Editing Rod Serling (section)

==Career==

===Radio===
Serling volunteered at [[WNYC]] in New York as an actor and writer in the summer of 1946.<ref name=Grams>{{cite web| last=Grams | first=Martin Jr. |author-link=Martin Grams, Jr. |title=The Radio Career of Rod Serling |publisher=Audio Classics Archive |url=http://www.audio-classics.com/mgarticle021.html |access-date=September 6, 2013| archive-date= January 8, 2009| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090108125208/http://www.audio-classics.com/mgarticle021.html| url-status=live}}</ref> The next year, he worked at that station as a paid intern in his Antioch work-study program.<ref name=Sander1992/>{{rp|57}} He then took odd jobs in other radio stations in New York and Ohio.<ref>Chicago radio personality [[Dick Biondi]] mentions Serling writing commercials for WINR in Binghamton, New York, in {{cite web|url=http://www.manteno.com/wcfl/biondi.html |title=Dick Biondi |first=Bill |last=Schenold |publisher=Manteno.com |year=1985 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030812235549/http://www.manteno.com/wcfl/biondi.html |archive-date=August 12, 2003 |quote=I went on to WINR in Binghamton.&nbsp;. ... At the same time, a guy by the name of Rod Serling was there working writing commercials. |url-status=dead }}</ref> "I learned 'time', writing for a medium that is measured in seconds," Serling later said of his early experiences.<ref name=Grams/>

While attending college, Serling worked at the Antioch Broadcasting System's radio workshop and was managing the station within a couple of years. He then took charge of full-scale radio productions at Antioch which were broadcast on WJEM, in Springfield. He wrote and directed the programs and acted in them when needed. He created the entire output for the 1948–1949 school year. With one exception (an adaptation), all the writing that year was his original work.<ref name=Grams/>

While in college, Serling won his first accolade as a writer. The radio program, ''[[Dr. Christian]]'', had started an annual scriptwriting contest eight years earlier. Thousands of scripts were sent in annually, but very few could be produced.<ref name=Grams/> Serling won a trip to New York City and $500 for his radio script "To Live a Dream".<ref name=Warrick>{{cite news | last=Warrick| first=Pamela| title=Serling the Storyteller and Master Dreamer | work =[[Los Angeles Times]] | date= October 3, 1999 | url = https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1999-oct-03-cl-18030-story.html| archive-date= December 23, 2012| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20121223142826/http://articles.latimes.com/1999/oct/03/news/cl-18030 | url-status=live}}</ref> He and his new wife, Carol, attended the awards broadcast on May 18, 1949, where he and the other winners were interviewed by the star of ''Dr. Christian'', [[Jean Hersholt]]. One of the other winners that day was [[Earl Hamner, Jr.]], who had also earned prizes in previous years. 
Serling's first job out of college was with WLW radio as copy writer. The position had just been vacated by Hamner who left to concentrate on his writing.
Hamner later wrote scripts for Serling's ''The Twilight Zone''.<ref name=Grams/>

In addition to earning $45 to $50 a week at the college radio station, Serling attempted to make a living selling freelance scripts of radio programs, but the industry at that time was involved in many lawsuits, which affected willingness to take on new writers (some whose scripts were rejected would often hear a similar plot produced, claim their work had been stolen, and sue for recompense).<ref name=Grams/> Serling was rejected for reasons such as "heavy competition", "this script lacks professional quality", and "not what our audience prefers to listen to".<ref name=Grams/>

In the autumn of 1949, Martin Horrell of ''[[Grand Central Station (radio)|Grand Central Station]]'' (a radio program known for romances and light dramas) rejected one of Serling's scripts about boxing, because his mostly female listeners "have told us in no uncertain terms that prize fight stories aren't what they like most". Horrell advised that "the script would be far better for sight than for sound only, because in any radio presentation, the fights are not seen. Perhaps this is a baby you should try on some of the producers of television shows."<ref name=Grams/>

Realizing the boxing story was not right for ''Grand Central Station'', Serling submitted a lighter piece called ''Hop Off the Express and Grab a Local'', which became his first nationally broadcast piece on September 10, 1949.<ref name=Grams/> His ''Dr. Christian'' script aired on November 30 of that year.

Serling began his professional writing career in 1950, when he earned $75 a week as a network [[Continuity (broadcasting)|continuity writer]] for [[WLW]] radio in [[Cincinnati, Ohio]].<ref name=Grams/><ref name=Rosenbaum/> While at WLW, he continued to freelance. He sold several radio and television scripts to WLW's parent company, [[Crosley Broadcasting Corporation]]. After selling the scripts, Serling had no further involvement with them. They were sold by [[Powel Crosley|Crosley]] to local stations across the United States.<ref name=Grams/>

Serling submitted an idea for a weekly radio show in which the ghosts of a young boy and girl killed in World War II would look through train windows and comment on day-to-day human life as it moved around the country. This idea was changed significantly but was produced from October 1950 to February 1951 as ''Adventure Express'', a drama about a girl and boy who travel by train with their uncle. Each week they found adventure in a new town and got involved with the local residents.<ref name=Grams/>

Other radio programs for which Serling wrote scripts include ''Leave It to Kathy'', ''Our America'', and ''Builders of Destiny''. During the production of these, he became acquainted with a voice actor, Jay Overholts, who later became a regular on ''The Twilight Zone''.<ref name=Grams/>

Serling said of his time as a staff writer for radio: {{cquote|From a writing point of view, radio ate up ideas that might have put food on the table for weeks at a future freelancing date. The minute you tie yourself down to a radio or TV station, you write around the clock. You rip out ideas, many of them irreplaceable. They go on and consequently can never go on again. And you've sold them for $50 a week. You can't afford to give away ideas—they're too damn hard to come by. If I had it to do over, I wouldn't staff-write at all. I'd find some other way to support myself while getting a start as a writer.<ref name=Grams/>}}

Serling believed radio was not living up to its potential, later saying, "Radio, in terms of&nbsp;... drama, dug its own grave. It had aimed downward, had become cheap and unbelievable, and had willingly settled for second best."<ref name=Sander1992/>{{rp|69}} He opined that there were very few radio writers who would be remembered for their literary contributions.<ref name=Sander1992/>{{rp|69}}

===Television===
{{Quote box
| width  = 38em
| align  = right
| quote  = I think Rod would have been one of the first to say he hit the new industry, television, at exactly the right time. The first job he got out of school was as a continuity writer at (radio station) WLW in Cincinnati. He worked there for over a year before he could free-lance. At that point, he was really working on television scripts. [I]n 1951 and 1952, the new industry was grabbing up a lot of material and needed it. It was a very propitious time to be graduating from school and getting ready to find a profession.
| source = —Carol Serling, ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'', 1990 interview<ref name=DuBrow/>
}}
[[File:Rod Serling 1959.JPG|thumb|upright=0.9|Rod Serling, 1959]]
Serling moved from radio to television, as a writer for [[WKRC-TV]] in [[Cincinnati]]. His duties included writing [[testimonial]] advertisements for dubious medical remedies and scripts for a comedy duo.<ref name=CAO/> He continued at WKRC after graduation and, amidst the mostly dreary day-to-day work, also created a series of scripts for a live television program, ''The Storm'', as well as for other anthology dramas (a format which was in demand by networks based in New York).<ref name=Scribner/> Following a full day of classes (or, in later years, work), he spent evenings on his own, writing. He sent manuscripts to publishers and received forty rejection slips during these early years.<ref name=CAO/>

In 1950, Serling hired Blanche Gaines as an agent. His radio scripts received more rejections, so he began rewriting them for television. Whenever a script was rejected by one program, he would resubmit it to another, eventually finding a home for many in either radio or television.<ref name=Grams/>

As Serling's college years ended, his scripts began to sell. He continued to write for television<ref name=Hudson>{{cite news | last = Hudson | first= Edward | title = Rod Serling of 'Twilight Zone' and 'Night Gallery' on TV Dies | url = http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F20711FA355C127A93CBAB178DD85F418785F9 | newspaper= [[The New York Times]] | date = June 29, 1975 | page =35 | access-date= September 16, 2013}} Abstract of pay-site article.</ref> and eventually left WKRC to become a full-time freelance writer. He recalled, "Writing is a demanding profession and a selfish one. And because it is selfish and demanding, because it is compulsive and exacting, I didn't embrace it. I succumbed to it."<ref name=CAO/>

According to his wife, Serling "just up and quit one day, during the winter of 1952, about six months before our first daughter Jody was born—though he was also doing some freelancing and working on a weekly dramatic show for another Cincinnati station."<ref name=Rosenbaum/> He and his family moved to [[Connecticut]] in early 1953. Here he made a living by writing for the live dramatic anthology shows that were prevalent at the time, including ''[[Kraft Television Theatre]]'', ''[[Appointment with Adventure]]'' and ''[[Hallmark Hall of Fame]]''.<ref name=CAO/> By the end of 1954, his agent convinced him he needed to move to New York, "where the action is."<ref name=Rosenbaum/>

The writer [[Marc Scott Zicree]], who spent years researching his book ''[[Twilight Zone literature#Guides|The Twilight Zone Companion]]'', noted, "Sometimes the situations were clichéd, the characters two-dimensional, but always there was at least some search for an emotional truth, some attempt to make a statement on the human condition."<ref name=CAO/>

====Gaining fame====
In 1955, the nationwide ''[[Kraft Television Theatre]]'' televised a program based on Serling's 72nd script. To Serling, it was just another script, and he missed the first live broadcast. He and his wife hired a babysitter for the night and told her, "no one would call because we had just moved to town. And the phone just started ringing and didn't stop for years!"<ref name=Rosenbaum/> The title of this episode was "[[Patterns (Kraft Television Theatre)|Patterns]]", and it soon changed his life.
[[File:Patterns01.jpg|left|thumb|[[Ed Begley]], [[Everett Sloane]] and [[Richard Kiley]] in ''Patterns'' (1955)]]

"Patterns" dramatized the power struggle between a veteran corporate boss running out of ideas and energy and the bright, young executive being groomed to take his place. Instead of firing the loyal employee and risk tarnishing his own reputation, the boss enlists him into a campaign to push aside his competition.<ref name=Gould1955a>{{cite news| last=Gould | first=Jack | author-link=Jack Gould | title=Television in Review; 'Patterns' Is Hailed as a Notable Triumph |newspaper=[[The New York Times]]| date=January 17, 1955| page= 32 |url= https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1955/01/17/83347480.html?pageNumber=32 }}</ref> Serling modeled the character of the boss on his former commander, Colonel Orin Haugen.<ref name=Sander1992/>{{rp|37}}

''[[The New York Times]]'' critic [[Jack Gould]] called the show "one of the high points in the TV medium's evolution" and said, "[f]or sheer power of narrative, forcefulness of characterization and brilliant climax, Mr. Serling's work is a creative triumph."<ref name=Gould1955a/> [[Robert Lewis Shayon]] stated in ''Saturday Review'', "in the years I have been watching television I do not recall being so engaged by a drama, nor so stimulated to challenge the haunting conclusions of an hour's entertainment."<ref name=CAO/> The episode was a hit with the audience as well, and a second live show was staged by popular demand one month later.<ref name=Notes>{{Citation |last=Shanley |first= J. P. |title= Notes on 'Patterns' And A Familiar Voice |url= https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1955/02/06/83351530.html?pageNumber=296 |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=February 6, 1955 |page= X15 }}</ref> During the time between the two shows, Kraft executives negotiated with people from Hollywood over the rights to "Patterns". Kraft said they were considering rebroadcasting "Patterns", unless the play or motion picture rights were sold first.<ref name=Gould1955b>{{Citation |last=Gould |first= Jack |title=Television: A Saint and a Sinner; Portion of 'Bleecker Street' on C. B. S. 'Naughty Marietta' Has Revival on N. B. C. |url= https://www.nytimes.com/1955/01/19/archives/television-a-saint-and-a-sinner-portion-of-bleecker-street-on-c-b-s.html |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date= January 19, 1955 |page= 35 }}</ref>

Immediately following the original broadcast of "Patterns", Serling was inundated with offers of permanent jobs, congratulations, and requests for novels, plays, and television or radio scripts.<ref name=Notes/> He quickly sold many of his earlier, lower-quality works and watched in dismay as they were published. Critics expressed concern that he was not living up to his promise and began to doubt he was able to recreate the quality of writing that "Patterns" had shown.<ref name=CAO/>

Serling then wrote "[[Requiem for a Heavyweight]]" for the television series ''[[Playhouse 90]]'' in 1956, again gaining praise from critics.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Gould |first1=Jack |title=TV: "Requiem for a Heavyweight"|newspaper= [[The New York Times]] |date= October 12, 1956 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1956/10/12/archives/tv-requiem-for-a-heavyweight-rod-serlings-drama-scores-a-knockout.html| quote= ... a play of overwhelming force and tenderness. It was an artistic triumph that featured a performance of indescribable poignancy by Jack Palance...}} (abstract at subscription site)</ref>

In the autumn of 1957, the Serling family moved to California. When television was new, shows aired live from New York, but as studios began to tape their shows, the business moved from the East Coast to the West Coast.<ref name=Rosenbaum/> The Serlings would live in California for much of his life, but they kept property in Binghamton and Cayuga Lake as retreats for when he needed time alone.<ref name=Rosenbaum/>

====Corporate censorship====
The early years of television often saw [[sponsor (commercial)|sponsors]] working as editors and censors. Serling was often forced to change his scripts after corporate sponsors read them and found something they felt was too controversial. They were wary of anything they thought might make them look bad to consumers, so references to many contemporary social issues were omitted, as were references to anything that might compete commercially with a sponsor. For instance, the line "Got a match?" was deleted because one of the sponsors of "Requiem for a Heavyweight" was [[Ronson (company)|Ronson]] [[lighter]]s.<ref name=CAO/>
[[File:Rod Serling relaxing at home 1959.JPG|thumb|left|upright|Serling at home in 1959, with three of his Emmys on the cabinet behind him]]

The initial story-line of his teleplay ''Noon on Doomsday'' (aired April 25, 1956) was set in the [[Southern United States]] about the lynching of a Jewish pawnbroker. However, when Serling mentioned in a radio interview that it was inspired by the events and racism that led to the murder of [[Emmett Till]], censorship by advertisers and the TV network resulted in significant changes. The program as shown was set in New England and concerned the killing of an unknown foreigner.<ref name="SmithsonianMag_April2019">{{cite web |last1=Mansky |first1=Jackie |title=An Early Run-In With Censors Led Rod Serling to 'The Twilight Zone' |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/early-run-censors-led-rod-serling-twilight-zone-180971837/ |website=The Smithsonian Magazine |access-date=July 3, 2020}}</ref> He subsequently returned to the Till events when writing ''[[A Town Has Turned to Dust (Playhouse 90)|A Town Has Turned to Dust]]'' for 'Playhouse 90' but had to set it a century in the past and remove any inter-racial dynamics before it would be produced by CBS TV.<ref name="SmithsonianMag_April2019" />

Gould, ''The New York Times'' reviewer, added this [[editorial]] note at the end of a glowing review for ''A Town Has Turned to Dust'', a show about racism and bigotry in a small [[Southwestern United States|Southwestern]] town: "'Playhouse 90' and Mr. Serling had to fight executive interference&nbsp;... before getting their play on the air last night. The theater people of Hollywood have reason to be proud of their stand in the viewers' behalf."<ref name=Gould1958>{{Citation |last=Gould | first=Jack | author-link=Jack Gould | title=Prejudice Dissected; Rod Serling's 'A Town Has Turned to Dust' Offered on 'Playhouse 90'  |newspaper=[[The New York Times]]| date=June 20, 1958 | page= 47 |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1958/06/20/80782921.html?pageNumber=47 }}</ref>

Frustrated by seeing his scripts divested of political statements and ethnic identities (and having a reference to the [[Chrysler Building]] removed from a script sponsored by Ford), Serling decided the only way to avoid such artistic interference was to create his own show. In an interview with [[Mike Wallace]], he said, "I don't want to fight anymore. I don't want to have to battle sponsors and agencies. I don't want to have to push for something that I want and have to settle for second best. I don't want to have to compromise all the time, which in essence is what a television writer does if he wants to put on controversial themes."<ref name=CAO/>

Serling submitted "The Time Element" to CBS, intending it to be a pilot for his new weekly show, ''The Twilight Zone''. Instead, CBS used the science fiction script for a new show produced by [[Desi Arnaz]] and [[Lucille Ball]], ''[[Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse]],'' in 1958. The story concerns a man who has vivid nightmares of the [[attack on Pearl Harbor]]. The man goes to a psychiatrist and, after the session, the [[plot twist|twist ending]] (a device which Serling became known for) reveals the "patient" had died at Pearl Harbor, and the ''psychiatrist'' was the one actually having the vivid dreams.<ref name=CAO/> The episode received so much positive fan response that CBS agreed to let Serling go ahead with his pilot for ''The Twilight Zone''.<ref name=CAO/>

====''The Storm''====
Before ''The Twilight Zone'', Serling created a local television show in Cincinnati on WKRC-TV, ''The Storm'', in the early 1950s. Several of these scripts were rewritten for later use on national network TV.<ref>{{cite news|last1 = Kiesewetter|first1 = John|title = 'The Twilight Zone' Had Roots in Cincinnati|url = http://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/history/2014/05/27/rod-serling-twilight-zone-wkrc-tv/9624063/|access-date = January 22, 2016|work = [[Cincinnati Enquirer]] |publisher = USA Today Network|date = May 27, 2014| archive-date= October 7, 2015| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151007161630/http://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/history/2014/05/27/rod-serling-twilight-zone-wkrc-tv/9624063/?from=global&sessionKey=&autologin=| url-status=live}}</ref>  A copy of an episode is located in the Cincinnati Museum Center Historical Cincinnati Library on videotape.<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.enquirer.com/editions/1998/02/08/loc_wlwbar.html |title=Watch Early Shows |date=February 8, 1998 |work=Cincinnati Enquirer |access-date=January 22, 2016 |archive-date=May 28, 2024 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20240528001608/https://www.webcitation.org/6lgIONKcC?url=http://www.enquirer.com/editions/1998/02/08/loc_wlwbar.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

====''The Twilight Zone''====
{{Main|The Twilight Zone|The Twilight Zone (1959 TV series)}}

[[File:Rod Serling dictating script 1959.jpg|thumb|upright|Serling working on a script with a dictating machine, 1959]]
In early 1959,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Variety |url=https://archive.org/details/variety214-1959-04 |title=Variety (April 1959) |date=April 1959 |publisher=Variety |others=Media History Digital Library}}</ref> Serling formed his own film production company, Cayuga Productions, and in July 1959 signed an exclusive three-year contract with [[CBS]], stipulating that he would continue delivering telescripts for ''Playhouse 90'', as well as create, write, and produce new properties for the network (one of which became the new series, [[The Twilight Zone (1959 TV series)|''The Twilight Zone'']]).<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/motionpicturedai86unse |title=Motion picture daily |date=1959 |location=New York |publisher=Motion Picture Daily |others=MBRS Library of Congress}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=1959-08-06 |title=Fort Worth Star-Telegram from Fort Worth, Texas |url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/639313436/ |access-date=2025-03-11 |website=Newspapers.com |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=1959-07-20 |title=Redlands Daily Facts from Redlands, California |url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/10773516/ |access-date=2025-03-11 |website=Newspapers.com |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=1959-09-14 |title=The Post-Standard from Syracuse, New York |url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/1101360122/ |access-date=2025-03-11 |website=Newspapers.com |language=en-US}}</ref> On October 2, 1959, the ''Twilight Zone'' series, premiered on [[CBS]].<ref name=Scribner/>

For this series, Serling fought hard to get and maintain creative control. He hired scriptwriters he respected, such as [[Richard Matheson]] and [[Charles Beaumont]]. In an interview, Serling said the show's science fiction format would not be controversial<ref name=AmericanMasters>{{cite episode |title=Rod Serling: Submitted for Your Approval |series=American Masters |series-link=American Masters |season=10 |number=1 |network=[[PBS]] |air-date=November 29, 1995}}</ref> with sponsors, network executives, or the general public and would escape censorship, unlike the earlier script for ''Playhouse 90''.

Serling drew on his own experience for many episodes, frequently about boxing, military life, and airplane pilots. ''The Twilight Zone'' incorporated his social views on racial relations, somewhat veiled in the science fiction and fantasy elements of the shows. Occasionally, the point was quite blunt, such as in the episode "[[I Am the Night—Color Me Black]]", in which hatred caused a dark cloud to form in a small town in the American Midwest and spread across the world. Many ''Twilight Zone'' stories reflected his views on gender roles, featuring quick-thinking, resilient women as well as shrewish, nagging wives.

''The Twilight Zone'' aired for five seasons (the first three presented half-hour episodes, the fourth had hour-long episodes, and the fifth returned to the half-hour format). It won many television and drama awards and drew critical acclaim for Serling and his co-workers. Although it had loyal fans, ''The Twilight Zone'' had only moderate ratings and was twice canceled and revived. After five years and [[List of The Twilight Zone (1959 TV series) episodes|156 episodes]] (92 written by Serling), he grew weary of the series. In 1964, he decided not to oppose its third and final cancellation.

Serling sold the rights to ''The Twilight Zone'' to CBS. His wife later claimed he did this partly because he believed that his own production company, Cayuga Productions, would never recoup the production costs of the programs, which frequently went over budget.

''The Twilight Zone'' eventually resurfaced in the form of a 1983 film by [[Warner Bros]]. Former ''Twilight Zone'' actor [[Burgess Meredith]] was cast as the film's narrator, but does not appear on screen. There have been three attempts to revive the television series with mostly new scripts. In 1985, CBS used [[Charles Aidman]] (and later [[Robin Ward (television personality)|Robin Ward]]) as the narrator. In 2002, [[UPN]] featured [[Forest Whitaker]] in the role of narrator.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2002-sep-23-et-susan23-story.html|title=UPN Hoping It Can Revive the Magic of 'Twilight Zone' Series | first= Susan |last= King| date=September 23, 2002|work=[[Los Angeles Times]] | archive-date=August 18, 2016 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160818113710/http://articles.latimes.com/2002/sep/23/entertainment/et-susan23| url-status=live}}</ref> In 2019, CBS made a [[The Twilight Zone (2019 TV series)|third attempt]] at a successful revival, with [[Jordan Peele]] taking on producing duties as well as being host and narrator.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2018/09/jordan-peele-twilight-zone-cbs-all-access-rod-serling-1202468028/|title='The Twilight Zone': Jordan Peele To Host & Narrate CBS All Access Reboot|last=Ramos|first=Dino-Ray|date=September 20, 2018|website=Deadline|language=en|access-date=February 4, 2019}}</ref>

====''A Carol for Another Christmas''====
''[[A Carol for Another Christmas]]'' was a 1964 American television movie, scripted by Rod Serling as a modernization of [[Charles Dickens]]' ''[[A Christmas Carol]]'' and a plea for global cooperation between nations. It was telecast only once, on December 28, 1964.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/20/fashion/20CAROL.html |title=Marley Is Dead, Killed in a Nuclear War |date=December 20, 2007 |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |archive-date=March 13, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160313021800/http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/20/fashion/20CAROL.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The only television movie directed by [[Joseph L. Mankiewicz]], this was the film in which [[Peter Sellers]] gave his first performance after a series of near-fatal heart attacks in the wake of his marriage to [[Britt Ekland]]. Sellers portrayed a demagogue in an apocalyptic Christmas.

==== Other television ====
Many of ''The Twilight Zone'' episodes were made as planned pilots for their own television series. One such was "[[Mr. Bevis]]," planned as a fantasy-comedy series in late 1959 though Cayuga Productions, but the pilot was later aired as an episode of ''Twilight Zone''.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Codel |first=Martin |url=https://archive.org/details/televisiondigest1519code |title=Television digest with electronics reports (Jan-Dec 1959) |date=1959 |location=Washington, D.C. |publisher=Radio News Bureau |others=College Park University of Maryland}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/weeklytelevision1619unse |title=Weekly television digest (Jan-Dec 1960) |date=1960 |location=Washington D.C. |publisher=Triangle Publications . |others=College Park University of Maryland}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/weeklytelevision1619unse |title=Weekly television digest (Jan-Dec 1960) |date=1960 |location=Washington D.C. |publisher=Triangle Publications |others=College Park University of Maryland}}</ref> In November 1963, Serling made frequent ''Twilight Zone'' writer and co-producer [[William Froug]] a partner in Cayuga Productions.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=1963-11-30 |title=The Buffalo News from Buffalo, New York |url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/869950359/ |access-date=2025-03-11 |website=Newspapers.com |language=en-US}}</ref> The pair developed a new hour-long series titled ''Jeopardy Run'' (of no relation to ''[[Jeopardy!]]''), about the "hazardous adventures of an undercover man who, provocatively, takes on dangerous tasks for various government agencies to continually prove his patriotism in the face of disloyalty accusations."<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |date=1963-11-30 |title=Ledger-Star from Norfolk, Virginia |url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/953369675/ |access-date=2025-03-11 |website=Newspapers.com |language=en-US}}</ref> The pilot was filmed in Hong Kong during December of 1963, starring [[Steve Forrest (actor)|Steve Forrest]].<ref name=":1" /> Another thriller one-hour program was to be titled ''The Chase'' for CBS.<ref>{{Cite web |date=1964-01-27 |title=The Times from San Mateo, California |url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/51696275/ |access-date=2025-03-11 |website=Newspapers.com |language=en-US}}</ref> Another property the pair developed was titled ''Agnes'', set to star [[Wally Cox]], who gets heckled by a talking computer, for which "[[From Agnes—With Love]]" was filmed as a pilot but later aired as a ''Twilight Zone'' episode).<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" />

In March 1964, it was reported that ABC had optioned a television series based on Serling's book [[Rod Serling's Triple W: Witches, Warlocks and Werewolves|''Witches, Warlocks and Werewolves'']], to be written and produced through Cayuga Productions.<ref>{{Cite web |date=1964-03-05 |title=Daily News from New York, New York |url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/459910317/ |access-date=2025-03-11 |website=Newspapers.com |language=en-US}}</ref> Serling originally planned for a 60-minute western television series called ''[[The Loner (TV series)|The Loner]]'' to start airing in the 1960 season, as a Cayuga Productions for CBS.<ref name=":2" /> However, he told reporters that CBS had shelved the series because he was not able to dedicate enough time to writing original scripts for that series with his commitment to ''Twilight Zone''.<ref name=":2" /> Years later, the series was finally picked up and ran from the fall of 1965 to April 1966. CBS asked Serling to have more action and less character interaction. He refused to comply, even though the show had received poor reviews and low ratings.<ref name="Scribner" /> In 1966, Serling formed a new film production company, Finger Lakes Productions.<ref>{{Cite web |date=1975-06-29 |title=Syracuse Herald-Journal from Syracuse, New York |url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/1095632365/ |access-date=2025-03-11 |website=Newspapers.com |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=1966-09-21 |title=Jackson County Floridan from Marianna, Florida |url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/980628748/ |access-date=2025-03-11 |website=Newspapers.com |language=en-US}}</ref>

====''Night Gallery''====
{{Main|Night Gallery}}

In 1969, [[NBC]] aired a [[Night Gallery (film)|television film pilot]] for a new series, ''Night Gallery'', written by Serling. Set in a dimly lit museum after hours, the pilot film featured Serling (as on-camera host) playing the curator, who introduced three tales of the [[macabre]], unveiling canvases that would appear in the subsequent story segments. Its brief first season (consisting of only six episodes) was rotated with three other shows airing in the same time slot; this [[wheel show]] was entitled ''[[Four in One (TV series)|Four in One]]''. The series generally focused more on [[horror fiction|horror]] and [[Thriller (genre)|suspense]] than ''The Twilight Zone'' did. On the insistence of the producer [[Jack Laird]], ''Night Gallery'' also began including brief comedic [[blackout sketch|"blackout" sketches]] during its [[List of Night Gallery episodes#Season 2 .281971.E2.80.9372.29|second season]], which Serling greatly disdained.<ref name="tour">{{cite book|last1=Skelton|first1=Scott|last2=Benson|first2=Jim|title=Rod Serling's Night Gallery: An After-Hours Tour|publisher=[[Syracuse University Press]]|year=1999|isbn=978-0-8156-2782-1}}</ref> He stated "I thought they [the blackout sketches] distorted the thread of what we were trying to do on ''Night Gallery''. I don't think one can show [[Edgar Allan Poe]] and then come back with [[Flip Wilson]] for 34 seconds. I just don't think they fit."<ref>{{cite book |last1=Parisi |first1=Nicholas |title=Rod Serling: His Life, Work, and Imagination |date=2018 |publisher=Univ. Press of Mississippi |isbn=9781496819451 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=C_Z1DwAAQBAJ&q=+%22blackout%22&pg=PA362 |access-date=December 26, 2019}}</ref>

No longer wanting the burden of an executive position, Serling sidestepped an offer to retain creative control of content, a decision he would come to regret.<ref name="tour"/> Although discontented with some of the scripts and creative choices of Jack Laird, Serling continued to submit his work and ultimately wrote over a third of the series' scripts. By season three, however, many of his contributions were being rejected or heavily altered.{{citation needed|date=August 2016}} ''Night Gallery'' was cancelled in 1973. NBC later combined episodes of the short-lived [[paranormal]] series ''[[The Sixth Sense (American TV series)|The Sixth Sense]]'' with ''Night Gallery'', in order to increase the number of episodes available in syndication. Serling was reportedly paid $100,000 to film introductions for these repackaged episodes.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://nightgallery.net/night-gallery-missconceptions/|title=Night Gallery Misconceptions| publisher=NightGallery.net| first1=Scott |last1=Skelton | first2=Jim |last2=Benson| archive-date= March 10, 2016|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160310034100/http://nightgallery.net/night-gallery-missconceptions/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tvobscurities.com/2010/10/the-sixth-sense-promotional-spot/ |title=The Sixth Sense Promotional Spot |date=October 26, 2010 |publisher=TVObscurities.com |access-date=October 26, 2010 |url-status=bot: unknown |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101102041302/http://www.tvobscurities.com/2010/10/the-sixth-sense-promotional-spot/ |archive-date=November 2, 2010 }} Article  on November 2, 2010. Video [https://web.archive.org/web/20161101003449/http://www.tvobscurities.com/media/459_sixth_sense_promo.mp4 archived] on November 1, 2016.</ref>

====Other television====
[[File:Rod Serling Jodie Foster Ironside 1972.jpg|thumb|right|Serling and [[Jodie Foster]], "Bubble, Bubble, Toil, and Murder," ''[[Ironside (1967 TV series)|Ironside]]'', (1972)]]In a stylistic departure from his earlier work, Serling briefly hosted the first version of the game show ''[[Liar's Club]]'' in 1969.<ref>{{Cite book|title = Encyclopedia of Television Shows, 1925 through 2010. 2nd ed.|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=YX_daEhlnbsC|publisher = McFarland|date = November 6, 2008|isbn = 9780786486410|language = en|first = Vincent|last = Terrace|page = 598}}</ref>

In the 1970s, Serling appeared in television commercials for [[Ford Motor Company|Ford]], [[Radio Shack]], [[Ziebart]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ziebart.com/about/corporate-info/about-us|title=About Us |website=Ziebart}}</ref> and the Japanese automaker [[Mazda]]. He also made occasional acting appearances, all in material he didn't write. Serling appears as a version of himself (but named "Mr. Zone") in a comedic bit on ''[[The Jack Benny Program]]''; he appears in a 1962 episode of the short-lived sitcom ''[[Ichabod and Me]]'' in the role of reclusive counterculture novelist Eugene Hollinfield; and in a 1972 episode of the crime drama ''[[Ironside (1967 TV series)|Ironside]]'' entitled "Bubble, Bubble, Toil, and Murder" (which also featured a young [[Jodie Foster]]), in which he plays a small role as the proprietor of an occult magic shop.

===Other radio===

====''The Zero Hour''====
Serling returned to radio late in his career with ''[[The Zero Hour (U.S. radio series)|The Zero Hour]]'' (also known as ''Hollywood Radio Theater'') in 1973. The drama anthology series featured tales of mystery, adventure, and suspense, airing in stereo for two seasons. Serling hosted the program but did not write any of the scripts. The series ended on July 26, 1974.

====''Fantasy Park''====
Serling's final radio performance was even more unusual: ''Fantasy Park'' was a 48-hour-long rock concert aired by nearly 200 stations in 1974 and 1975. The program, written and produced by McLendon National Productions Director Steve Blackson, featured performances by dozens of rock stars of the day, and even reunited [[the Beatles]]. It was also completely ''imaginary''—as KNUS Program Director [[Beau Weaver]] put it, a "theatre-of-the-mind for the '70s". The concert used record albums, many recorded live in concert, plus crowd noise, interviews, schedule updates by host Fred Kennedy, and other sound effects. (Stations that aired the special were reportedly inundated by callers demanding to know how to get to the nonexistent concert.) KNUS general manager Bart McLendon recruited Serling to record the host segments, bumpers, custom promos, and television spots.

Serling wrote the disclaimers, which aired each hour: "Hello, this is Rod Serling and welcome back to ''Fantasy Park''—the crowds here today are unreal." "This is ''Fantasy Park''—the greatest live concert—''never'' held."

===Teaching===
Serling kept his schedule full. When he was not writing, promoting, or producing his work, he often spoke on college campuses around the country.<ref name=Rosenbaum/> He taught week-long seminars in which students would watch and critique films. In the political climate of the 1960s, he often felt a stronger connection to the older students in his evening classes.<ref name=Rosenbaum/> Serling's critique of high school student writing was a pivotal experience for writer [[J. Michael Straczynski]].<ref name="jms1995">{{cite newsgroup
 | title = JMS compiled messages [9/27/95] (2/2) {{!}} Subj: OTHERSYDE
 | author = J. Michael Straczynski
 | author-link = J. Michael Straczynski
 | date = September 10, 1995
| newsgroup = rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon5
 | message-id = 44btnl$11p8@news.ccit.arizona.edu
 | url = https://groups.google.com/d/msg/rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon5/HKnw_ZpG70A/qQW57WnDoFYJ
 | access-date = April 1, 2020
}}{{cquote|Then [Rod Serling] said: "You have a great and substantial talent for your age. Two pieces of advice: one, don't ever let them stop you from telling the stories you want to tell; two, cut every third adjective."<br><br>     Then he walked off, and as soon as he was out the door, the faculty advisor came running at me at warp nine.  "What did he say, what did he say, whatdidhesay?"  I told her.  "Don't you know who that was?" she asked.<br><br>     I said no, though there was something kinda familiar about him, and remember it's always different when you see somebody out of context.  "That was Rod Serling," she said, "he's here to speak at the college later today."<br><br>     Had there been a gun within easy reach, I would almost certainly have put a bullet into my brain.  By the time I ran out, he was gone.}}</ref>

By the fourth season of ''Twilight Zone,'' Serling was exhausted and turned much of the writing over to a trusted stable of screenwriters, authoring only seven episodes. Desiring to take a break and clear his mind, he took a one-year teaching job as writer in residence at Antioch College, Ohio. He taught classes in the 1962–63 school year on writing and drama and a survey course covering the "social and historical implications of the media."<ref name=CAO/><ref name=Scribner/> He used this time to teach as well as work on a new screenplay, ''[[Seven Days in May]]'', which he also co-produced through Cayuga Productions.<ref name=Scribner/><ref>{{Cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/sim_variety_1962-02-21_225_13 |title=Variety 1962-02-21: Vol 225 Iss 13 |date=1962-02-21}}</ref>

Later he taught at [[Ithaca College]], from the late 1960s until his death in 1975.<ref name=CAO/><ref name=Memorial>{{cite news | title = Serling Memorial Monday | url = http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F70D13FD3B58157493C3A9178CD85F418785F9 | agency = [[United Press International]] | work =[[The New York Times]] | date= July 1, 1975 | page= 32 | access-date = September 16, 2013}} Abstract of pay-site article.</ref> He was one of the first guest teachers at the Sherwood Oaks Experimental College in Hollywood, California. Audio recordings of his lectures there are included as bonus features on some ''Twilight Zone'' home video editions.