Rod Serling Biography (1924-1975)

Full name, Edward Rodman Serling; born December 25, 1924, in Syracuse, NY; died of complications during coronary bypass surgery, June 28, 1975, in Rochester, NY; son of Samuel Lawrence (a wholesale butcher) and Esther (Cooper) Serling; married Carolyn Louise Kramer, July 31, 1948; children: Jodi, Anne.

Nationality
American
Gender
Male
Birth Details
December 25, 1924
Syracuse, New York, United States
Death Details
June 28, 1975
Rochester, New York, United States

Famous Works

  • Credits; Television Appearances; Series
  • Narrator, The Twilight Zone, CBS, 1959-64.
  • Host, The Liar's Club, syndicated, 1969.
  • Narrator, Rod Serling's Night Gallery, NBC, 1969-73.
  • Credits; Other Television Appearances
  • "The Man in the Funny Suit," Desilu Playhouse, CBS, 1960.
  • Ichabod and Me (episodic), CBS, 1962.
  • Lifewatch 6 (special), syndicated, 1969.
  • Narrator, Appointment with Destiny (special), CBS, 1971.
  • "Bubble, Bubble, Toil and Murder," Ironside (episodic), NBC, 1972.
  • Narrator, "Monsters, Mysteries or Myths," Smithsonian Institution Special, CBS, 1974.
  • Narrator of the specials The Legendary Curse of the Hope Diamond, 1975, and In Search of Ancient Astronauts; and for Jacques Cousteau oceanographic specials and other nature-related programs during the early 1970s, including Deadly Fathoms, 1973, and The Outer Space Connection, 1974. Also appeared in the unaired pilot Witches, Warlocks and Werewolves, 1963, and in A Salute to Television's 25th Anniversary, 1972.
  • Credits; Television Work; Series
  • Creator and executive producer, The Twilight Zone, CBS, 1959-64.
  • Associated with the production of Line of Duty.
  • Credits; Film Appearances
  • Narrator, Encounter with the Unknown, Centronics International/Libert, 1973.
  • Narrator, "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet" (dubbed from the television episode), Twilight Zone--The Movie, Warner Bros., 1983.
  • Writings;For Television
  • "Patterns," Kraft Theatre, NBC, 1955.
  • "The Champion" (based on story by Ring Lardner), Climax, CBS, c.
  • 1955.
  • "Requiem for a Heavyweight," Playhouse 90, CBS, 1956.
  • "The Comedian," Playhouse 90, CBS, c. 1957.
  • "A Town Has Turned to Dust," Playhouse 90, CBS, c. 1959.
  • (With others) The Twilight Zone (series), CBS, 1959-64.
  • "It's Mental Work" (based on story by John O'Hara), Bob Hope Presents theChrysler Theatre, NBC, c. 1963.
  • (With others) Rod Serling's Night Gallery (series), NBC, 1969-73.
  • Author of The Rack and Old MacDonald Had a Curve; and of scripts producedon the series Studio One, U.S. Steel Hour, Hallmark Hall of Fame, Suspense,and Danger. Also author of the specials A Storm in Summer and A Storm in Winter, both 1970, and contributor to The Oath: The Ad and Lonely Sundays, 1976.
  • Writings; Screenplays
  • The Strike, United Artists, 1955.
  • Patterns (based on his teleplay), Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), 1956.
  • Saddle the Wind (based on the story by Thomas Thompson), MGM, 1958.
  • Requiem for a Heavyweight (based on his teleplay), Columbia, 1962.
  • The Yellow Canary (based on novel Evil Come, Evil Go by Whit Masterson),Twentieth Century-Fox, 1963.
  • Seven Days in May (based on novel by Fletcher Knebel and Charles W.
  • Bailey II), Paramount, 1964.
  • Assault on a Queen (based on novel by Jack Finney), Paramount, 1966.
  • (With Michael Wilson) Planet of the Apes (based on novel Monkey Planet byPierre Boulle), Twentieth Century-Fox, 1968.
  • (With brother, Robert J. Serling) The President's Plane Is Missing (basedon novel by Robert J. Serling), Commonwealth-United, 1969.
  • The Man (adapted from the television drama; based on novel by Irving Wallace), Paramount, 1971.
  • A Time of Predators (based on novel by Joe Gores), Avco-Embassy, 1971.
  • Encounter with the Unknown, Centronics International/Libert, 1973.
  • Writings; Plays
  • Patterns: Four Television Plays with the Author's Personal Commentaries (includes Patterns, The Rack, Requiem for a Heavyweight, and Old MacDonald Hada Curve), Simon and Schuster, 1957.
  • Patterns: A Drama in Three Acts, Samuel French, 1959.
  • The Killing Season, produced on Broadway, 1968.
  • Writings; Other
  • Stories from the Twilight Zone, Bantam, 1960.
  • More Stories from the Twilight Zone, Bantam, 1961.
  • New Stories from the Twilight Zone, Bantam, 1962.
  • From the Twilight Zone, Doubleday, 1962.
  • Requiem for a Heavyweight: A Reading Version of the Dramatic Script, Bantam, 1962.
  • Rod Serling's The Twilight Zone, adapted by Walter B. Gibson, Grosset, 1963.
  • (Editor) Rod Serling's Triple W: Witches, Warlocks, and Werewolves; A Collection, Bantam, 1963.
  • Twilight Zone Revisited, adapted by Gibson, Grosset, 1964.
  • The Season to Be Wary (novellas; includes "The Escape Route," "Color Scheme," and "Eyes"), Little, Brown, 1967.
  • (Editor and author of introduction) Devils and Demons:A Collection, Bantam, 1967.
  • Night Gallery, Bantam, 1971.
  • Night Gallery 2, Bantam, 1972.
  • Rod Serling's Other Worlds, Bantam, 1978.
  • Also author of radio plays.
  • Other Works
  • Adaptations: The Rack (based on Serling's teleplay; adapted by Stewart Stern), MGM, 1956; Incident in an Alley (based on Serling's television drama Line of Duty; adapted by Harold Medford and Owen Harris), United Artists, 1962;Twilight Zone--The Movie (includes "Kick the Can," "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet," "It's a Good Life," and "A Quality of Mercy"; directed by Steven Spielberg, George Miller, Joe Dante, and John Landis), Warner Bros., 1983; The Twilight Zone (sound recording series; includes "The Midnight Sun," "The Mighty Casey," and "Walking Distance"), 1992; and The Twilight Zone: Rod Serling's LostClassics (includes "The Theatre" and "Where the Dead Are"; directed by RobertMarkowitz), CBS-TV, 1994.

Further Reference

Books:

  • Serling, Rod, Patterns: Four Television Plays with the Author's PersonalCommentaries, Simon and Schuster, 1957.
  • Zicree, Marc Scott, The Twilight Zone Companion, Bantam Books, 1982.
Periodicals:
  • Western Humanities Review, winter, 1981.