1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:01,960 Speaker 1: This Day in History Class as a production of I 2 00:00:02,040 --> 00:00:16,439 Speaker 1: Heart Radio. Hello and Welcome to This Day in History Class. 3 00:00:16,800 --> 00:00:20,439 Speaker 1: A journey into a wondrous land whose boundaries are that 4 00:00:20,600 --> 00:00:25,880 Speaker 1: of imagination and the calendar. I'm Gabe Louzier, and in 5 00:00:25,960 --> 00:00:29,800 Speaker 1: this episode, we're traveling through another dimension to take a 6 00:00:29,840 --> 00:00:33,320 Speaker 1: closer look at the life of Twilight Zone creator and 7 00:00:33,479 --> 00:00:43,160 Speaker 1: master of the twist Ending, Mr Rod Surling. The day 8 00:00:43,520 --> 00:00:51,600 Speaker 1: was December. Screenwriter and television producer Rod Serling was born 9 00:00:51,680 --> 00:00:55,960 Speaker 1: in Syracuse, New York. Later in life, he was fond 10 00:00:56,000 --> 00:00:59,280 Speaker 1: of saying that he was quote a Christmas present that 11 00:00:59,400 --> 00:01:04,040 Speaker 1: was delivered unwrapped. Although best known for his role as 12 00:01:04,080 --> 00:01:07,520 Speaker 1: the narrator and on screen host of The Twilight Zone, 13 00:01:07,959 --> 00:01:11,880 Speaker 1: Sterling had a long and varied career in entertainment and 14 00:01:12,000 --> 00:01:17,040 Speaker 1: was also a noted academic lecturer. He wrote approximately two 15 00:01:17,160 --> 00:01:21,320 Speaker 1: hundred and fifty two scripts and won numerous awards in 16 00:01:21,360 --> 00:01:25,680 Speaker 1: his lifetime, including two Writers Guild of America Awards and 17 00:01:25,760 --> 00:01:29,480 Speaker 1: a Golden Globe. He also won the Emmy Award for 18 00:01:29,600 --> 00:01:34,720 Speaker 1: Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series six times, which as 19 00:01:34,800 --> 00:01:39,960 Speaker 1: of one is more than anyone else in history. Rodman 20 00:01:40,240 --> 00:01:44,679 Speaker 1: Edwards Sterling grew up in Binghamton, New York, a small 21 00:01:44,720 --> 00:01:48,840 Speaker 1: city upstate. He was the second of two sons born 22 00:01:48,920 --> 00:01:53,640 Speaker 1: to working class parents, Esther and Samuel Lawrence Sterling. His 23 00:01:53,800 --> 00:01:57,160 Speaker 1: father was a grocer and later became a butcher when 24 00:01:57,240 --> 00:02:01,200 Speaker 1: the Great Depression put his store out of business. Both 25 00:02:01,280 --> 00:02:04,880 Speaker 1: parents encouraged Rod when he took an interest in performing, 26 00:02:05,200 --> 00:02:07,640 Speaker 1: and as a child he would set up a stage 27 00:02:07,680 --> 00:02:10,880 Speaker 1: in his basement and then act out dialogue from pulp 28 00:02:11,000 --> 00:02:16,120 Speaker 1: magazines and movies, whether anyone was watching or not. In 29 00:02:16,240 --> 00:02:19,919 Speaker 1: junior high Sterling joined the debate team, and in high 30 00:02:19,960 --> 00:02:23,400 Speaker 1: school he wrote and edited for the school paper. It 31 00:02:23,440 --> 00:02:26,880 Speaker 1: was during this time, in the midst of World War Two, 32 00:02:27,080 --> 00:02:30,800 Speaker 1: that he first demonstrated the social conscience that would come 33 00:02:30,840 --> 00:02:35,080 Speaker 1: to define his later work. He frequently used his platform 34 00:02:35,160 --> 00:02:38,080 Speaker 1: at the paper to encourage his peers to support the 35 00:02:38,120 --> 00:02:42,639 Speaker 1: war effort, and he considered dropping out before graduation so 36 00:02:42,680 --> 00:02:46,320 Speaker 1: that he could enlist a few months sooner. In the end, 37 00:02:46,680 --> 00:02:50,400 Speaker 1: sterling Civics teacher talked him out of it, saying, quote, 38 00:02:50,919 --> 00:02:56,440 Speaker 1: war is a temporary thing. It ends, education doesn't without 39 00:02:56,520 --> 00:03:01,000 Speaker 1: your degree, where will you be after the war? Serling 40 00:03:01,040 --> 00:03:04,320 Speaker 1: took the advice to heart. And finished high school. He 41 00:03:04,400 --> 00:03:09,079 Speaker 1: attended graduation and even gave a speech. Then the very 42 00:03:09,120 --> 00:03:12,840 Speaker 1: next morning he enlisted in the U. S. Army. He 43 00:03:13,000 --> 00:03:16,400 Speaker 1: was hoping to join the fight against the Nazis in Europe, 44 00:03:16,560 --> 00:03:20,240 Speaker 1: but was sent to the Pacific Theater as a paratrooper instead. 45 00:03:21,200 --> 00:03:25,080 Speaker 1: Serling served a four year tour and saw combat in 46 00:03:25,120 --> 00:03:29,440 Speaker 1: the Philippines on multiple occasions, eventually earning the Purple Heart 47 00:03:29,639 --> 00:03:33,119 Speaker 1: and the Bronze Star for his trouble. He was wounded 48 00:03:33,240 --> 00:03:37,360 Speaker 1: multiple times and was surrounded by death on a daily basis. 49 00:03:38,080 --> 00:03:42,520 Speaker 1: At one point, his regiment, nicknamed the Death Squad, had 50 00:03:42,520 --> 00:03:46,360 Speaker 1: a fifty percent casualty rate, with over four hundred of 51 00:03:46,400 --> 00:03:50,760 Speaker 1: their men killed in action. As you might imagine, Serling 52 00:03:50,920 --> 00:03:54,840 Speaker 1: was deeply affected by his experiences in the field. He 53 00:03:54,960 --> 00:03:58,440 Speaker 1: was discharged from the army in nineteen forty six, but 54 00:03:58,560 --> 00:04:02,600 Speaker 1: continued to be haunted nightmares and flashbacks for the rest 55 00:04:02,600 --> 00:04:06,640 Speaker 1: of his life. He would later channel this trauma into 56 00:04:06,720 --> 00:04:10,680 Speaker 1: his writing. Many of his future scripts explored the theme 57 00:04:10,760 --> 00:04:14,000 Speaker 1: of war from the view of allies and enemies alike, 58 00:04:14,360 --> 00:04:18,520 Speaker 1: highlighting the unpredictability of death and the moral cost of 59 00:04:18,600 --> 00:04:24,160 Speaker 1: war on society. As the writer later explained, quote, I 60 00:04:24,279 --> 00:04:27,400 Speaker 1: was bitter about everything and at loose ends. When I 61 00:04:27,440 --> 00:04:30,200 Speaker 1: got out of the service, I think I turned to 62 00:04:30,279 --> 00:04:34,200 Speaker 1: writing to get it off my chest. When Sterling had 63 00:04:34,240 --> 00:04:38,000 Speaker 1: recovered from his wounds, he enrolled in the physical education 64 00:04:38,080 --> 00:04:43,760 Speaker 1: program at Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio. Before long, 65 00:04:44,000 --> 00:04:47,400 Speaker 1: he changed his major to drama in English Lit and 66 00:04:47,480 --> 00:04:50,000 Speaker 1: went on to earn his Bachelor of Arts degree in 67 00:04:50,120 --> 00:04:54,919 Speaker 1: nineteen fifty. Over the next few years, Sterling began writing 68 00:04:54,920 --> 00:04:58,160 Speaker 1: for radio and TV, with his big break being a 69 00:04:58,200 --> 00:05:02,840 Speaker 1: TV movie called Pattern that he wrote for NBC. The film, 70 00:05:03,080 --> 00:05:07,360 Speaker 1: which followed the lives of ruthless New York industrialists, won 71 00:05:07,440 --> 00:05:11,640 Speaker 1: Sterling his first Emmy in nineteen fifty five. For the 72 00:05:11,680 --> 00:05:14,600 Speaker 1: rest of the decade, he continued to go against the 73 00:05:14,600 --> 00:05:18,799 Speaker 1: grain of the conservative TV medium. At the time. Most 74 00:05:18,839 --> 00:05:23,440 Speaker 1: programs ignored serious issues in favor of domestic comedy or 75 00:05:23,600 --> 00:05:28,240 Speaker 1: wild West action, but Sterling tackled difficult topics head on. 76 00:05:29,080 --> 00:05:33,159 Speaker 1: His TV dramas such as Requiem for a Heavyweight and 77 00:05:33,560 --> 00:05:37,160 Speaker 1: A Town Has Turned to Dust brought attention to social 78 00:05:37,240 --> 00:05:43,520 Speaker 1: issues like discrimination, lynching, and union organizing. These productions earned 79 00:05:43,560 --> 00:05:46,719 Speaker 1: acclaim for Sterling, but brought a major heat from the 80 00:05:46,760 --> 00:05:51,320 Speaker 1: network sensors as well, so in nineteen fifty seven, he 81 00:05:51,440 --> 00:05:56,320 Speaker 1: decided to take a different approach. He pitched CBS executives 82 00:05:56,400 --> 00:06:00,000 Speaker 1: on a pilot episode for a weekly sci fi fantasy 83 00:06:00,040 --> 00:06:05,160 Speaker 1: the anthology series called The Twilight Zone. When the initial 84 00:06:05,240 --> 00:06:08,600 Speaker 1: two episodes proved a hit with the public, the network 85 00:06:08,720 --> 00:06:13,120 Speaker 1: ordered a full season in nineteen fifty nine, followed eventually 86 00:06:13,320 --> 00:06:17,599 Speaker 1: by four more. Sterling had found the perfect work around 87 00:06:17,720 --> 00:06:22,200 Speaker 1: for his problem. If the networks and sponsors were uncomfortable 88 00:06:22,279 --> 00:06:26,120 Speaker 1: seeing real world issues reflected in their broadcasts, then he 89 00:06:26,160 --> 00:06:30,040 Speaker 1: would simply filter the controversial subjects through the lens of 90 00:06:30,080 --> 00:06:34,760 Speaker 1: fantasy and science fiction. As the writer later put it, quote, 91 00:06:35,120 --> 00:06:38,280 Speaker 1: I found that it was all right to have Martians 92 00:06:38,320 --> 00:06:43,839 Speaker 1: saying things democrats and Republicans could never say. Sterling won 93 00:06:43,960 --> 00:06:47,400 Speaker 1: another three Emmys for his work on the series. In 94 00:06:47,440 --> 00:06:51,080 Speaker 1: addition to his role as narrator and host, he also 95 00:06:51,160 --> 00:06:54,400 Speaker 1: wrote more than half of the show's one hundred and 96 00:06:54,560 --> 00:06:59,599 Speaker 1: fifty one episodes, a nearly inhuman feet. In the late 97 00:06:59,680 --> 00:07:03,480 Speaker 1: ninth sixties, Sterling turned his focus to the big screen, 98 00:07:03,800 --> 00:07:07,200 Speaker 1: which he appreciated for its lack of commercials and looser 99 00:07:07,240 --> 00:07:11,600 Speaker 1: restrictions on run time and content. His most famous movie 100 00:07:11,640 --> 00:07:15,160 Speaker 1: screenplay was for the original movie version of Planet of 101 00:07:15,200 --> 00:07:18,600 Speaker 1: the Apes, a morality tale with a sci fi twist, 102 00:07:18,920 --> 00:07:23,679 Speaker 1: one of Sterling's specialties. Around the same time, he also 103 00:07:23,800 --> 00:07:28,680 Speaker 1: started teaching classes on screenwriting at Ithaca College. In light 104 00:07:28,720 --> 00:07:32,040 Speaker 1: of the social and political climate of the nineteen sixties, 105 00:07:32,280 --> 00:07:35,240 Speaker 1: it was Sterling's goal to help instill a sense of 106 00:07:35,280 --> 00:07:40,520 Speaker 1: moral responsibility in the next generation of TV writers. In 107 00:07:41,200 --> 00:07:45,320 Speaker 1: seventy he returned to TV himself once again, writing and 108 00:07:45,400 --> 00:07:50,400 Speaker 1: hosting an anthology series, this one called Night Gallery. Not 109 00:07:50,560 --> 00:07:54,520 Speaker 1: as beloved or as successful as The Twilight Zone, Night 110 00:07:54,600 --> 00:07:59,600 Speaker 1: Gallery still delivered thought provoking genre stories, albeit with more 111 00:07:59,640 --> 00:08:03,000 Speaker 1: of a focus on horror and suspense than science fiction. 112 00:08:03,880 --> 00:08:07,040 Speaker 1: The show concluded it's three season run with its forty 113 00:08:07,080 --> 00:08:12,160 Speaker 1: three episode in nineteen seventy three. Two years later, Rod 114 00:08:12,240 --> 00:08:16,280 Speaker 1: Sterling suffered a series of heart attacks, presumably brought on 115 00:08:16,440 --> 00:08:20,560 Speaker 1: by a lifetime of chain smoking. He passed away on 116 00:08:20,720 --> 00:08:27,720 Speaker 1: June at the age of fifty. Since it's Christmas, I 117 00:08:27,800 --> 00:08:30,679 Speaker 1: thought we could end the show not by talking about 118 00:08:30,800 --> 00:08:34,199 Speaker 1: Rod Sterling's death, but by looking at his own connection 119 00:08:34,280 --> 00:08:37,200 Speaker 1: to the holiday. You know, besides the fact that it's 120 00:08:37,240 --> 00:08:41,800 Speaker 1: his birthday. He was raised Jewish and was fiercely proud 121 00:08:41,840 --> 00:08:46,920 Speaker 1: of his heritage. According to his daughter Anne. However, Sterling's wife, Carol, 122 00:08:47,120 --> 00:08:50,839 Speaker 1: was a Unitarian, and her husband came to appreciate her 123 00:08:50,920 --> 00:08:55,480 Speaker 1: more open ended approach to belief. As an adult, Sterling 124 00:08:55,559 --> 00:08:59,960 Speaker 1: celebrated Christmas like many people do, as more of a secular, 125 00:09:00,280 --> 00:09:05,240 Speaker 1: quasi spiritual holiday than a strictly religious one. He wrote 126 00:09:05,280 --> 00:09:08,680 Speaker 1: a number of Christmas themed stories over the years, both 127 00:09:08,720 --> 00:09:12,480 Speaker 1: for radio and for television. Some of the better known 128 00:09:12,559 --> 00:09:16,320 Speaker 1: are a black comedy called No Christmas This Year and 129 00:09:16,360 --> 00:09:20,959 Speaker 1: a modern interpretation of Dickens Christmas Carol titled A Carol 130 00:09:21,080 --> 00:09:26,400 Speaker 1: for Another Christmas. Still, his most famous holiday work has 131 00:09:26,440 --> 00:09:29,679 Speaker 1: to be The Night of the Meek, a Christmas episode 132 00:09:29,720 --> 00:09:33,240 Speaker 1: of The Twilight Zone from the show's second season. It 133 00:09:33,360 --> 00:09:37,560 Speaker 1: follows an alcoholic department store Santa played by actor and 134 00:09:37,640 --> 00:09:40,960 Speaker 1: comedian Art Carney, who wishes he could do more for 135 00:09:41,040 --> 00:09:45,200 Speaker 1: his local community. The down on his luck, Santa laments 136 00:09:45,280 --> 00:09:48,640 Speaker 1: the state of the world, saying quote, I live in 137 00:09:48,679 --> 00:09:52,240 Speaker 1: a dirty rooming house on a street filled with hungry 138 00:09:52,320 --> 00:09:56,000 Speaker 1: kids and shabby people, where the only thing that comes 139 00:09:56,040 --> 00:10:01,160 Speaker 1: down the chimney on Christmas eve is more poverty. Despite 140 00:10:01,160 --> 00:10:05,040 Speaker 1: the heavy subject matter, the episode does end on a happy, 141 00:10:05,240 --> 00:10:08,720 Speaker 1: hopeful note, something of a rarity in the Twilight Zone. 142 00:10:09,400 --> 00:10:13,040 Speaker 1: By writing a Christmas story rooted in social concerns of 143 00:10:13,080 --> 00:10:17,120 Speaker 1: the time, Sterling added a sense of poignancy and warmth 144 00:10:17,360 --> 00:10:22,000 Speaker 1: that's rarely seen in holiday themed TV shows. That's a 145 00:10:22,040 --> 00:10:26,360 Speaker 1: reflection of what I believe is Sterling's greatest achievement, pushing 146 00:10:26,480 --> 00:10:31,520 Speaker 1: the medium of television to be more than pleasant, disposable entertainment. 147 00:10:32,240 --> 00:10:36,960 Speaker 1: His stories challenged conventions and posed hard questions about how 148 00:10:37,000 --> 00:10:40,160 Speaker 1: we see ourselves and about what we owe to each other. 149 00:10:40,960 --> 00:10:43,960 Speaker 1: As an artist both shaped and troubled by the world 150 00:10:44,000 --> 00:10:48,000 Speaker 1: he lived in, Sterling expressed in earnest care for his 151 00:10:48,080 --> 00:10:52,040 Speaker 1: fellow man in nearly every word he wrote. That's a 152 00:10:52,080 --> 00:10:55,720 Speaker 1: good example to follow on Christmas, whether you live here 153 00:10:56,280 --> 00:11:01,760 Speaker 1: or in the Twilight Zone. I'm a Blusier and hopefully 154 00:11:01,920 --> 00:11:05,079 Speaker 1: you now know a little more about history today than 155 00:11:05,160 --> 00:11:09,320 Speaker 1: you did yesterday. If you enjoyed the show, consider following 156 00:11:09,400 --> 00:11:12,840 Speaker 1: us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at t D I 157 00:11:13,400 --> 00:11:17,559 Speaker 1: HC Show and if you have any comments or suggestions, 158 00:11:17,840 --> 00:11:20,560 Speaker 1: you can always send them my way. At this day 159 00:11:20,880 --> 00:11:24,760 Speaker 1: at I heeart media dot com. Thanks to Chandler Mays 160 00:11:24,840 --> 00:11:28,160 Speaker 1: for producing the show, and thank you for listening. If 161 00:11:28,160 --> 00:11:31,000 Speaker 1: you celebrate Christmas, I hope you have a merry one. 162 00:11:31,320 --> 00:11:34,359 Speaker 1: But either way, I'll see you back here again tomorrow 163 00:11:34,640 --> 00:11:44,920 Speaker 1: for another day in History class. For more podcasts from 164 00:11:44,920 --> 00:11:47,760 Speaker 1: I Heart Radio, visit the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, 165 00:11:47,800 --> 00:11:49,480 Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.