Rod Serling - Narrator, Birthday and Childhood
Rod Serling's Personal Details
Rod Serling was an American television producer, screenwriter, playwright and narrator
| Information | Detail |
|---|---|
| Birthday | December 25, 1924 |
| Died on | June 28, 1975 |
| Nationality | American |
| Famous | Jewish Actors, Film & Theater Personalities, T V & Movie Producers, Playwrights, Narrator, Screenwriter, Tv Producer |
| Spouses | Carol Serling |
| Siblings | Robert J. Serling |
| Known as | Rodman Edward Serling, Rodman Edward |
| Childrens | Anne Serling, Jodi Serling |
| Universities |
|
| Birth Place | Syracuse |
| Religion | Unitarian Universalism |
| Gender | Male |
| Father | Samuel Lawrence Serling |
| Mother | Esther Cooper Serling |
| Sun Sign | Capricorn |
| Born in | Syracuse |
| Famous as | Screenwriter, TV Producer, Narrator |
| Died at Age | 50 |
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Rod Serling's photo
Who is Rod Serling?
Rodman E. ‘Rod’ Serling was an American scriptwriter, television producer, radio host and narrator. He was most popularly known for his television programs, especially for his science fiction anthology TV series, ‘Twilight Zone’, which was also produced by him so that he could control the creative quality of the series. Other famous writings by Serling are, ‘Requiem for a Heavyweight’, ‘Patterns’, ‘Night Gallery’, etc. He was awarded with many prestigious awards for his writings, like, Emmy, Golden Globe, Writers Guild of America Award, etc. Serling was always the flamboyant one in his family, with tales and stories to tell and his talent only developed as he grew up and once he achieved his military aspirations, he got into freelance writing for the radio and television. He was recognized for the first time, after he moved to New York, when ‘Patterns’ was aired. Serling was a man of principles, whose writing was purposeful and projected his ideas on anti-war activism and racial equality. He was the kind of artist who could not stand creative dissection of his work due to corporate policies, which is why he produced a show of his own and also a reason why he turned from radio to television as a medium of communication.
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Childhood & Early Life
Rod Serling was born on December 25, 1924 in New York to Esther and Samuel Serling. His father was a secretary and an amateur inventor before the birth of his children but later became a grocer and a butcher. His mother was a homemaker.
Serling family moved to Binghamton in 1926, which is where he spent his childhood. Since Serling was interested in performing from a young age, his father built him a stage in the basement where he used to act.
Serling had a reputation of being a class clown in elementary school, which is why most of his teachers did not pay much attention to him but his 7th grade teacher encouraged him to take part in school’s extracurricular activities.
Career
Serling joined the American military during WWII, shortly after graduating from Binghamton Central High School in 1943. He wanted to take part in the combat against Nazis but instead became a paratrooper in the Pacific theatre.
He came back home from the war with war injuries and a purple heart but the emotional scarring that he received by witnessing the brutality of human nature and sudden death, remained with him for the rest of his life.
Serling enrolled in the physical education program at Antioch College, Ohio. But his interest in broadcasting changed his mind and he altered his major to Literature and graduated in 1950.
Throughout his graduation, he participated in campus radio programs. He also took a part-time job as a parachute tester for the Army Air Forces; for such a job he had to, many times, put his life at risk.
In 1946, he volunteered at WNYC as an actor and writer and later, worked at the same station as a paid intern. He was first time credited for his work as a writer for the radio program, ‘Dr. Christian’.
His first nationally broadcast piece was released in 1949 for Grand Central Station, title, ‘Hop Off the Express and Grab a Local’ and in the following year his career as a professional writer began with WLW radio in Ohio.
From 1950-51, ‘Adventure Express’ was aired weekly on the WLW radio. It was a radio drama about a young girl and a boy travelling with their uncle, experiencing new adventures.
Some of the radio programs written by Serling during this time were - ‘Leave it to Kathy’, ‘Our America’, ‘Builders of Destiny’, etc. While working with radio, he felt that it was not living up to its standard and decided to move on.
Serling moved on to the television and became a freelance writer instead, as he was tired of his scripts getting edited or rejected all the time. He wrote dramatic anthology shows, for—‘Kraft Television Theater’, ‘Appointment with Adventure’, etc.
In 1954, his agent convinced him to move to New York to benefit from more opportunities there. In the following year, Kraft Television Theater televised one of his scripts, titled, ‘Patterns’, which gave him his first taste of success.
After gaining great critical success with ‘Patterns’, Serling received many offers to write scripts, novels, etc. and he sold his old scripts but the old work could not live up to his newly found critical acclamation.
He wrote ‘Requiem for a Heavyweight’ for the Playhouse 90 TV series in 1956 and again proved his writing credibility. But soon he started to get tired of creative interference from the corporate so he decided to produce his own show.
In 1959, Serling’s most memorable work aired on CBS––‘Twilight Zone’. It was a series that ran for five seasons - it consisted of his creative take on topics like racial discrimination, sexism and other social stigmas.
After ‘Twilight Zone’ in 1969, Serling collaborated with NBC for his new series ‘Night Gallery’. He did not take the executive position. But, he increasingly became distressed with the interference and stopped writing for the show after three seasons.
In 1970, Serling became a part of KNXT’s 30-minute weekly series, ‘Rod Serling’s Wonderful World of….’, He hosted and narrated the essays that were written on various subjects for around 13 weeks.
He returned back to the radio in 1973 with ‘The Zero Hour’ - it was a show that had stories of mystery and adventure. It ran for two seasons and he was the host and writer of the program
His last and final performance on the radio was ‘Fantasy Park’ in 1975. It was a 48-hour long rock concert, aired by more than 200 radio channels all over America. He did the host segments, bumpers, custom promos, etc.
Major Work
The greatest works of Serling’s writing career are, ‘Patterns (1954)’—a program that made him famous, ‘Requiem for a Heavyweight (1956)’—a show that again validated his caliber and ‘Night Gallery (1970)’, which earned him an award for writing.
Awards & Achievements
Serling was the winner of 6 Emmys in various categories like, ‘Patterns’, ‘Requiem for a Heavyweight’, ‘The Comedian’, ‘Twilight Zone’, etc. He also won prestigious awards like, Writers Guild of America Award, Golden Globe, Edgar Allan Poe Award, etc.
Personal Life & Legacy
In 1948, Serling got married to Carol Kramer; who was his fellow student at the university (she had earlier refused to date him in the beginning because of his flirtatious reputation). The couple had two daughters: Jodi and Anne.
He suffered a minor heart attack and was hospitalized in1975 but when he got another attack within two weeks, he had to undergo a surgery. He died two days later. He was 50 years old at the time.
Trivia
He was inducted by the Television Hall of Fame and the Science Fiction Hall of Fame, posthumously.
When he was not writing, performing or producing, Serling used to teach and give speeches on college campuses. He took classes on film studies where he watched selected movies with the students and critique on them later. He taught at Ithaca College from the late sixties until his death.
The main themes of his work were anti-war activism, racial equality and his female characters were always projected as strong and resilient. He was against social stigmas.
It was rumored at the time of his death that he suffered from multiple heart attacks because he was a heavy smoker, extremely stressed and in general an angry person.
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Rod Serling's awards
| Year | Name | Award |
|---|---|---|
Golden Globe Awards | ||
| 1963 | Best TV Producer/Director | The Twilight Zone (1959) |
Primetime Emmy Awards | ||
| 1964 | Outstanding Writing Achievement in Drama - Adaptation | Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre (1963) |
| 1961 | Outstanding Writing Achievement in Drama | The Twilight Zone (1959) |
| 1960 | Outstanding Writing Achievement in Drama | The Twilight Zone (1959) |
| 1958 | Best Teleplay Writing - One Hour or More | Playhouse 90 (1956) |
| 1957 | Best Teleplay Writing - One Hour or More | Playhouse 90 (1956) |
| 1956 | Best Original Teleplay Writing | Kraft Television Theatre (1947) |
Rod Serling biography timelines
- // 25th Dec 1924Rod Serling was born on December 25, 1924 in New York to Esther and Samuel Serling. His father was a secretary and an amateur inventor before the birth of his children but later became a grocer and a butcher. His mother was a homemaker.
- // 1926Serling family moved to Binghamton in 1926, which is where he spent his childhood. Since Serling was interested in performing from a young age, his father built him a stage in the basement where he used to act.
- // 1943Serling joined the American military during WWII, shortly after graduating from Binghamton Central High School in 1943. He wanted to take part in the combat against Nazis but instead became a paratrooper in the Pacific theatre.
- // 1946In 1946, he volunteered at WNYC as an actor and writer and later, worked at the same station as a paid intern. He was first time credited for his work as a writer for the radio program, ‘Dr. Christian’.
- // 1948In 1948, Serling got married to Carol Kramer; who was his fellow student at the university (she had earlier refused to date him in the beginning because of his flirtatious reputation). The couple had two daughters: Jodi and Anne.
- // 1949His first nationally broadcast piece was released in 1949 for Grand Central Station, title, ‘Hop Off the Express and Grab a Local’ and in the following year his career as a professional writer began with WLW radio in Ohio.
- // 1950Serling enrolled in the physical education program at Antioch College, Ohio. But his interest in broadcasting changed his mind and he altered his major to Literature and graduated in 1950.
- // 1950 To 1951From 1950-51, ‘Adventure Express’ was aired weekly on the WLW radio. It was a radio drama about a young girl and a boy travelling with their uncle, experiencing new adventures.
- // 1954In 1954, his agent convinced him to move to New York to benefit from more opportunities there. In the following year, Kraft Television Theater televised one of his scripts, titled, ‘Patterns’, which gave him his first taste of success.
- // 1956He wrote ‘Requiem for a Heavyweight’ for the Playhouse 90 TV series in 1956 and again proved his writing credibility. But soon he started to get tired of creative interference from the corporate so he decided to produce his own show.
- // 1959In 1959, Serling’s most memorable work aired on CBS––‘Twilight Zone’. It was a series that ran for five seasons - it consisted of his creative take on topics like racial discrimination, sexism and other social stigmas.
- // 1969After ‘Twilight Zone’ in 1969, Serling collaborated with NBC for his new series ‘Night Gallery’. He did not take the executive position. But, he increasingly became distressed with the interference and stopped writing for the show after three seasons.
- // 1970In 1970, Serling became a part of KNXT’s 30-minute weekly series, ‘Rod Serling’s Wonderful World of….’, He hosted and narrated the essays that were written on various subjects for around 13 weeks.
- // 1973He returned back to the radio in 1973 with ‘The Zero Hour’ - it was a show that had stories of mystery and adventure. It ran for two seasons and he was the host and writer of the program
- // 1975His last and final performance on the radio was ‘Fantasy Park’ in 1975. It was a 48-hour long rock concert, aired by more than 200 radio channels all over America. He did the host segments, bumpers, custom promos, etc.
- // 1975He suffered a minor heart attack and was hospitalized in1975 but when he got another attack within two weeks, he had to undergo a surgery. He died two days later. He was 50 years old at the time.
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Rod Serling's FAQ
What is Rod Serling birthday?
Rod Serling was born at 1924-12-25
When was Rod Serling died?
Rod Serling was died at 1975-06-28
Where was Rod Serling died?
Rod Serling was died in Rochester
Which age was Rod Serling died?
Rod Serling was died at age 50
Where is Rod Serling's birth place?
Rod Serling was born in Syracuse
What is Rod Serling nationalities?
Rod Serling's nationalities is American
Who is Rod Serling spouses?
Rod Serling's spouses is Carol Serling
Who is Rod Serling siblings?
Rod Serling's siblings is Robert J. Serling
Who is Rod Serling childrens?
Rod Serling's childrens is Anne Serling, Jodi Serling
What was Rod Serling universities?
Rod Serling studied at 1950 - Antioch College, Binghamton High School
What is Rod Serling's religion?
Rod Serling's religion is Unitarian Universalism
Who is Rod Serling's father?
Rod Serling's father is Samuel Lawrence Serling
Who is Rod Serling's mother?
Rod Serling's mother is Esther Cooper Serling
What is Rod Serling's sun sign?
Rod Serling is Capricorn
How famous is Rod Serling?
Rod Serling is famouse as Screenwriter, TV Producer, Narrator