History Creator / RodSerling

* ''Series/{{The Twilight Zone|1959}}'' (original 1959-64 version)
* ''Series/NightGallery'' (1970-73)

* ''Series/TheLoner'' (short-lived CBS Western series, 1965-66)

* The documentary series ''The Undersea World Of Creator/JacquesCousteau''

* ''Patterns'' (a 1955 episode of ''Kraft Television Theater'')
* ''Film/RequiemForAHeavyweight'' (originally a 1956 episode of ''Series/Playhouse90'', then a 1962 film)
* ''Literature/SevenDaysInMay'' (wrote the script for TheFilmOfTheBook) (1964)

[[quoteright:285:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Rod_Serling_2413.jpg]]


[[SelfDemonstratingArticle Submitted for your approval]], an ordinary man, just like any other gifted young American student before the outbreak of [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarII the war]]. This man enlists to serve his country, but as a paratrooper, he [[WarIsHell sees things]] [[HumansAreTheRealMonsters no man was meant to see]].

Put through college on the GI Bill, this man becomes a well-known scriptwriter. But at night, in his dreams, the war revisits him. His visions become ever stranger, ever more disturbing. They drive him to create, and thrust himself into... ''Franchise/TheTwilightZone''.

[[SelfDemonstratingArticle Picture, if you will]], an ordinary man, just like any other gifted young American student before the outbreak of [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarII the war]]. This man enlists to serve his country, but as a paratrooper, he [[WarIsHell sees things]] [[HumansAreTheRealMonsters no man was meant to see]].

* FairForItsDay[=/=]ValuesResonance: Many of his views come across as this today.

->''"The immediate motive at the time--the prodding thing that pushed me into it--was that I'd been writing for a Cincinnati television station as a staff writer--which is a particularly dreamless occupation--composed of doing commercials, even making up [...] testimonial letters. As I recall there was a drug, a liquid drug on the market at the time that could cure everything from arthritis to a fractured pelvis, and I actually had to write testimonial letters. And then that particular day I just had it. And though I had been freelancing concurrent with the staff job, the best year I'd ever had I think we netted about $700. Which is hardly even grocery money. And that one night we just decided to, you know, sink-or-swim and go into it."''
-->-- ''[[https://youtu.be/q8sT6nz7VUM The Mike Wallace Interview]]''

->''"The immediate motive at the time--the prodding thing that pushed me into it--was that I'd been writing for a Cincinnati television station as a staff writer--which is a particularly dreamless occupation--composed of doing commercials, even making up [...] testimonial letters. As I recall there was a drug, a liquid drug on the market at the time that could cure everything from arthritis to fractured pelvis, and I actually had to write testimonial letters. And then that particular day I just had it. And though I had been freelancing concurrent with the staff job, the best year I'd ever had I think we netted about $700. Which is hardly even grocery money. And that one night we just decided to, you know, sink-or-swim and go into it."''

* NightmareFuelStationAttendant: Practically embodies this trope, since he introduces and closes on every episode of the ''Series/TheTwilightZone'' and ''Series/NightGallery''.
* PosthumousCharacter: Gold Key Comics began publishing a comic book based upon ''Twilight Zone'' in the early 1960s. Not only did the comic book outlive the original TV series by many years, it outlived Serling himself, too, continuing to publish into the early 1980s - with the comic book version of Serling continuing to introduce each story.
* SeventiesHair: The transition from the 1960's Twilight Zone into the 1970's Night Gallery saw Serling grow his hair out and adopt sideburns.

* ''Film/AssaultOnAQueen''

* The original draft of the 1968 ''Franchise/PlanetOfTheApes'' film

[[SelfDemonstratingArticle Picture, if you will]], an ordinary man, just like any other gifted young American student before the outbreak of [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarII the war]]. This man enlists to serve his country, but as a paratrooper, [[WarIsHell sees things]] [[HumansAreTheRealMonsters no man was meant to see]].

[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Rod_Serling_2413.jpg]]

[[SelfDemonstratingArticle Picture, if you will]], an ordinary man, just like any other gifted student before the outbreak of [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarII the war]]. This man enlists to serve his country, but as a paratrooper, [[WarIsHell sees things]] [[HumansAreTheRealMonsters no man was meant to see]].

This man was Rodman Edward Serling (December 25, 1924 -- June 28, 1975).

* ''Film/RequiemForAHeavyweight'' (originally a 1956 episode of ''Playhouse 90'', then a 1962 film)

* ''The Loner'' (short-lived CBS "Western" series, 1965-66)

* AcceptableTargets: {{Invoked}}. While most of his villains are anti-villains or even somewhat likable Serling had no tolerance for Nazis, racists, and totalitarians.

* NightmareFuelStationAttendant: Practically embodies this trope, since he introduces and closes on every episode of the ''Series/TheTwilightZone'' and ''Series/NightGallery''.

Put through college on the GI Bill, this man becomes a well-known scriptwriter. But at night, in his dreams, the war revisits him. His visions become ever stranger, ever more disturbing. They drive him to create, and thrust himself into... ''The Twilight Zone''.

* ''Series/TheTwilightZone1959'' (original 1959-64 version)

Picture, if you will, an ordinary man, just like any other gifted student before the outbreak of [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarII the war]]. This man enlists to serve his country, but as a paratrooper, [[WarIsHell sees things]] [[HumansAreTheRealMonsters no man was meant to see]].

This man was Rodman Edward "Rod" Serling (December 25, 1924 -- June 28, 1975).

Put through college on the GI Bill, this man becomes a well-known scriptwriter. But at night, in his dreams, the war revisits him. His visions become ever stranger, ever more disturbing.

They drive him to create, and thrust himself into... ''The Twilight Zone''.

Picture, if you will, an ordinary man, just like any other gifted student before the outbreak of [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarII the war]]. This man enlists to serve his country, but as a paratrooper, sees things no man was meant to see.

Imagine, if you will, an ordinary man, just like any other gifted student before the outbreak of [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarII the war]]. This man enlists to serve his country, but as a paratrooper, sees things no man was meant to see.

This man was '''Rodman Edward "Rod" Serling''' (December 25, 1924 -- June 28, 1975).

This man was '''Rod Serling''' (December 25, 1924 -- June 28, 1975).