Submitted for your approval - The Life and Sad Ending of Rod Serling.
Rodman Edward Serling better known as just Rod Serling was born on December 25th, 1924
in Syracuse, NY. His Jewish parents were Esther and Samuel Lawrence Serling. Rod had an older
brother who was a novelist and aviation writer Robert J. Serling. In elementary school, Serling
was the class clown and teachers had little hope of him making anything of himself. However,
he joined the debate team and began writing for the school newspaper.
Rod loved listening to the radio and began writing at an early age. He was going to
go to college after his senior year of high school in 1943 but with the country being
in the midst of wwII, he decided to enlist in the army instead.
Serling began his military career in 1943 serving in the 511th Parachute Infantry Regiment of
the 11th Airborne Division. In 1944, Serling received his orders to serve
in the Pacific theater, serving in the Philippines. During his military service, Serling was awarded
the Purple Heart, the Bronze Star,[10] and the Philippine Liberation Medal.[4][11]
Serling's combat experience affected him deeply and it showed his writing.
Using the G.I. bill he enrolled at the Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio, he earned
a Bachelor degree in Literature in 1950. As part of his studies, Serling became active
in the campus radio station, an experience which proved useful in his future career.
While at college he met and married Carol Kramer in 1948. They had two daughters, Jodi
and Anne. Serling worked at several radio stations throughout
the country as well as working as a freelance writer with growing success that would soon
lead to work in television. In 1955, the nationwide Kraft Television
Theatre televised a program based on Serling's teleplay “Patterns” It was a huge success
for which he won his first Emmy Award. Serling then wrote "Requiem for a Heavyweight"
for the television series Playhouse 90 in 1956, again gaining praise from critics and
a second Emmy. He eventually won a total of six Emmy awards.
In October of 1959, the classic Twilight Zone series, created by Serling, premiered
on CBS.[4] For this series, Serling sought to get and
maintain creative control. He hired writers he respected, such as Richard Matheson and Charles
Beaumont. The Twilight Zone aired for five seasons
and It won many television and drama awards and drew critical acclaim. Although it had
loyal fans, the ratings were never very good. After The Twilight Zone was canceled, Serling
wrote an unsuccessful western television series called The Loner, which ran from the fall
of 1965 to April 1966.
In 1970, Serling appeared in a new series called “Night Gallery” . Set in a dimly
lit museum after hours, Serling played the curator, who introduced three tales of the macabre.
The series of the same name ran until May of 1973.
When he was not writing, promoting, or producing his work, Serling often lectured at colleges.
Throughout his career he often used his writing as a platform to point out racial injustice
and other social ills. He was also an outspoken opponent of the Vietnam War.
Serling was reportedly a (3 pack a day) smoker and In May of 1975, he had a heart attack and
was hospitalized. He spent two weeks in the hospital before being released. A second
heart attack two weeks later caused doctors to agree to perform (risky at the time) heart
bypass surgery During the operation, Serling had a third heart attack on the operating
table and, Sadly, died two days later on June 28, 1975 at Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester,
New York. He was only 50 years old. He was interred at Lake View Cemetery, Interlaken,
New York. In January of 2020, his wife Carol Serling
died at age 90 and was buried next to her husband.
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