There are probably not many humans alive today who do not instantly recognize the iconic theme music to The Twilight Zone. The series originally ran on CBS from 1959 to 1964 and was the brainchild of Rod Serling. Of the 156 episodes that aired, Serling wrote 92 of them. The series is still considered one of the most influential ever made, and Serling walked away with a couple of Emmy awards for his writing and production efforts.
Rod Serling was only 50 years old when he died in 1975. Since then, his family has worked to protect his legacy. His youngest daughter, Anne Serling, has written about life with her father.
Anne Serling: I was paralyzed when my father died. I mean, it sounds cliched but I couldn’t imagine living in a world without him. So, I found writing, like my dad found writing, cathartic. So I (started) a book called ‘In His Absence,' which I wasn’t ready to write because I hadn’t even begun to navigate that whole minefield of grief. And then I write (my current book called) ‘As I Knew Him’. It was published in 2013, and then I did an update in 2021, I guess. And it was first to try to resolve my grief, and the second reason was I wanted to know more about my dad’s career. And the third reason was to dispel any rumors that he was this dark and tortured soul. And as I was writing, I realized that so many of the things that my dad was talking about were still so, sadly, relevant and prevalent even more so now.
In her book, Serling writes that her father’s childhood ended when World War II began. His service in the Pacific heavily influenced the rest of his life.
Serling: A huge reason why he turned to writing was because of the war. He definitely had a lot of trauma, Post Traumatic Stress, I think. I have vivid memories of waking up and hearing my dad scream, and in the morning a would ask ‘what happened?’ and he said he was dreaming the enemy was coming at him. (When he went to college after the war, he originally) wanted to major in Phys Ed because he liked working with kids. But he changed to language and literature (because), as he said, to get it out of his gut, off his chest. The old producer of 'The Twilight Zone,' Buck Houghton, said that he thought that my dad turned to writing to regain his affection for humanity. I thought that was a pretty extraordinary way of putting it.
Another way that Serling got some of that frustration off his chest was in the boxing ring.
Serling: Well, my only experience with witnessing my dad boxing was I have a vision of us at the top of the stairs. He’d pretend to box with me, and I was terrible at it and I couldn’t respond. I mean, we were obviously playing. I think he was pretty good. He did have his nose broken twice. He was boxing in the army, I guess, when he was in training camp, to earn extra money.
Anne Serling is not alone in keeping the legacy of her father alive. In the mid-80s, the Rod Serling Memorial Foundation was formed in his hometown of Binghamton, New York. For the past nine years, they have held Serlingfest, a convention they say honors the life, legacy, and hometown roots of Rod Serling. Last year, Serlingfest celebrated the 100th anniversary of Rod Serling’s birth. Anne Serling attended and got a chance to chat with fans.
Serling: They’re always really so lovely. My presentation was mostly the personal side of my dad. (Fans) ask me questions like 'what was he really like?' and 'what was he like at home?' They also ask about his writing, how he would write, did he write in the morning — questions like that.
Bob Barrett: He was so prolific it’s almost easier to say when he wasn't writing, I mean, he wrote so much in those days.
Serling: It’s really amazing. I don’t know how he did it. And I read an interview when I was writing the book that (said) my dad worked 12 hours a day. And as I wrote in my memoir, I never felt that my dad wasn’t available. He was always at the dinner table. When I came home from school, we played basketball together. He had an office in the backyard, and we didn’t bother him out there; we knew he was writing. But I knew in an emergency, I could always go out and talk to him.
Barrett: When you played basketball, did he let you win?
Serling: (chuckles) I don’t recall ever keeping score, but I do recall him saying ‘Oh, you were robbed’ when I missed a shot.
Anne Serling will bring her memories of her father’s life and career to Pensacola this weekend as a celebrity guest at Pensacon.
