About the Show

coming soon!

About the Creator

The man behind The Twilight Zone was the screenwriter Rod Serling. He created the sci-fi TV series The Twilight Zone, which first aired in 1959, but also wrote scripts for numerous other shows including The Doctor, Fireside Theater, Hallmark Hall of Fame, Lux Video Theater, Kraft Television Theatre, Suspense, and Studio One in the early 1950s. He won 6 Emmys during his career.

Serling was born in Syracuse, NY on December 25, 1924 but was raised in Binghamton, NY (where I live!) and graduated from Binghamton High School in 1943. Serling had an older brother and was from a Jewish family but later became a Unitarian Universalist. His full name was Rodman Edward Serling. He was rather short (5'4") and was a noted boxer during his military days. Serling served as a U.S. Army Paratrooper and Demolition specialist with the 511th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 11th Airborne Division in the Pacific Theater in World War II from January 1943 to January 1945. He was awarded the Purple Heart and Bronze Star after being wounded in the wrist and knee during combat. Serling was deeply affected by WWII and it influenced much of his writing (and can even be seen in various episodes of The Twilight Zone). He saw one of his best friends die during the war and suffered from flashbacks and nightmares throughout the rest of his life. He married in 1948 and had 2 children.

Serling said he created The Twilight Zone in a science fiction format so it would not create controversy but still gave him the opportunity to communicate social messages. After The Twilight Zone, Serling created Night Gallery which lasted 3 seasons (1970-73) and focused more on macabre horror. Serling also wrote various sci-fi short fictions, movie screenplays (including Planet of the Apes, and taught at the Ithaca College Communications School in NY. In 1975, Serling suffered two severe heart attacks and was taken to a hospital in Rochester for heart bypass surgery. He had a third heart attack during the surgery and died the following day at age 50. He is buried in Interlaken, in Upstate NY.

Serling and his show are iconic in American culture. He was voted #1 in TV Guide's list of the "25 Greatest Sci-Fi Legends". Serling used upstate NY as a backdrop to various TZ episodes and Binghamton inspired some episodes as well such as the park in the episode "Walking Distance" is said to be inspired by the carousel in Recreation Park in Binghamton.

Download The Twilight Zone theme!
» right click here
(choose 'save target as' or 'save link as')