Rod Serling

Edwin Rodman "Rod" Serling (December 25, 1924 – June 28, 1975) was a screenwriter, most famous for his science fiction TV series, The Twilight Zone. He was born in Syracuse, New York to Samuel and Esther Serling.

Early writing career

Upon leaving the military, Serling entered Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio. He graduated in 1950 with a Bachelor's degree in Literature. He got his start as a writer after winning second prize in a contest for the radio show "Dr. Christian" in 1949, while still a college student. Serling and his second wife Carol (married in 1948) moved to Cincinnati, Ohio, where he took a job as a staff writer for WLW Radio. In 1951, he started to break into television by writing scripts for Hallmark Hall of Fame, Lux Video Theater, Kraft Television Theater, Suspense and Studio One.

Related Topics:
Antioch College - Yellow Springs, Ohio - 1950 - Bachelor's degree - 1949 - Cincinnati, Ohio - WLW Radio - Television - Hallmark Hall of Fame - Kraft Television Theater - Suspense - Studio One

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In 1955, Kraft Television Theater presented another of Serling's scripts, the 72nd to make it to air. To the Serlings, it was just another script, and they missed the first live airing. The show was Patterns and it changed Rod Serling's life. Patterns dramatized the struggle for power involving a corporate boss, an old hand running out of ideas and energy, and the bright young executive being groomed to take the older man's place. It was a huge hit, and was even presented again the next week, something near unprecedented. It established Serling as a rarity: a TV playwright.

Related Topics:
Patterns

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

More acclaimed plays for TV followed: The Rack, about a Korean War vet and the effects of torture, Requiem for a Heavyweight, The Comedian, plus several more, many turned into movies.

Related Topics:
Korean War - Requiem for a Heavyweight - The Comedian

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Tired of seeing his scripts neutered and mangled (removing any political statements, ethnic identities, even the Chrysler building being removed from a script sponsored by Ford), Serling decided the only way around this interference was to create his own show.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~