newspapers.com |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=1959-07-20 |title=Redlands Daily Facts from Redlands, California |url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/10773516/ |access-date=2025-03-11 |website=Newspapers.com |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=1959-09-14 |title=The Post-Standard from Syracuse, New York |url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/1101360122/ |access-date=2025-03-11 |website=Newspapers.com |language=en-US}}</ref> On October 2, 1959, the ''Twilight Zone'' series, premiered on [[CBS]].<ref name=Scribner/>

For this series, Serling fought hard to get and maintain creative control. He hired scriptwriters he respected, such as [[Richard Matheson]] and [[Charles Beaumont]]. In an interview, Serling said the show's science fiction format would not be controversial<ref name=AmericanMasters>{{cite episode |title=Rod Serling: Submitted for Your Approval |series=American Masters |series-link=American Masters |season=10 |number=1 |network=[[PBS]] |air-date=November 29, 1995}}</ref> with sponsors, network executives, or the general public and would escape censorship, unlike the earlier script for ''Playhouse 90''.

Serling drew on his own experience for many episodes, frequently about boxing, military life, and airplane pilots. ''The Twilight Zone'' incorporated his social views on racial relations, somewhat veiled in the science fiction and fantasy elements of the shows. Occasionally, the point was quite blunt, such as in the episode "[[I Am the Night—Color Me Black]]", in which hatred caused a dark cloud to form in a small town in the American Midwest and spread across the world. Many ''Twilight Zone'' stories reflected his views on gender roles, featuring quick-thinking, resilient women as well as shrewish, nagging wives.

''The Twilight Zone'' aired for five seasons (the first three presented half-hour episodes, the fourth had hour-long episodes, and the fifth returned to the half-hour format). It won many television and drama awards and drew critical acclaim for Serling and his co-workers. Although it had loyal fans, ''The Twilight Zone'' had only moderate ratings and was twice canceled and revived. After five years and [[List of The Twilight Zone (1959 TV series) episodes|156 episodes]] (92 written by Serling), he grew weary of the series. In 1964, he decided not to oppose its third and final cancellation.

Serling sold the rights to ''The Twilight Zone'' to CBS. His wife later claimed he did this partly because he believed that his own production company, Cayuga Productions, would never recoup the production costs of the programs, which frequently went over budget.

''The Twilight Zone'' eventually resurfaced in the form of a 1983 film by [[Warner Bros]]. Former ''Twilight Zone'' actor [[Burgess Meredith]] was cast as the film's narrator, but does not appear on screen. There have been three attempts to revive the television series with mostly new scripts. In 1985, CBS used [[Charles Aidman]] (and later [[Robin Ward (television personality)|Robin Ward]]) as the narrator. In 2002, [[UPN]] featured [[Forest Whitaker]] in the role of narrator.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2002-sep-23-et-susan23-story.html|title=UPN Hoping It Can Revive the Magic of 'Twilight Zone' Series | first= Susan |last= King| date=September 23, 2002|work=[[Los Angeles Times]] | archive-date=August 18, 2016 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160818113710/http://articles.latimes.com/2002/sep/23/entertainment/et-susan23| url-status=live}}</ref> In 2019, CBS made a [[The Twilight Zone (2019 TV series)|third attempt]] at a successful revival, with [[Jordan Peele]] taking on producing duties as well as being host and narrator.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2018/09/jordan-peele-twilight-zone-cbs-all-access-rod-serling-1202468028/|title='The Twilight Zone': Jordan Peele To Host & Narrate CBS All Access Reboot|last=Ramos|first=Dino-Ray|date=September 20, 2018|website=Deadline|language=en|access-date=February 4, 2019}}</ref>

====''A Carol for Another Christmas''====
''[[A Carol for Another Christmas]]'' was a 1964 American television movie, scripted by Rod Serling as a modernization of [[Charles Dickens]]' ''[[A Christmas Carol]]'' and a plea for global cooperation between nations. It was telecast only once, on December 28, 1964.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/20/fashion/20CAROL.html |title=Marley Is Dead, Killed in a Nuclear War |date=December 20, 2007 |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |archive-date=March 13, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160313021800/http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/20/fashion/20CAROL.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The only television movie directed by [[Joseph L. Mankiewicz]], this was the film in which [[Peter Sellers]] gave his first performance after a series of near-fatal heart attacks in the wake of his marriage to [[Britt Ekland]]. Sellers portrayed a demagogue in an apocalyptic Christmas.

==== Other television ====
Many of ''The Twilight Zone'' episodes were made as planned pilots for their own television series. One such was "[[Mr. Bevis]]," planned as a fantasy-comedy series in late 1959 though Cayuga Productions, but the pilot was later aired as an episode of ''Twilight Zone''.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Codel |first=Martin |url=https://archive.org/details/televisiondigest1519code |title=Television digest with electronics reports (Jan-Dec 1959) |date=1959 |location=Washington, D.C. |publisher=Radio News Bureau |others=College Park University of Maryland}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/weeklytelevision1619unse |title=Weekly television digest (Jan-Dec 1960) |date=1960 |location=Washington D.C. |publisher=Triangle Publications . |others=College Park University of Maryland}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/weeklytelevision1619unse |title=Weekly television digest (Jan-Dec 1960) |date=1960 |location=Washington D.C. |publisher=Triangle Publications |others=College Park University of Maryland}}</ref> In November 1963, Serling made frequent ''Twilight Zone'' writer and co-producer [[William Froug]] a partner in Cayuga Productions.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=1963-11-30 |title=The Buffalo News from Buffalo, New York |url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/869950359/ |access-date=2025-03-11 |website=Newspapers.com |language=en-US}}</ref> The pair developed a new hour-long series titled ''Jeopardy Run'' (of no relation to ''[[Jeopardy!]]''), about the "hazardous adventures of an undercover man who, provocatively, takes on dangerous tasks for various government agencies to continually prove his patriotism in the face of disloyalty accusations."<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |date=1963-11-30 |title=Ledger-Star from Norfolk, Virginia |url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/953369675/ |access-date=2025-03-11 |website=Newspapers.com |language=en-US}}</ref> The pilot was filmed in Hong Kong during December of 1963, starring [[Steve Forrest (actor)|Steve Forrest]].<ref name=":1" /> Another thriller one-hour program was to be titled ''The Chase'' for CBS.<ref>{{Cite web |date=1964-01-27 |title=The Times from San Mateo, California |url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/51696275/ |access-date=2025-03-11 |website=Newspapers.com |language=en-US}}</ref> Another property the pair developed was titled ''Agnes'', set to star [[Wally Cox]], who gets heckled by a talking computer, for which "[[From Agnes—With Love]]" was filmed as a pilot but later aired as a ''Twilight Zone'' episode).<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" />

In March 1964, it was reported that ABC had optioned a television series based on Serling's book [[Rod Serling's Triple W: Witches, Warlocks and Werewolves|''Witches, Warlocks and Werewolves'']], to be written and produced through Cayuga Productions.<ref>{{Cite web |date=1964-03-05 |title=Daily News from New York, New York |url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/459910317/ |access-date=2025-03-11 |website=Newspapers.com |language=en-US}}</ref> Serling originally planned for a 60-minute western television series called ''[[The Loner (TV series)|The Loner]]'' to start airing in the 1960 season, as a Cayuga Productions for CBS.<ref name=":2" /> However, he told reporters that CBS had shelved the series because he was not able to dedicate enough time to writing original scripts for that series with his commitment to ''Twilight Zone''.<ref name=":2" /> Years later, the series was finally picked up and ran from the fall of 1965 to April 1966. CBS asked Serling to have more action and less character interaction. He refused to comply, even though the show had received poor reviews and low ratings.<ref name="Scribner" /> In 1966, Serling formed a new film production company, Finger Lakes Productions.<ref>{{Cite web |date=1975-06-29 |title=Syracuse Herald-Journal from Syracuse, New York |url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/1095632365/ |access-date=2025-03-11 |website=Newspapers.com |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=1966-09-21 |title=Jackson County Floridan from Marianna, Florida |url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/980628748/ |access-date=2025-03-11 |website=Newspapers.com |language=en-US}}</ref>

====''Night Gallery''====
{{Main|Night Gallery}}

In 1969, [[NBC]] aired a [[Night Gallery (film)|television film pilot]] for a new series, ''Night Gallery'', written by Serling. Set in a dimly lit museum after hours, the pilot film featured Serling (as on-camera host) playing the curator, who introduced three tales of the [[macabre]], unveiling canvases that would appear in the subsequent story segments. Its brief first season (consisting of only six episodes) was rotated with three other shows airing in the same time slot; this [[wheel show]] was entitled ''[[Four in One (TV series)|Four in One]]''. The series generally focused more on [[horror fiction|horror]] and [[Thriller (genre)|suspense]] than ''The Twilight Zone'' did. On the insistence of the producer [[Jack Laird]], ''Night Gallery'' also began including brief comedic [[blackout sketch|"blackout" sketches]] during its [[List of Night Gallery episodes#Season 2 .281971.E2.80.9372.29|second season]], which Serling greatly disdained.<ref name="tour">{{cite book|last1=Skelton|first1=Scott|last2=Benson|first2=Jim|title=Rod Serling's Night Gallery: An After-Hours Tour|publisher=[[Syracuse University Press]]|year=1999|isbn=978-0-8156-2782-1}}</ref> He stated "I thought they [the blackout sketches] distorted the thread of what we were trying to do on ''Night Gallery''. I don't think one can show [[Edgar Allan Poe]] and then come back with [[Flip Wilson]] for 34 seconds. I just don't think they fit."<ref>{{cite book |last1=Parisi |first1=Nicholas |title=Rod Serling: His Life, Work, and Imagination |date=2018 |publisher=Univ. Press of Mississippi |isbn=9781496819451 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=C_Z1DwAAQBAJ&q=+%22blackout%22&pg=PA362 |access-date=December 26, 2019}}</ref>

No longer wanting the burden of an executive position, Serling sidestepped an offer to retain creative control of content, a decision he would come to regret.<ref name="tour"/> Although discontented with some of the scripts and creative choices of Jack Laird, Serling continued to submit his work and ultimately wrote over a third of the series' scripts. By season three, however, many of his contributions were being rejected or heavily altered.{{citation needed|date=August 2016}} ''Night Gallery'' was cancelled in 1973. NBC later combined episodes of the short-lived [[paranormal]] series ''[[The Sixth Sense (American TV series)|The Sixth Sense]]'' with ''Night Gallery'', in order to increase the number of episodes available in syndication. Serling was reportedly paid $100,000 to film introductions for these repackaged episodes.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://nightgallery.net/night-gallery-missconceptions/|title=Night Gallery Misconceptions| publisher=NightGallery.net| first1=Scott |last1=Skelton | first2=Jim |last2=Benson| archive-date= March 10, 2016|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160310034100/http://nightgallery.net/night-gallery-missconceptions/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tvobscurities.com/2010/10/the-sixth-sense-promotional-spot/ |title=The Sixth Sense Promotional Spot |date=October 26, 2010 |publisher=TVObscurities.com |access-date=October 26, 2010 |url-status=bot: unknown |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101102041302/http://www.tvobscurities.com/2010/10/the-sixth-sense-promotional-spot/ |archive-date=November 2, 2010 }} Article  on November 2, 2010. Video [https://web.archive.org/web/20161101003449/http://www.tvobscurities.com/media/459_sixth_sense_promo.mp4 archived] on November 1, 2016.</ref>

====Other television====
[[File:Rod Serling Jodie Foster Ironside 1972.jpg|thumb|right|Serling and [[Jodie Foster]], "Bubble, Bubble, Toil, and Murder," ''[[Ironside (1967 TV series)|Ironside]]'', (1972)]]In a stylistic departure from his earlier work, Serling briefly hosted the first version of the game show ''[[Liar's Club]]'' in 1969.<ref>{{Cite book|title = Encyclopedia of Television Shows, 1925 through 2010. 2nd ed.|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=YX_daEhlnbsC|publisher = McFarland|date = November 6, 2008|isbn = 9780786486410|language = en|first = Vincent|last = Terrace|page = 598}}</ref>

In the 1970s, Serling appeared in television commercials for [[Ford Motor Company|Ford]], [[Radio Shack]], [[Ziebart]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ziebart.com/about/corporate-info/about-us|title=About Us |website=Ziebart}}</ref> and the Japanese automaker [[Mazda]]. He also made occasional acting appearances, all in material he didn't write. Serling appears as a version of himself (but named "Mr. Zone") in a comedic bit on ''[[The Jack Benny Program]]''; he appears in a 1962 episode of the short-lived sitcom ''[[Ichabod and Me]]'' in the role of reclusive counterculture novelist Eugene Hollinfield; and in a 1972 episode of the crime drama ''[[Ironside (1967 TV series)|Ironside]]'' entitled "Bubble, Bubble, Toil, and Murder" (which also featured a young [[Jodie Foster]]), in which he plays a small role as the proprietor of an occult magic shop.

===Other radio===

====''The Zero Hour''====
Serling returned to radio late in his career with ''[[The Zero Hour (U.S. radio series)|The Zero Hour]]'' (also known as ''Hollywood Radio Theater'') in 1973. The drama anthology series featured tales of mystery, adventure, and suspense, airing in stereo for two seasons. Serling hosted the program but did not write any of the scripts. The series ended on July 26, 1974.

====''Fantasy Park''====
Serling's final radio performance was even more unusual: ''Fantasy Park'' was a 48-hour-long rock concert aired by nearly 200 stations in 1974 and 1975. The program, written and produced by McLendon National Productions Director Steve Blackson, featured performances by dozens of rock stars of the day, and even reunited [[the Beatles]]. It was also completely ''imaginary''—as KNUS Program Director [[Beau Weaver]] put it, a "theatre-of-the-mind for the '70s". The concert used record albums, many recorded live in concert, plus crowd noise, interviews, schedule updates by host Fred Kennedy, and other sound effects. (Stations that aired the special were reportedly inundated by callers demanding to know how to get to the nonexistent concert.) KNUS general manager Bart McLendon recruited Serling to record the host segments, bumpers, custom promos, and television spots.

Serling wrote the disclaimers, which aired each hour: "Hello, this is Rod Serling and welcome back to ''Fantasy Park''—the crowds here today are unreal." "This is ''Fantasy Park''—the greatest live concert—''never'' held."

===Teaching===
Serling kept his schedule full. When he was not writing, promoting, or producing his work, he often spoke on college campuses around the country.<ref name=Rosenbaum/> He taught week-long seminars in which students would watch and critique films. In the political climate of the 1960s, he often felt a stronger connection to the older students in his evening classes.<ref name=Rosenbaum/> Serling's critique of high school student writing was a pivotal experience for writer [[J. Michael Straczynski]].<ref name="jms1995">{{cite newsgroup
 | title = JMS compiled messages [9/27/95] (2/2) {{!}} Subj: OTHERSYDE
 | author = J. Michael Straczynski
 | author-link = J. Michael Straczynski
 | date = September 10, 1995
| newsgroup = rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon5
 | message-id = 44btnl$11p8@news.ccit.arizona.edu
 | url = https://groups.google.com/d/msg/rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon5/HKnw_ZpG70A/qQW57WnDoFYJ
 | access-date = April 1, 2020
}}{{cquote|Then [Rod Serling] said: "You have a great and substantial talent for your age. Two pieces of advice: one, don't ever let them stop you from telling the stories you want to tell; two, cut every third adjective."<br><br>     Then he walked off, and as soon as he was out the door, the faculty advisor came running at me at warp nine.  "What did he say, what did he say, whatdidhesay?"  I told her.  "Don't you know who that was?" she asked.<br><br>     I said no, though there was something kinda familiar about him, and remember it's always different when you see somebody out of context.  "That was Rod Serling," she said, "he's here to speak at the college later today."<br><br>     Had there been a gun within easy reach, I would almost certainly have put a bullet into my brain.  By the time I ran out, he was gone.}}</ref>

By the fourth season of ''Twilight Zone,'' Serling was exhausted and turned much of the writing over to a trusted stable of screenwriters, authoring only seven episodes. Desiring to take a break and clear his mind, he took a one-year teaching job as writer in residence at Antioch College, Ohio. He taught classes in the 1962–63 school year on writing and drama and a survey course covering the "social and historical implications of the media."<ref name=CAO/><ref name=Scribner/> He used this time to teach as well as work on a new screenplay, ''[[Seven Days in May]]'', which he also co-produced through Cayuga Productions.<ref name=Scribner/><ref>{{Cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/sim_variety_1962-02-21_225_13 |title=Variety 1962-02-21: Vol 225 Iss 13 |date=1962-02-21}}</ref>

Later he taught at [[Ithaca College]], from the late 1960s until his death in 1975.<ref name=CAO/><ref name=Memorial>{{cite news | title = Serling Memorial Monday | url = http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F70D13FD3B58157493C3A9178CD85F418785F9 | agency = [[United Press International]] | work =[[The New York Times]] | date= July 1, 1975 | page= 32 | access-date = September 16, 2013}} Abstract of pay-site article.</ref> He was one of the first guest teachers at the Sherwood Oaks Experimental College in Hollywood, California. Audio recordings of his lectures there are included as bonus features on some ''Twilight Zone'' home video editions.

==Themes==
{{Quote box
| width  = 30em
| align  = right
| quote  = No one could know Serling, or view or read his work, without recognizing his deep affection for humanity&nbsp;... and his determination to enlarge our horizons by giving us a better understanding of ourselves.
| source = —&nbsp;[[Gene Roddenberry]]
}}

According to his wife, Carol, Serling often said that "the ultimate obscenity is not caring, not doing something about what you feel, not feeling! Just drawing back and drawing in, becoming narcissistic."<ref name=Rosenbaum/> This philosophy can be seen in his writing. Some themes appear again and again in his writing, many of which are concerned with war and politics. Another common theme is equality among all people.

===Antiwar activism===
Serling's experiences as a soldier left him with strong opinions about the use of military force. He was an outspoken antiwar activist, especially during the [[Vietnam War]].<ref name=Scribner/> He supported antiwar politicians, notably U.S. senator [[Eugene McCarthy]] in his [[1968 United States presidential election|presidential campaign in 1968]].<ref name=Scribner/>

"The Rack" is an example of Serling's use of television to speak his mind on political issues. This script for ''[[The United States Steel Hour]]'' tells the story of an army captain charged with collaborating with the North Koreans. ''The New York Times'' reviewer J. P. Shanley called it "controversial and compelling".<ref name=shanley /> Serling tackled a question that was much in the media at the time: should veterans be charged with a crime if they cooperated with the enemy while under duress? In this courtroom drama, the accused is put on trial for helping the enemy by urging fellow [[Prisoner of war|prisoners of war]] to cooperate with their captors. Serling offers many valid arguments on behalf of both the defense and the prosecution. Each has a strong case, but in the end, the captain is found guilty. There is no Serling narration to conclude the drama, as he had become famous for in ''The Twilight Zone''—instead, the audience is left to make their own conclusions after the verdict has been rendered.<ref name=shanley>{{Citation |last=Shanley |first= J. P. |title='The Rack' Tells Story Of a War Prisoner |url= https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1955/04/17/293886272.html?pageNumber=349  |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=February 6, 1955 |page= X15 }}</ref>

"No Christmas This Year" was a script written early in Serling's career, around 1950, but was never produced. It told of a place that no longer celebrated Christmas, although none of the residents know why it has been canceled. Meanwhile, at the North Pole, the audience sees Santa Claus dealing with striking elves. Rather than creating toys and candy, the North Pole manufactures a diversity of bombs and offensive gases. Santa has been shot at on his route, and an elf was hit by shrapnel.<ref name=Grams/>

"24 Men to a Plane" recounts Serling's first combat jump into the area around Manila in 1945. The combat jump became a fiasco after the jumpmaster in the first plane dropped his men too early, causing every subsequent plane to drop in synchronization with the mistake.<ref name=Sander1992/>{{rp|48}}

===Racial equality===
''A Town Has Turned to Dust'' received a positive review from the critic [[Jack Gould]], who was known for being straightforward to the point of being harsh in his reviews. He called ''A Town Has Turned to Dust'' "a raw, tough and at the same time deeply moving outcry against prejudice."<ref name=Gould1958/> Set in a Southwestern town in a deep [[drought]], it sees poverty and despair turn racial tensions deadly when the ineffectual sheriff is unable to stand against the town. A young Mexican boy is lynched, and the town as a whole is to blame. A second lynching is in the works after a series of events leads again to the town turning against the Mexicans. This time, the sheriff stands strong, and the first boy's brother is saved, even as the town is not. "Mr. Serling incorporated his protest against prejudice in vivid dialogue and sound situations. He made his point that hate for a fellow being leads only to the ultimate destruction of the bigoted."<ref name=Gould1958/>

Serling took his 1972 screenplay for the film ''[[The Man (1972 film)|The Man]]'' from the [[Irving Wallace]] [[The Man (Wallace novel)|novel of the same title]]. The black senator from [[New Hampshire]] and president ''pro tempore'' of the Senate, played by [[James Earl Jones]], assumes the U.S. presidency by succession.

==Death==
[[File:Rod Serling Memorial-2.png|thumb|A memorial in honor of Serling in his home town of Binghamton, New York]]
Serling was said to smoke three to four packs of cigarettes a day.<ref>{{Cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1975/06/29/archives/rod-serling-of-twilight-zone-and-night-gallery-on-tv-dies-won-six.html | title=Rod Serling of 'Twilight Zone' and 'Night Gallery' on TV Dies| newspaper=The New York Times| date=June 29, 1975| last1=Hudson| first1=Edward}}</ref> On May 3, 1975, he had a [[heart attack]] and was hospitalized. He spent two weeks at [[Cayuga Medical Center|Tompkins County Community Hospital]] before being released.<ref name=Sander1992/>{{rp|217}} A second heart attack two weeks later forced doctors to agree that [[open-heart surgery]], although considered risky at the time, was required.<ref name=Sander1992 />{{rp|218}}<ref>"Rodman Edward Serling." ''Dictionary of American Biography''. Supplement 9: 1971–1975. Charles Scribner's Sons, 1994. Reproduced in Biography Resource Center. Farmington Hills, Michigan: Gale, 2010.</ref> The ten-hour-long procedure was performed on June 26, but Serling had a third heart attack on the operating table and died two days later at [[Strong Memorial Hospital]] in [[Rochester, New York|Rochester]], New York.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=U7BEAAAAIBAJ&pg=4993,7469775&hl=en |title=TV writer Rod Serling dies |agency=[[Associated Press]] |date=June 25, 1975 |access-date=September 8, 2013 | work = [[Eugene Register-Guard]] | location = Eugene, Oregon}}</ref> He was 50 years old.<ref name="Memorial" />

His funeral and burial took place on July 2 at Lake View Cemetery, Interlaken, (Seneca County), New York. A memorial was held at [[Cornell University]]'s [[Sage Chapel]] on July 7, 1975.<ref name=Memorial/> Speakers at the memorial included his daughter Anne and the Reverend John F. Hayward.<ref name=Sander1992 />{{rp|218}}

==Legacy==

===Television===
[[File:1976 Sad Lonely Sundays Oath Jack Albertson Sam Jaffe.jpg|thumb|[[Sam Jaffe]] and [[Jack Albertson]] in Serling's 1976 posthumous television special "The Sad and Lonely Sundays", an episode of the abandoned series ''The Oath'']]
Serling began his career when television was a new medium. The first public viewing of an all-electronic television was presented by inventor [[Philo Farnsworth]] at the [[Franklin Institute]] in Philadelphia on August 25, 1934, when Serling was nine years old. Commercial television officially started on July 1, 1941. At the time, there were fewer than seven thousand television sets in the United States, and very few of those were in private homes.<ref name=McMahon2007/>{{rp|21}} Only five months later, the U.S. entered World War II, and the television business was put on hold until the war's end,<ref name=McMahon2007/>{{rp|22}} as many of the unsold sets were obtained by the government and repurposed to train air-raid wardens.<ref name=Sander1992/>{{rp|57}} After World War II ended, money began flowing toward the new medium of television, coinciding with the beginning of Serling's writing career. Early programming consisted of newsreels, sporting events and what would be called [[public-access television]] today. It was not until 1948 that filmed dramas were first shown, beginning with a show called ''[[Public Prosecutor (TV series)|Public Prosecutor]]''.<ref name=McMahon2007/>{{rp|25}} Serling began having serious dramas produced in 1950 and is given credit as one of the first to write scripts specifically for television. As such, he is said to have helped legitimize television drama.<ref name=Sander1992/>{{rp|28}}

Serling worried that television was on the verge of suffering the same decline as radio. He encouraged sponsors to see television as a platform for the kind of dramatic entertainment that could address important social matters through subtle meanings, instead of being "an animated billboard".<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Murray|first=Brian|date=Winter 2016|title=The Enduring Legacy of "The Twilight Zone"|journal=The New Atlantis|volume=48|issue=48|pages=90–112|jstor=43766985}}</ref>

The format of writing for television was changing rapidly in the early years, but eventually, it settled into a pattern of commercial breaks on each quarter-hour. Writers were forced to work these breaks into their scripts. Serling's response to this convention was, "How can you put out a meaningful drama when every fifteen minutes proceedings are interrupted by twelve dancing rabbits with toilet paper? No dramatic art form should be dictated and controlled by men whose training and instincts are cut of an entirely different cloth. The fact remains that these gentlemen sell consumer goods, not an art form."<ref name="AmericanMasters" /> Throughout his career, Serling helped to mold the future of television.

====Writing for multiple media====
As early as 1955, Jack Gould, of the ''New York Times'', commented on the close ties that were then being created between television and movies. Serling was among the first to use both forms, turning his early television successes, "Patterns" and "The Rack", into full-length movies.<ref name=gould>Gould, Jack. "Some Reason for Optimism". ''New York Times'', April 24, 1955. p. X11. ProQuest Historical Newspapers: ''New York Times'' (1851–2006).</ref> Up to that time, many established writers were unwilling to write for television because the programs were viewed only once and then stored in a vault, never to be seen again.<ref name=Twice>Gould, Jack. "TV: Twice-Told Tale". ''New York Times'', February 11, 1955. p. 31. ProQuest Historical Newspapers, ''New York Times'' (1851–2006)</ref>

====Beginning of the rerun====
After the first showing of "Patterns", the studio received such positive feedback that it produced a repeat performance, the first time a television program had been replayed at the request of the audience. Although successful shows had sometimes been recreated after two years or more, this was the first time a show was recreated exactly—with the same cast and crew—as it had been originally broadcast.<ref name=":3">Adams, Val. "Kraft to Repeat 'Patterns' on TV". ''New York Times'', January 20, 1955. p. 38. ProQuest Historical Newspapers, ''New York Times'' (1851–2006).</ref> The second live performance, only a month later, was equally successful and inspired ''New York Times'' critic Jack Gould to write an essay on the use of replays on television. He stated that "Patterns" was a prime example of a drama that should be seen more than once, whereas a single broadcast was the norm for television shows of the day. Sponsors believed that creating new shows every week would assure them the largest possible audience, so they purchased a new script for each night. Gould suggested that as new networks were opened and the viewers were given more choices, the percentage of viewers would spread among the offerings. "Patterns" was proof that a second showing could gain more viewers because those who missed the first showing could see the second, thus increasing the audience for sponsors.<ref name=Twice/>

==Effects on popular culture==

===During his lifetime===
In December 1966, the made-for-television movie ''[[The Doomsday Flight]]'' aired. The fictional plot concerned an airplane with a bomb aboard. If the plane landed without the ransom money being paid, the aircraft would explode. The bomb was set with an altitude trigger that would detonate it if the plane dropped below four thousand feet. The show was one of the highest-rated of the television season, but both Serling and his brother Robert, a technical advisor on the project (a specialist in aviation), regretted making the film. After the film was aired, a rash of copycats telephoned in ransom demands to most of the largest airlines. Serling was truly devastated by what his script had encouraged. He told reporters who flocked to interview him, "I wish to Christ that I had written a stagecoach drama starring John Wayne instead."<ref>{{cite book |last1=Douglas |first1=John |author-link1=John E. Douglas |first2=Mark |last2=Olshaker |year=2000 |title=The Anatomy of Motive: The FBI's Legendary Mindhunter Explores the Key to Understanding and Catching Violent Criminals |page=[https://archive.org/details/anatomyofmotive00doug/page/101 101] |publisher=[[Pocket Books]] |isbn=978-0-671-02393-5 |url=https://archive.org/details/anatomyofmotive00doug/page/101 }}</ref>

In the [[1962]] ''[[Perry Mason (1957 TV series)|Perry Mason]]'' episode "The Case of the Promoter's Pillbox", the titular promoter falsely claims that a teleplay for a TV pilot, "Mr. Nobody", is being rewritten by Serling as a personal favor to him. Later, Mason, who does know Serling, shows the original teleplay to him, saying that Serling wants to help the young man who wrote the teleplay to get a start in his writing career. The man's mother then expresses to Serling her desire to tell her stories from years of running a drug store.<ref>[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0673364/ The Case of the Promoter's Pillbox]</ref>{{better source needed|date=December 2024}}

===Legacy===
{{Quote box
| width  = 27em
| align  = right
| quote  = You're traveling through another dimension, a dimension not only of sight and sound but of mind ... a journey into a wondrous land whose boundaries are that of imagination—your next stop, the Twilight Zone.
| source = —Rod Serling, ''[[The Twilight Zone]]'', introduction
}}
Serling is indelibly woven into modern popular culture because of the enduring popularity of ''The Twilight Zone''.<ref>Hays, Carl. "Twilight Zone: 19 Original Stories on the 50th Anniversary". ''The Booklist'', September 1, 2009. Vol. 106, no. 1.  p. 49.</ref> Serling's widow, Carol, maintained that the cult status that surrounded both her husband and his shows continues to be a surprise, "as I'm sure it would have been to him."<ref name=DuBrow/> "It won't go away. It keeps bobbing up.&nbsp;... Each year, I think, well, that's it—and then something else turns up."<ref name=DuBrow/> She survived him to the age of 90, dying on January 9, 2020,<ref>Gilroy, Maggie, ''[https://www.pressconnects.com/story/news/local/2020/01/14/carol-serling-widow-twilight-zone-creator-rod-serling-has-died/4463698002/ Carol Serling, the widow of 'Twilight Zone' creator Rod Serling, has died at age 91]'', Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin, January 14, 2020</ref> and participated in the continuing interest in Rod's work, sometimes preparing them for a new format and editing a publication about Rod that she founded, ''The Twilight Zone Magazine'', as well as many activities to promote his legacy.

''The Twilight Zone'' has been rerun, re-created and re-imagined since going off the air in 1964. It has been released in comic book form,<ref>Most notably, [[Gold Key Comics]] published a ''Twilight Zone'' comic book from the early 1960s to the early 1980s, and a likeness of Serling continued to "host" the comic book for years after Serling himself died.</ref> as a magazine, a [[Twilight Zone: The Movie|film]], and three additional television series from [[The Twilight Zone (1985 TV series)|1985 to 1989]], from [[The Twilight Zone (2002 TV series)|2002 to 2003]], and from [[The Twilight Zone (2019 TV series)|2019 to 2020]]. In 1988, [[J. Michael Straczynski]] scripted Serling's outline "[[Our Selena Is Dying]]" for the 1980s ''Twilight Zone'' series.

Some of Serling's works are now available in [[graphic novel]]s. ''Rod Serling's The Twilight Zone'' is a series of adaptations by Mark Kneece and Rich Ellis based on original scripts written by Serling.<ref>{{cite book |last=Kneece |first=Mark |year=2009 |title=Rod Serling's The Twilight Zone: The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street |publisher=[[Bloomsbury Publishing|Walker & Company]] |isbn=978-0-8027-9713-1 |page=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780802797131/page/n75 1] |url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780802797131 |url-access=registration }}</ref> Several episodes were adapted into novel form for pulp fiction books by Serling himself.

''The Twilight Zone'' is not the only Serling work to reappear. In 1994, ''[[Rod Serling's Lost Classics]]'' released two never-before-seen works that Carol Serling found in her garage. The first was an outline called, "The Theatre", which Richard Matheson expanded. The second was a complete script written by Serling, "Where the Dead Are".

Serling and his work on ''The Twilight Zone'' inspired the [[Walt Disney Parks and Resorts|Disney theme park]] attraction [[The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror|''The Twilight Zone'' Tower of Terror]], which debuted at [[Disney's Hollywood Studios]] at the [[Walt Disney World|Walt Disney World Resort]] in Florida in 1994. Serling appears in the attraction through the use of repurposed archival footage, and voice actor Mark Silverman provides the dubbing of Serling's dialogue for the attraction at both Hollywood Studios and the defunct version at [[Disney California Adventure]] in [[Anaheim]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ocresort.ocregister.com/2011/01/17/tower-of-terrors-rod-serling-voice-speaks/67160/ |title=Tower of Terror's Rod Serling voice speaks |work=[[Orange County Register]] |last=Eades |first=Mark |date=January 17, 2011 |access-date=September 6, 2013|archive-date= July 21, 2013| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130721142819/http://ocresort.ocregister.com/2011/01/17/tower-of-terrors-rod-serling-voice-speaks/67160/}}</ref> The ride takes place in the once-elegant Hollywood Tower Hotel that was struck by lightning, which caused the mysterious disappearance of five guests. Riders enter an abandoned elevator shaft as they become part of a "lost episode" of ''The Twilight Zone'', with the attraction taking guests up 13 stories and dropping them multiple times.

More than 30 years after his death, Serling was digitally resurrected for an episode of the television series ''[[Medium (TV series)|Medium]]'' that aired on November 21, 2005. Filmed partially in [[3D film|3-D]], it opened with Serling's introducing the episode and instructing viewers when to put on their 3-D glasses. This was accomplished using footage from ''The Twilight Zone'' episode "[[The Midnight Sun (The Twilight Zone)|The Midnight Sun]]" and digitally manipulating Serling's mouth to match new dialogue spoken by voice actor Mark Silverman. The plot involved paintings coming to life, a nod to both ''The Twilight Zone'' and ''Night Gallery''.

On August 11, 2009, the [[United States Postal Service]] released its ''Early TV Memories'' commemorative stamp collection honoring notable television programs. One of the 20 stamps honored ''The Twilight Zone'' and featured a portrait of Serling.<ref>{{cite press release| url = http://www.usps.com/communications/newsroom/2008/pr08_136.htm | title= Postal Service Previews 2009 Commemorative Stamp Program: Early TV Memories | date= December 29, 1008 | publisher = [[United States Postal Service]] | archive-date= July 17, 2011| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110717182854/http://www.usps.com/communications/newsroom/2008/pr08_136.htm}}</ref>

Through a mix of computer animation, a simulated version of Serling appeared at the end of the "Blurryman" episode of the 2019 revival of ''[[The Twilight Zone (2019 TV series)|The Twilight Zone]]''. This was done with a facial performance by Ryan Hesp, motion-capture by Jefferson Black, and a voice reprisal by Mark Silverman.

There are several memorials to Serling in his hometown of [[Binghamton, New York]]. Annually since 1995, [[Binghamton High School]], Serling's alma mater, primarily in partnership with [[WSKG-TV]],<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.pressconnects.com/story/news/local/2014/09/27/conversation-lawrence-kassan/16211301/ |title=Conversation With: Kassan, Serling Video Fest Founder |first=Sara |last=Tracey |date=September 28, 2014 |work=[[Press & Sun-Bulletin]]  |location=[[Binghamton, New York]] |access-date=December 8, 2014 |archive-date=December 8, 2014 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20141208181541/http://www.pressconnects.com/story/news/local/2014/09/27/conversation-lawrence-kassan/16211301/ |url-status=live }}</ref> hosts the Rod Serling Video Festival for students in kindergarten through grade 12. The festival encourages young people to engage in filmmaking.<ref>{{cite news| url= http://www.wskg.org/more/rod-serling-video-festival-2014| title= Rod Serling Video Festival 2014| date= October 3, 2014| publisher= [[WSKG-TV]]| location= Binghamton, New York| access-date= December 8, 2014| archive-date= December 8, 2014| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20141208181729/http://www.wskg.org/more/rod-serling-video-festival-2014| url-status= dead| df= mdy-all}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.wbng.com/news/around-the-tiers/Winners-of-2014-Rod-Serling-Film-Festival-announced-258472761.html| title=Winners of 2014 Rod Serling Film Festival announced| first=Anna| last=Norris| date=May 8, 2014| publisher=[[WBNG-TV]]| location=Binghamton, New York| access-date=December 8, 2014| archive-date=December 8, 2014| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141208181821/http://www.wbng.com/news/around-the-tiers/Winners-of-2014-Rod-Serling-Film-Festival-announced-258472761.html| url-status=dead| df=mdy-all}}</ref> Likewise, the Rod Serling Memorial Foundation hosts Serlingfest - a celebration of ''The Twilight Zone'' and Serling’s work - in Binghamton annually. A [[New York State Historic Markers|New York State Historic Marker]] for Serling stands outside Binghamton High School.<ref>The marker’s listing on the [https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=92985 Historical Marker Database]</ref> On September 15, 2024, a statue of Serling was unveiled in [[Recreation Park (Binghamton)|Recreation Park]] following state grants<ref>Simon, Neil. [https://www.pressconnects.com/story/news/local/2022/08/15/grant-boosts-effort-to-place-rod-serling-statue-in-binghamton-recreation-park/65403820007/ “Rod Serling statue project in Binghamton park gets lift with $50K state grant”]. Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin. Archived by PressConnect. Published August 15, 2022. Accessed September 16, 2024.</ref> and online crowdfunding for the memorial,<ref>Taylor-Vuolo, Pheobe. [https://www.wskg.org/regional-news/2024-09-16/binghamton-celebrates-rod-serling-with-new-statue “Binghamton celebrates Rod Serling with new statue”]. WSKG. Published and Accessed September 16, 2024.</ref> the base of which contains a quote from Serling: “Everybody has a hometown/Binghamton’s mine.”

==Filmography==
===As creator===
* 1959–64: ''[[The Twilight Zone (1959 TV series)|The Twilight Zone]]''
* 1965–66: ''[[The Loner (TV series)|The Loner]]''
* 1970–73: ''[[Night Gallery]]''

===As narrator===
* 1968–75: ''[[The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau]]''
* 1969–70: ''[[Liar's Club]]'' (host)
* 1973–75: ''[[In Search of... (TV series)|In Search of...]]''
* 1973: ''[[Encounter with the Unknown]]''
* 1974: ''[[The Mysterious Monsters|Monsters! Mysteries or Myths?]]''
* 1974: ''[[UFOs: Past, Present, and Future]]''
* 1974: ''[[Phantom of the Paradise]]''

===As writer (film)===
{{Columns-list|colwidth=30em|
* 1956: ''[[Patterns (film)|Patterns]]''
* 1956: ''[[The Rack (1956 film)|The Rack]]''
* 1958: ''[[Saddle the Wind]]''
* 1962: ''[[Incident in an Alley]]''
* 1962: ''[[Requiem for a Heavyweight (film)|Requiem for a Heavyweight]]''
* 1963: ''[[The Yellow Canary]]''
* 1964: ''[[Seven Days in May]]''
* 1964: ''[[A Carol for Another Christmas]]'' (TV film)
* 1966: ''[[Assault on a Queen]]''
* 1966: ''[[The Doomsday Flight]]'' (TV film)
* 1968: ''[[Planet of the Apes (1968 film)|Planet of the Apes]]'' (co-written with [[Michael Wilson (writer)|Michael Wilson]])
* 1969: ''[[Night Gallery (film)|Night Gallery]]''
* 1972: ''[[The Man (1972 film)|The Man]]''
* 1976: ''[[Time Travelers (1976 film)|Time Travelers]]'' (TV film)
* 1981: ''[[The Salamander (1981 film)|The Salamander]]'' (1976 screenplay)
* 1994: ''[[Rod Serling's Lost Classics]]'' (TV film, 1968 screenplay)
* 1997: ''[[In the Presence of Mine Enemies (film)|In the Presence of Mine Enemies]]'' (TV film, 1960 screenplay)
* 2000: ''[[A Storm in Summer]]'' (TV film, 1970 screenplay)
}}

===As writer (television)===
{{Columns-list|colwidth=30em|
* 1953: ''A Long Time Till Dawn'' (''[[Kraft Television Theatre]]'')
* 1953: ''[[Old MacDonald Had a Curve]]'' (''Kraft Television Theatre'')
* 1955: ''[[Patterns (Kraft Television Theatre)|Patterns]]'' (''Kraft Television Theatre'')
* 1955: ''[[List of Fireside Theatre episodes#Season 8 (1955-56)|The Director]]'' (''[[Fireside Theatre|The Jane Wyman Show]]'') 
* 1955: ''The Rack'' (''[[The U.S. Steel Hour]]'')
* 1956: ''[[The Arena (Studio One)|The Arena]]'' (''[[Studio One (American TV series)|Studio One]]'')
* 1956: ''The Champion'' (''[[Climax!]]'')
* 1956: ''[[Forbidden Area (Playhouse 90)|Forbidden Area]]'' (''[[Playhouse 90]]'')
* 1956: ''[[Requiem for a Heavyweight]]'' (''Playhouse 90'')
* 1957: ''[[The Comedian (Playhouse 90)|The Comedian]]'' (''Playhouse 90'')
* 1957: ''[[The Dark Side of the Earth (Playhouse 90)|The Dark Side of the Earth]]'' (''Playhouse 90'')
* 1957: ''[[Panic Button (Playhouse 90)|Panic Button]]'' (''Playhouse 90'')
* 1958: ''[[Nightmare at Ground Zero (Playhouse 90)|Nightmare at Ground Zero]]'' (''Playhouse 90'')
* 1958: ''[[Bomber's Moon (Playhouse 90)|Bomber's Moon]]'' (''Playhouse 90'')
* 1958: ''[[A Town Has Turned to Dust (Playhouse 90)|A Town Has Turned to Dust]]'' (''Playhouse 90'')
* 1958: ''[[The Velvet Alley (Playhouse 90)|The Velvet Alley]]'' (''Playhouse 90'')
* 1958: ''[[The Twilight Zone#"The Time Element" (1958)|The Time Element]]'' (''[[Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse]]'')
* 1959: ''[[The Rank and File (Playhouse 90)|The Rank and File]]'' (''Playhouse 90'')
* 1960: ''[[In the Presence of Mine Enemies (Playhouse 90)|In the Presence of Mine Enemies]]'' (''Playhouse 90'')
* 1963: ''It's Mental Work'' (''[[Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre]]'')
* 1969: ''Pilot'' (''[[The New People]]'')
* 1976: ''[[The Oath (1976 TV series)#The Sad and Lonely Sundays|The Sad and Lonely Sundays]]'' (posthumously released)
}}

==Books==
*''Patterns: Four Television Plays'', Bantam, 1957 (also includes scripts for ''The Rack'', ''Old MacDonald Had a Curve'', and ''Requiem for a Heavyweight'')
*''Stories from the Twilight Zone'', Bantam (New York City), 1960
*''More Stories from the Twilight Zone'', Bantam, 1961
*''New Stories from the Twilight Zone'', Bantam, 1962
*''From the Twilight Zone'', Doubleday (Garden City, NJ), 1962
*''Requiem for a Heavyweight: A Reading Version of the Dramatic Script'', Bantam, 1962
*''[[Rod Serling's Triple W: Witches, Warlocks and Werewolves]]; A Collection'',(Editor)  Bantam, 1963
*''The Season to Be Wary'' (3 novellas, "Escape Route", "Color Scheme", and "Eyes"), Little, Brown (Boston, MA), 1967
*''[[Rod Serling's Devils and Demons|Devils and Demons: A Collection]]'', Bantam, 1967 (Editor and author of introduction)
*''[[Night Gallery]]'', Bantam, 1971
*''Night Gallery 2'', Bantam, 1972
*''Rod Serling's Other Worlds'',(Editor) Bantam, 1978

==Accolades==
{{more citations needed section|date=June 2015}}
{|class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size: 95%;"
|-
|+ Awards and nominations
! Year
! Association
! Category
! Work
! Result
|-
| rowspan=2|1955 || rowspan=3| [[Primetime Emmy Award]]s || [[8th Primetime Emmy Awards#Writing|Best Original Teleplay Writing]] || "[[Patterns (Kraft Television Theatre)|Patterns]]" (''[[Kraft Television Theatre]]'') || {{won}}
|-
| [[8th Primetime Emmy Awards#Writing|Best Television Adaptation]] || "The Champion" (''Climax!'') || {{nom}}
|-
| rowspan=2|1956 || [[9th Primetime Emmy Awards#Writing|Best Teleplay Writing]] || rowspan=2|"[[Requiem for a Heavyweight]]" (''[[Playhouse 90]]'') || {{won}}
|-
| [[Peabody Awards]] || Personal Recognition for Writing || {{won}}
|-
| 1958 || rowspan=5| Primetime Emmy Awards || [[10th Primetime Emmy Awards#Writing|Best Teleplay Writing]] || "[[The Comedian (Playhouse 90)|The Comedian]]" (''Playhouse 90'') || {{won}}
|-
| 1959 || [[Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series|Best Writing of a Single Dramatic Program One Hour or Longer]] || "[[A Town Has Turned to Dust (Playhouse 90)|A Town Has Turned to Dust]]" (''Playhouse 90'') || {{nom}}
|-
| 1960 || [[12th Primetime Emmy Awards#Writing|Outstanding Writing Achievement in Drama]] || rowspan="4"|''[[The Twilight Zone (1959 TV series)|The Twilight Zone]]'' || {{won}}
|-
| 1961 || [[13th Primetime Emmy Awards#Writing|Outstanding Writing Achievement in Drama]] || {{won}}
|-
| 1962 || [[14th Primetime Emmy Awards#Writing|Outstanding Writing Achievement in Drama]] || {{nom}}
|-
| 1962 || [[Golden Globe Awards]] || [[20th Golden Globe Awards#Best TV Producer.2FDirector|Best TV Producer/Director]] || {{won}}
|-
| 1963 || Primetime Emmy Awards || [[16th Primetime Emmy Awards#Writing|Outstanding Writing Achievement in Drama – Adaptation]] || "It's Mental Work" (''[[Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre]]'') || {{won}}
|}

===Posthumous honors===
* 1985: Inducted into the [[Television Hall of Fame]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.emmys.com/awards/hall-of-fame-honorees|title=Television Hall of Fame Honorees: Complete List| publisher=[[Academy of Television Arts & Sciences|Television Academy]] | access-date= November 1, 2016| archive-date= August 17, 2016| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160817235606/http://www.emmys.com/awards/hall-of-fame-honorees | url-status=live}}</ref>
* 1985: A star honoring Serling can be found at 6840 Hollywood Blvd. on the [[Hollywood Walk of Fame]]<ref>{{cite book|last1=Pearson|first1=Roberta|title=Star Trek and American Television|date=2014|publisher=University of California Press|location=Berkeley|isbn=9780520959200|page=35}}</ref>
* 2001: Nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award and Winner of a Writer Guild Award for the reusing of his script for the re-make of "A Storm in Century".
* 2007: Ranked No. 1 on ''[[TV Guide]]'''s "25 Greatest Sci-Fi Legends" list (the only non-fictitious person on the list)<ref>{{cite book|title=TV Guide Book of Lists|url=https://archive.org/details/tvguidebookoflis0000unse|url-access=registration|year=2007|publisher=Running Press|isbn=978-0-7624-3007-9|page=[https://archive.org/details/tvguidebookoflis0000unse/page/168 168]}}</ref>
* 2008: Inducted into the [[EMP Museum#Science Fiction Hall of Fame|Science Fiction Hall of Fame]]<ref name=hof2008/>

==Notes==
{{reflist |30em |refs=
<ref name=hof2008>
{{cite web|url=http://www.empsfm.org/press/index.asp?articleID=1259 |title=2008 Science Fiction Hall of Fame Ceremony Tickets On Sale May 15 |access-date=March 21, 2013 |url-status=bot: unknown |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080510121729/http://www.empsfm.org/press/index.asp?articleID=1259 |archive-date=May 10, 2008 }}. Press release April/May 2008. Experience Music Project and Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame (''empsfm.org''). Archived May 10, 2008. Retrieved March 19, 2013.</ref>

<ref name=Sander1992>{{cite book |last=Sander |first=Gordon F. |year = 1992 |title = Serling: The Rise and Twilight of Television's Last Angry Man |publisher=Dutton |isbn  = 978-0-525-93550-6 }}</ref>

<!-- <ref name=Joshi2004>{{Citation |author-link= S. T. Joshi |last=Joshi |first=S. T. |chapter=Rod Serling: The Moral Supernatural |title= The Evolution of the Weird Tale |location= NY |publisher= Hippocampus press |year=2004 }}</ref> -->

<ref name=McMahon2007>{{cite book |last1= McMahon |first1= Ed |last2= Fisher |first2= David |year= 2007 |title= When Television Was Young |publisher= Thomas Nelison |isbn= 978-1-4016-0327-4 |url= https://archive.org/details/whentelevisionwa0000mcma }}</ref>
}}

==Further reading==
*Parisi, Nicholas. (2018) ''Rod Serling: His Life, Work, and Imagination''. University Press of Mississippi. {{ISBN|978-1496817501}}
*DeVoe, Bill. (2008) ''Trivia from The Twilight Zone''. Albany, GA: Bear Manor Media. {{ISBN|978-1-59393-136-0}}
*{{cite book |last=Engel |first= Joel |year= 1989 |title= Rod Serling: The Dreams and Nightmares of Life In the Twilight Zone |pages= 266–267 |publisher=Contemporary Books |isbn= 978-0-8092453-8-3 }}
*Grams, Martin. (2008) ''The Twilight Zone: Unlocking the Door to a Television Classic''. Churchville, MD: OTR Publishing. {{ISBN|978-0-9703310-9-0}}
*Nicholls, Peter (1979) ''Encyclopedia of Science Fiction'' Granada.  {{ISBN|0-586-05380-8}}
*Zicree, Marc Scott. (1992) ''Twilight Zone Companion'' Silman-James Press. {{ISBN|978-1-879505-09-4}}

==External links==
{{wikiquote|Rod Serling}}
{{Commons category}}
* {{IMDb name}}
* {{IBDB name}}
* {{ISFDB name}}
* {{Sfhof|1281}}
* {{Find a Grave|1669}}
* {{discogs artist|Rod Serling}}
* {{The Interviews people|rod-serling}}
* {{Citation |chapter-url= http://www.harvardsquarelibrary.org/biographies/rod-serling/ |chapter=Serling, Rod (1924–1975) |title= Unitarian Universalist Biographical Dictionary |publisher=Harvard Square Library |first=Herbert F. |last=Vetter |date=July 28, 2012 }}
* [https://ithacalibrary-primo.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com/primo_library/libweb/action/dlSearch.do?institution=01ITHACACOL&vid=01ITHACACOL&tab=default_tab&search_scope=01ITHACACOL_EVERYTHING&mode=Basic&displayMode=full&bulkSize=10&highlight=true&dum=true&query=any%2Ccontains%2CRod+Serling&displayField=all&pcAvailabiltyMode=false Rod Serling Archives at Ithaca College]&nbsp;– scripts, screenplays, films, published works by Serling, and secondary materials
* [https://search.library.wisc.edu/search/catalog/author?q=%22Serling%2C+Rod%2C+1924-1975%22 Rod Serling Papers] at the [[Wisconsin Center for Film and Theater Research]].
* [http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-us0043an Rod Serling Archive at the Wisconsin Historical Society] Serling's papers consist of roughly 80,000 documents ranging from scripts to personal correspondence, including a folder of angry letters received by Serling
* [http://www.oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/kt5489n8zx Rod Serling Archive at UCLA Library Special Collections] Film and television scripts, including scripts for 'The Twilight Zone' as well as various 1950s productions, and digitized Dictabelt transcriptions. Also includes correspondence and business records, primarily from 1966 to 1968.
* [http://www.rodserling.com/mwallace.htm 1959 interview] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100906233426/http://www.rodserling.com/mwallace.htm |date=September 6, 2010 }} by [[Mike Wallace]]
* [http://www.bobrosenbaum.com/transcripts/LifeWithRod_TZMagazine_Apr-87.htm An Interview with Carol Serling: 'Life With Rod']
* [http://www.rodserling.com/ Rod Serling Memorial Foundation]

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