Trivia

He wanted Richard Egan to do the narration for The Twilight Zone (1959) because of his deep smooth voice. However, due to strict studio contracts of the time, Egan was unable to. Serling said "It's Richard Egan or no one. It's Richard Egan, or I'll do the thing myself," which is exactly what happened.

Out of the 92 The Twilight Zone (1959) episodes he wrote, his personal favorite was Time Enough at Last (1959). His favorite from an outside writer was The Invaders (1961) by Richard Matheson.

Was the first major writer to have disputes with advertisers and executives.

Ranked #1 in TV Guide's list of the "25 Greatest Sci-Fi Legends" (August 1, 2004 issue), the only real person on the list. All the others are television series characters.

Was a Communications professor at Ithaca College in Ithaca, New York.

His influences included H.G. Wells, Norman Corwin, Ernest Hemingway, Edgar Allan Poe, Edward R. Murrow and H.P. Lovecraft.

Appears on a 44¢ USA commemorative postage stamp, issued 11 August 2009, in the Early TV Memories issue honoring The Twilight Zone (1959).

Suffered from combat-related flashbacks and insomnia.

Was friends with Star Trek (1966) creator Gene Roddenberry, who had the honor of reading the eulogy at Serling's funeral.

Is considered to be one of the most influential writers in television history and is credited with creating many storytelling methods still used today.

Rod Serling used to keep a tape recorder by his bed and would often awaken in the middle of the night and dictate his dreams into the tape recorder while they were still fresh in his memory. A number of his dreams (and nightmares) would find their way into his writings.

His experiences during World War II made him extremely anti-war.

Started writing during World War II while recuperating from his injuries.

In 1994, 19 years after his death, he returned to "host" the pre-show area of "The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror" attraction at the Disney-MGM Studios Theme Park in Orlando, Florida. Through clever use of carefully edited vintage The Twilight Zone (1959) footage, new footage processed in black and white and special additional dialogue recorded by a Serling soundalike (reportedly selected personally by Serling's widow, Carol), Serling appears in a Twilight Zone episode based on the ride's storyline and introduces theme park visitors to the attraction. This brief introduction, which is shown on a special vintage television in the attraction's pre-show area, represents the first "new" introduction of The Twilight Zone that he appears in since the series' end in 1964.

Served in the United States Army, under the service number 32-738-306, from January 1943 to January 1946. Discharged in the rank of Technician 5th Grade (the equivalent of a Corporal) having served as an Infantry Combat Demolition Specialist and a Paratrooper.

His schoolteacher Helen Foley encouraged him in his writing and he always believed he owed his success to her. A schoolteacher in Twilight Zone: The Movie (1983) was named Helen Foley in her honor.

He was posthumously awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for Television at 6840 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California on October 6, 1988.

The writer spent nearly a year in writing the screenplay for the original "Planet of the Apes" movie. Altogether, Rod Serling wrote about 50 different drafts.

Regardless of what he was working on, Rod Serling would sometimes spend up to 98 hours a week on his writing.

He often smoked more than five packs of cigarettes a day.

He considered the season four episode "He's Alive" which examines the subject of Fascism, the most important episode of The Twilight Zone (1959) he ever wrote.

Military decorations from the Second World War include: World War II Victory Medal, American Campaign Service Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (with Arrowhead Device), Good Conduct Medal, Phillippine Liberation Medal (with one bronze service star), Purple Heart, Combat Infantryman Badge, Parachutist Badge, and Honorable Service Lapel Pin. Also retroactively authorized the Bronze Star Medal, based on receipt of the Combat Infantryman Badge during the Second World War.

On May 3rd, 1975, he was mowing his lawn, when he collapsed after experiencing sudden chest pains. His neighbor found him and called the ambulance. He spent two weeks in the hospital before being released. Shortly thereafter, a second heart attack led to his return to the Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester and a need for open heart surgery. He had a third heart attack on the operating table, passing away two days later.

Was an outspoken opponent of the Vietnam War.

Grew to hate his time whilst working on the television series Night Gallery (1969), once producer Jack Laird was granted total control over the series' creative input.

Towards the end of his career, he narrated several documentaries about sharks and other underwater life that were shown a great deal, at the time, in schools.

He owned a 1968 Glen Pray made replica of the 1937 Cord automobile. During the making of the game show Liar's Club (1969), he would go riding with friend, fellow actor and car enthusiast Tommy Bond, who played Butch in the 1940's series; Little Rascals.

Posthumously inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame (1985) and the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame (2008).

During the early part of his television career, some of the television critics referred to Rod Serling as "the angry young man of television". However, Serling's family have always strongly denied this.

He usually dictated his scripts into a tape recorder and had his secretary type them up.

Moved to Binghamton, New York at an early age, where he spent most of his youth.

He was credited as writer under the pseudonym "John Phillips" on the pilot episode of the television series The New People (1969). While Serling's name remained as the series developer, he was sufficiently annoyed with ABC-TV's editing of the pilot (this was cut from 52 to 45 minutes to adapt into a 90 minute time slot along with another series) that he preferred to remove his real name. He possibly got this particular pseudonym from the novelist John Phillips (John Phillips Marquand Jr.), whose only novel "The Second Happiest Day" was adapted to an episode of the television series The Second Happiest Day (1959), for which Serling had written a dozen episodes prior to The Twilight Zone (1959).

His Western series The Loner (1965) was canceled after only 13 episodes. The reason generally given, is that the series was deemed too unconventional in its storylines.

A news item in TV Guide the week of December 7, 1963 said that Serling would be visiting Hong Kong to film a television pilot called "Jeopardy Run".

Born into a Reform Jewish family, he later became a Unitarian upon his marriage in 1948.

Following his sudden death, he was interred at Lake View Cemetery in Interlaken, Senaca County, New York.

Along with many other famous faces, he was a pie-in-the-face recipient on The Soupy Sales Show (1953). Serling's turn came in 1962.

In 1958, when live television from New York was on the wane, Serling moved to Pacific Palisades, California. He and his wife, Carol, first resided on San Onofre Drive, next to Ronald and Nancy Reagan. Their next house was on Monaco Drive, where Carol resided until her death on January 9, 2020.

The first George Foster Peabody Award for television writing was the 1956 Personal Award given to Serling for his script of Requiem for a Heavyweight (1956).

Out of the 156 episodes that compromised the original television series The Twilight Zone (1959), Rod Serling wrote 92 of them.

Brother of writer/novelist Robert J. Serling.

His play, "Requiem for a Heavyweight" at The Artistic Home in Chicago, Illinois was awarded the 2019 Non-Equity Joseph Jefferson Award for Play Production.

Host of the syndicated radio show "The Zero Hour" (1973-1974).

Robert Marshall Hosfeldt authored a 1961 MA Thesis at San Jose State College called "Analysis of the techniques and content of characterization in the Academy Award winning plays of Rod Serling". In this case, "Academy" referred to the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.

Father of Jodi Serling (born 1950) and Anne Serling (born 1955) with Carol Serling.

It was well known that Rod Serling disliked most of the television sponsors, owing to interference with his television plays.

In a televised interview, Rod Serling expressed his disappointment over the cancellation of a play which was due to be recorded live (as most of his plays were at the time). The play was pulled from recording, owing to the controversial plot involving racism. Instead, Serling submitted a replacement, which was about the Mexican rebel leader Pancho Villa. As a writer, Serling wasn't at all satisfied.

Like most writers and dramatists, Rod Serling struggled for many years to establish himself. This began to change from about 1955 onward, when his plays were adapted for television.

Attended and graduated from Binghamton High School in Binghamton, New York (1943).

Was an outspoken supporter of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).