AUTHOR OF THE WEEK, January 3, Monday
Rod Serling
(Screenwriter, Playwrite, Television Producer, Narrator of Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror)
“Fantasy is the impossible made probable. Science Fiction is the improbable made possible.”
“I find that, within the framework of the science fiction or fantasy genres, the use of travelling back in time is a very effective way of producing contrasts, of producing contrasts, of producing a kind of free-wheeling storytelling device.”
“I take off and write out of a sense of desperate compulsion.”
“The instinct of creativity must be followed by the act. The physical act of putting it down for a sense of permanence.”
“There is a fifth dimension beyond that which is known to man … a dimension as vast as space and as timeless as infinity. It is the middle ground between light and shadow, between science and superstition, and it lies between the pit of man’s fears and the summit of his knowledge. This is the dimension of imagination.”
Rod Serling (1924 to 1975) was one of the most talented storytellers of our modern times. Well known for his science-fiction anthology TV series, The Twilight Zone, he won a 1955 Emmy Award for his script Patterns, a 1957 Emmy for his script Requiem for a Heavyweight, and a 1959 Emmy for The Twilight Zone. He was also co-author of The Planet of the Apes. Serling taught dramatic writing at Ithaca College in New York.
In his youth he enlisted in the U.S. Army the morning after his high school graduation, fought in World War II, and earned the Purple Heart, the Bronze Star and the Philippine Liberation Medal.
Rod Serling died at age 50 after heart surgery.
Interview with Rod Serling, University of Kansas, by James Gunn
Rod Serling’s Author Page on Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/Rod-Serling/e/B001H6OHVE
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Keep the holiday season joy and peace into the entire new year, 2022!
Paula Cappa 
Thank you, for sharing this wonderful article. Not only was he immensely, talented, but a true storyteller full of compassion for people. For years, while writing for television; he sought to bring social issues, to television audiences, but wasn’t allowed. They were afraid of losing sponsors, if the subject was, too offensive to certain people. But, he came up with the idea of presenting certain issues through, interesting, stories of fantasy to make people think. And it worked. 🌹❤️
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Felicia, I found the interviews online of Serling (YouTube.com) to be fascinating. I listened to several. It’s sad that he died so young.
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I learned to appreciate Serling’s talent as a screenwriter a few years ago when watching “Night Gallery.” About half the episodes were based on per-existing short stories, which were then adapted by screen writers. By reading the stories and then watching the episodes, I found that Serling’s adaptations were generally MUCH better than anyone else’s.
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Yeah, I loved Night Gallery. The “otherworldly” within the art or characters in the paintings was so fascinating for me. The stories had touches of the Twilight Zone–but that power from the beyond was much more ghostly, a huge attraction for me.
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I love the Twilight Zone! (Who doesn’t?) But I didn’t know Serling had anything to do with Planet of the Apes, cool!
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I didn’t know that either. Or, that he died at age 50. I was a fan of Night Gallery. I loved the supernatural powers of art that the episodes explored.
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