After having worked in radio, Rod Serling sold his first television script in 1953, the episode "Long Time Till Dawn" to Kraft Television Theatre. It would be another script for Kraft Television Theatre that would prove to be Rod Serling's breakthrough teleplay. "Patterns" aired live on Kraft Television Theatre and proved to be so much of a success that it was re-staged on February 9 1955. "Patterns" won Rod Serling his first Emmy Award for Best Original Teleplay Writing. Rod Serling adapted his own teleplay as the movie Patterns (1956).
Rod Serling would follow "Patterns" with other highly successful teleplays, including "Requiem for a Heavyweight" for Playhouse 90, "The Comedian" for Playhouse 90, and "A Town Has Turned to Dust" for Playhouse 90. Rod Serling would adapt his teleplays The Rack (1956), Incident in an Alley (1962), and Requiem for a Heavyweight (1962). Rod Serling's work in television would lead to work in the movies beyond adapting his own teleplays. He wrote such films as Saddle the Wind (1958), The Yellow Canary (1963), Seven Days in May (1964), Assault on a Queen (1966), and The Man (1972). He wrote the initial script for Planet of the Apes (1968), and Michael Wilson's final script retained the surprise ending from Rod Serling's original script.
As a writer Rod Serling often found himself in conflict with the sponsors of the television shows for which he wrote. He sometimes had to re-write his scripts when a sponsor objected to some of its content as being too controversial. An example of this was the interference he ran into with his script "A Town Has Turned to Dust" for Playhouse 90. The original script was inspired by the murder of Emmett Till and dealt with the lynching of a lack man in a present-day Southern town. Rod Serling was forced to change the setting of "A Town Has Turned to Dust" to a border town in the late 19th Century and the victim to a Mexican. Even then Rod Serling had to make changes to the teleplay, as sponsor Prudential Insurance objected to its ending.
It was Rod Serling's constant struggles with sponsors that led him to him to create The Twilight Zone. Mr. Serling believed that he could deal with more controversial topics and would would receive less interference from sponsors through an fantasy/science fiction/horror anthology series. The Twilight Zone proved critically acclaimed and, while not necessarily a hit in the ratings popular with viewers. It won Rod Serling two more Emmy Awards for writing and one for Best TV Producer/Director. The Twilight Zone has had a lasting impact. Not only has it been revived several times, but it would inspire other genre shows.
Following The Twilight Zone Rod Serling would continue to work in television. He created the short-lived Western The Loner and the horror anthology Night Gallery. He wrote the television movies A Carol for Another Christmas (1964) and The Doomsday Flight (1966).
Sadly, Rod Serling did not take particularly good care of himself. He smoked multiple packs of cigarettes a day. He had a heart attack that required hospitalization on May 3 1975. He would have another heart attack only two weeks after being released from the hospital. It was then on June 26 1975 that he underwent open heart surgery. Unfortunately, he had a heart attack while on the operating table. He died two days later, on December 28 1975. He was only 50.
Rod Serling was ahead of his time. In many ways, he is still ahead of this time. Even beyond having created The Twilight Zone, Rod Serling would have a huge impact on television. He would inspire and influence future television creators, including Aaron Sorkin (creator of The West Wing), David Chase (creator of The Sopranos), and Matthew Weiner (creator of Mad Men). Rod Serling believed television could go beyond mere entertainment and his teleplays often dealt with serious themes .At a time when it was not fashionable to do so, Rod Serling argued against racism and for racial equality. He was strongly opposed to war, something that often found its way into his teleplays. One hundred years since his birth and nearly fifty years since his death, Rod Serling remains well-known and well-respected.
1 comment:
Thank you Terrence for this post. Serling is an important figure in the film noir community. His shows contained an element of danger, a feeling that doom is right around the corner and out of our control. My favorite episode was The Obsolete Man with Burgess Meredith. Haunting. A brilliant expose of the totalitarian mindset. His smoking habit was common for the era.
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