Rod Serling (1924-1975) was born in Syracuse, N.Y. and grew up in Binghamton. While a student at Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Serling sold his first three national radio scripts – and even his first television script. From 1951-1955, more than 70 of his television scripts were produced, garnering both critical and public acclaim. Full-scale success came on Wednesday, January 12th, 1955 with the live airing of his first Kraft Television Theatre script Patterns. Deemed a “creative triumph” by critics, and the winner of the first of Serling’s six Emmy awards, the acclaimed production was actually remounted live to air a second time on February 9th, 1955 – an unprecedented event. Serling went on to work for CBS’ illustrious Playhouse 90, for which he crafted 90 minute dramas including the multiple-Emmy Award-winning Requiem For A Heavyweight. Serling shocked many of his fans in 1957 when he left Playhouse 90 to create a science-fiction series he called The Twilight Zone. The show debuted in 1959 and CBS would air 156 episodes of The Twilight Zone, an astonishing 92 of which were written by Serling over its five year run.
