-- December 25th (1924): Rod Serling was born in Syracuse, New York. Serling was an American screenwriter, playwright, television producer, and narrator best known for his live television dramas of the 1950s and his science fiction anthology TV series, The Twilight Zone. He was active in politics, both on and off the screen, and helped form television industry standards. Serling enlisted in the U.S. Army the morning after his high school graduation, following his brother Robert. Beginning in May 1944 he served with the 511th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 11th Airborne Division in New Guinea and during the invasion of the Philippines. He was awarded the Purple Heart for a severe shrapnel wound to his knee. The war also took a permanent mental toll; he would suffer from flashbacks, nightmares, and insomnia for the rest of his life. When discharged from the army in 1946 he was bitter about everything and at loose ends. Rod enrolled in Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio under the G.I. Bill of Rights. Serling was stimulated by the liberal intellectual environment and began to feel the need to write, a kind of compulsion to get some of my thoughts down. He met his future wife, Carol Kramer, during his first year at the college and the two were married in an ecumenical service at the Antioch chapel on July 31, 1948. He found himself inspired by the words of Unitarian educator Horace Mann, first president of Antioch College: Be ashamed to die until you have won some victory for humanity. These words, along with a rendition of Antiochs Horace Mann statue would later be featured in the Season 3 The Twilight Zone episode, Changing of the Guard. Unitarian Universalism had an established history at the liberal college and the young couple chose to convert to this faith, he converting from Judaism and she from her familys Unitarian background. The Serlings joined the UU Community Church of Santa Monica, CA. “Theologically speaking, Rod was what we call a naturalistic humanist, and that was the underlying philosophy of my pulpit,” says the Rev. Ernest Pipes... “Racial issues, class, power—you find all of these in his writings, and he found reinforcement for his viewpoints in his congregation.” (Note: Jerry Sohl, who wrote a lot of Star Trek episodes, was also a UU.) uuworld.org/life/articles/50619.shtml
Posted on: Thu, 25 Dec 2014 13:17:03 +0000
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