Rodman Edward Serling (December 25, 1924 – June 28, 1975) was an American screenwriter and television producer best known for his live television dramas of the 1950s and his anthology television series, The Twilight Zone.
That show was heavily influenced by Serling’s World War II experience in helping to liberate the Philippines. (He had wanted to be deployed to Europe to fight fascism.) Serling’s writing was deep. For example, in his prologue to the 1960 Twilight Zone episode “The Purple Testament”, he said, “Infantry platoon, U.S. Army, Philippine Islands, 1945. These are the faces of the young men who fight, as if some omniscient painter had mixed a tube of oils that were at one time earth brown, dust gray, blood red, beard black, and fear — yellow white, and these men were the models. For this is the province of combat, and these are the faces of war.” He was wounded twice, and awarded the Purple Heart.
“I was bitter about everything and at loose ends when I got out of the service,” he said later. “I think I turned to writing to get it off my chest.” A heavy smoker, Serling died at just 50 from a heart attack.
(Photo: CBS)
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