About the Author
Read below about Rod Serling and how his experiences led to the creation of the show!
Rod Serling (1924 - 1975)
Serling's Career
During his extraordinary career, Rod Serling won six Emmy awards, the highest honors given to those in the television industry. Known to the public as a creator of exciting television shows, Serling was sometimes referred to by his friends and business associates as “the angry young man of television.” Serling wanted to write teleplays about important social issues, but television executives often thought his topics were too controversial.
Frustrated by this lack of support, Serling turned to writing science fiction and fantasy. He created an eerie series called The Twilight Zone, which became one of the most popular shows in television history during its 1959–1964 run. Because the teleplays for this series were not realistic, Serling had more freedom to deal with issues such as prejudice and intolerance.
Truthful Fiction
After graduating from High School in 1943, Serling enlisted in the US Army to fight in World War II. Because of his poor eyesight, Serling served as a paratrooper -- someone who would jump out of planes and land on the ground via parachute. While in New Guinea, Serling had time to practice writing performative texts as he had the opportunity to write a skit and perform onstage with a comedian during the time, Jack Benny.
While serving, Serling witnessed many atrocities that would later haunt him in his life. One day after weeks of intense combat, Serling witnessed the death of his good friend, Private Melvin Levy. To recall the event, "Levy ventured out to watch an aircraft dop off food crates to the beleaguered paratroopers. Levy was joking about where the food would all when one of the creates landed on his head and decapitated him" (WW2 Museum).
During the war, Serling's regiment, the 511 Regiment, suffered 50 percent casualties (WW2 Museum) while fighting; Serling was also wounded by shrapnel which earned him the Purple Heart Medal after the war ended.
While fighting for Rizal Stadium, Serling shot and killed a Japanese soldier which heavily scarred him for the rest of his life. On another occasion, Serling almost died at the hands of a Japanese soldier who had a gun pointed at Serling at close range. Before this soldier could fire, another paratrooper in Serling's regiment stepped behind Serling and shot the enemy solder -- saving Serling's life.
After the war, Serling returned home mentally scarred from the war. His daughter describes his mental state with the following quote: "What I vividly recall is my dad having nightmares, and in the morning, aI would ask him what happened, and he would say he dreamed the Japanese were coming at him. So, it was always present, and clearly . . . he got it off his chest in his writing" (WW2 Museum).
The Purple Testament
Episode 19 of The Twilight Zone, titled “The Purple Testament,” depicts an American lieutenant fighting in the Philippines who has gained the ability to predict which of his men will live and which will die during the war. In the episode, Serling honors the death of his friend, Melvin Levee, as he mentions his name as one of the soldiers' deaths that is troubling the lieutenant in the episode. Here, this episode acted as a coping mechanism for Serling as he was able to portray the sorrow he felt. Due to the loss of his friends, his injuries during the war, and horrors he witnessed, the episode serves as a window into Serling's views on war and its effect on the soldiers who serve and sacrifice themselves for it.
A Turn for the Worse
For as long as his career continued, Serling was known as “television’s angry young man.” Serling often spoke out against intolerance, racism, and other social issues that were deemed "too serious" for television. As a troubled veteran, Serling smoked up to three packs of cigarettes a day to cope with the stress and memories of the war. Eventually, this contributed to Serling have a series of heart attacks towards the end of his life. When having open-heart surgery to alleviate his heart problems, Serling had a heart attack on the operating table and died two days later. Serling's official death occurred on June 28th, 1975, in Rochester, New York. Today, Serling's legacy is found within his writing which was progressive and advanced for the time period he lived.