From the archives of the UCLA Communications Studies Department. Digitized 2013. The views and ideas expressed in these videos are not necessarily shared by the University of California, or by the UCLA Communication Studies Department.
I am totally blown away by this man. I can't listen to the same person's bullshit for more than 5 minutes. This man I would listen to eternity. God love Rod Serling.
You said it, man. I'm so totally blown away and mesmerized, I want to f*ckin' sleep with this man, have spaced-out, crazy sex, then wake up with conversation, the morning paper, and some awesome brunch!
Rod Serling was the man the Ernest Hemingway dreamt of being. The gritty, seasoned war veteran, with insights and experience matched only by his supreme intellect. Neither donning the cowl modesty, nor boastful, but a real, visceral and an assertive intellectual, engaging the viewer and capturing their imaginations by drawing on the world’s harshest realities, and helping us to reflect on them, process them, through fantasy. Not to denigrate Hemingway, but Serling (both as a writer and a man) was the real thing, not playing at it, as Hemingway so often did. Underrated in the way that Raymond Chandler still is. But his genius lives on; partly, in thanks, to people who curate his memory, like the uploader of this video. And partly thanks to his timeless stories, which are so often retold; ingrained into our culture . . . RIP Rod ✌️👍
A great writer, but (start at 30:50) was so enthused that college students of the era would change the world for the better. They turned out to be the selfish and self-absorbed "Me Generation" (who then morphed into Yuppies).
His voice and manner taught me posture and public speaking. An Incredibly sober minded and learned individual. His early work. The essays. He penned a story called "The Gymnasium" . He recruited Charles Beaumont . Famous seventies actors cut their teeth on his show. His ability to map his thoughts so when he speaks, its firm, its decisive, and his tonal rhythm lubricates his speech where he doesn't have to repeat himself. He rebukes the ear with blistering honesty and sensibility.
The Twilight Zone was an integral part of my childhood. I'm 21. Hearing Rod say nothing he wrote would be remembered one hundred years on is heart breaking to me. I know, should I be alive in 2058, I and many others will still remember and love the twilight zone. Rod serling was one of the finest writers of the 20th century.
This man has completely misjudged his place in literary history. The audience for live presentation of "Requium for a Heavyweight" was larger than a hundred years of Shakespeare productions. Mr. Serling, you share infamy with all great writing giants.
I think it's because he was a humble man. What a man he was tho and this recording is 50yrs old next month. It's incredible how his mind worked to write these intense and touching tales. There have been a few writers who hit near the Serling mark but none came near to his unique brilliance!
I saw him lecture at Duquesne University in the fall of 1972. This brings back memories of his talk, during which he spent more time answering "the kids'" questions...and believe me when I say the kids sat on the windowsills of an auditorium filled to capacity. We loved him, and it was obvious that he basked in that and gave as good as he got.
And those appearances were like rock concerts. The kids loved him. But the tenured professors were not impressed with Rod Serling and his television celebrity.
A brilliant man. I wish I could've met him in person! What he said about science-fiction on television (and the TV medium in general) made a lot of sense. His prediction about VHS videocassettes came true. How ironic that he elaborated on his addiction to nicotine...a bad habit that ultimately led to his early death. RIP Mr. Serling.
Definitely. The shit that gets me is that either here or in this interview/group conversation he did earlier, he mentions how shite the programs are but how the studios LOVED to say that their big accomplished shows were the more artful ones, such condescending garbage. They wanna say that Breaking Bad is what they are pushing but it’s basically garbage tv that nets the most money. Go figure.
Rod Serling served in WWII with my uncle in the South Pacific. The first chapter of my AudioBook is on the Phoenix Lights!! And I saw a mid-afternoon UFO in the mid 1980's in Scottsdale, Arizona. I wanted to go to Roswell this year for the commemorative events...Stan Friedman just had a heart attack, so he missed it. My uncle was mixed up in Roswell but at a tangent...he was MacArthur's personal bodyguard for 6 years after we dropped the bombs on Japan...this was during the Roswell incidents...MacArthur had been tasked with answering the UFO question by FDR, resulting in the first formal team of investigator/crash retrievers...this was the Interplanetary Phenomenon Unit of the U.S. Army...it existed...and they created a 20,000 page "MacArthur File" which was then turned over to the Operation Blue Book folks...so basically, Mac created the original "Men in Black" while my uncle was nearly always by his side. I wrote a book about it, which is selling like heck as an AudioBook..."MacArthur and the UFOs"...Amazon...
This was in 1971 - Rod Serling was so optimistic for the coming generation that they’d be intellectually-oriented generation. Unfortunately, he didn’t foresee the dumbing-down of the population we see today in USA (1990’s, 2020’s to present). Too bad his prediction didn’t come true.
Thank you for this post. I especially enjoyed Rod Serling's presentation. He is missed beyond measure. He was truly a pathfinder and torch bearer for television. He fought the good fight against censors and overly done commercials both of which presented potential interference to dramatic content. I think Rod was such a genuine person and it showed in his prolific and in many ways genius writing. Clearly, he was beloved by his audience. And Rod (The Voice) will indeed be fondly remembered in ways he never banked on. Twilight Zone cannot be shaken. Nearly 60 years later and it lives on. And so does Rod -- its creator, writer, and host. It's a package deal. Twilight Zone. Rod Serling. The two are inseparable and will forever be memorialized and treasured by all who love a good story. I know lots of his narrations word for word (literature unto itself) and I still watch the shows.
serling was a visionary writer. a genius in his own right. always leave them with a zinger at the end. such is irony. humbled, articulate, and somewhat abrasive, serling spoke his mind and pulled no punches. he told you like it is, was, or how it should be told. and as bonus, his voice is one that compels you to listen.
Usually I look at 1971 and 2021 and it’s like two different worlds. But here, next to Serling, most of the audience members sound like they’re from today.
This is an amazing event and a Gem in television history. Rod Serling seems to be enjoying himself with the audience. A genuine man with a superb talent of giving people the gift in depth of thought! It is hard to believe this was over 40 years ago!
I find this recording to capture the time quite accurately. Serling is charming and enlightening. And honest, which sometimes can be blunt. Like when a student asks him if he has advice to a young screenwriter, and he replies, "do you have any relatives who work at NBC?" He was also quite humble, in his assessment of his work and legacy. He WILL be remembered in 2071, contrary to what he predicted.
Martin Hyizna If Rod were still alive I bet he would realize that his works would be remembered. In the early 70's there was a ongoing trend that anything which wasn't modern wasn't cool. Fortunately, now most see these great early TV series as the timeless classics they really are (the same is true of older music). Although Mr Serling often sold himself short, the fact is, he wouldn't be able to deny that the fan base of his talents not only continues but increases as more and more young people become exposed to his works.
I love how he praises all in the family, which, if the date is correct had only been on the air a few months, and how he just rags on this is your life, which, by today's standards was only the mildest of intrusions in a person's life. He'd have a field day with what's going on today.
That was a different world. If Rod Serling wa a writer today, he'd either be in extreme poverty or a manager at Taco Bell. This climate would never allow his freedom of voice and would hate his unique ideas. He would get one job writing a sequel movie to an old TV show and then be shown the door.
Amazing, for anybody to write like this, had to be a very good person! In the Mike Wallace, interview 1959, Serling, talks about success money, and not getting caught up in the money material things, glamour, that naturally are a buy product. He says what's really important in life, family and the quality wanting what's best for your children. Yes...........a little abrasive language, but genuine. There was nothing phony about him. He kind of reminds me of C.S. Lewis, like a self fulfilled prophet, like I felt Fred Rogers, was and others in the showbiz industry. RIP. Rod Serling. Hope, "The Twilight Zone" comes back and I want to be the host! LOL...........God Bless
I believe Mr. Serling was put on this Earth to educate us and give us a dire warning about what will happen in the future. The future is now and we are in the Twilight Zone. If he was alive, he would be heartbroken that his fantasy has turned into reality.
I wish nobody would think of Serling as a horror writer. Nope. He was a WRITER. Some of his best writing had nothing to do with "The Twilight Zone" or "Night Gallery." No, check out "Patterns," "Seven Days in May," and his short-lived but outstanding Western, "The Loner."
Thank you, UCLA. Videos like this have more value than I can put into words brief enough for this medium. But, that there are people out there curating such enormously encouraging stuff for writers (or anyone) to listen to, is so reassuring. Thanks ✌️👍
Thanks! We're working hard to digitize more of the material in our archive. Hopefully it will be about a half million hours of content when we're finally finished. See spark.ucla.edu/project/11101 for more info.
He was only 46,here,yet seemed to consider himself onerously old.His main writing theme concerned looking back to a lost youth.Dying at 50 is artistically consistent.It would be fascinating to hear his view on the timeliness,or otherwise,of his own death.
@@marymarysmarket3508 Yes, his father died 'young' and that must limit expectations. Also, with Jewish heritage there was always the thought of a 3am knock on the door.
"Thank you" what a wonderfully intelligent, Artis, a man who know his shit! He was a sexy man & Very intelligent man! Rest in peace my brother! God bless you all Love & light! 💙
8:58 - Incredibly prescient with respect to current popular culture (t.v., music, and film). Certainly, Serling's assertion in part underscores the fact that current popular culture is as it has always been: safe and trendy.
Fantastic. Love to hear him talk about the old Twilight Zones. He's Alive is a good episode and one of my faves from season 4 though I didn't pick up on what he said about Dennis Hopper's performance until this video. If he had creative control, then why was Hopper used in the episode? I would have liked to hear him discuss Deaths-Head Revisited where an SS Captain goes back to the concentration camp he commanded. I thought the cinematography was excellent in that, particularly the scene where the Captain comes to after fainting in the room with all the prisoners he had sent to death. I also thought both Joseph Schildkraut who played the keeper of the camp and Oscar Beregi Jr. who played the Captain were excellent.
Amazing! I am buying all the Twilight Zones n Night Gallery shows on VHS during Covid-19 that I never seen with "no commercials", Think Rod would be very Happy! 😊
That was excellent. I understand now why Ray Bradbury and Serling never really worked together. Interesting to hear him talk about his smoking addiction.
I always felt Serling was a deeper and more direct writer than Bradbury. Bradbury felt the need to show what a great writer he was, while Serling simply wrote great material. And more original, too.
Rod wrote the screenplay for Seven Days In May. About an attempted Coup of the U.S government by a hidden wing of the U.S. Air Force. Be a good idea to see that film today!
I dug his comments about Incident at Owl Creek Bridge. It is one of my earliest memories of television, I couldn’t have been more than four years old when it aired. But it was so different from anything on television, even for a small child who was basically sat in front of the television constantly when I was very young. Obviously I didn’t understand the story, but the imagery was just that striking. Even to a small child. Years later, when I was older and could follow the plot, I remembered that imagery. It was that good. ,
During the 1958-59 school year, Rod Serling was the PTA President at Roosevelt Elementary in Santa Monica, CA. At the fall school carnival he wore his iconic suit/tie he is seen in Twilight Zone. The school principal asked him to help him get a glitzy gold lame gown, long blond wig, and all the trimmings to dress up in complete drag for the carnival. . I will admit it was a bit unnerving to see the principal in full drag at the school carnival. But Santa Monica has always been funky....even in the 50's.
Twilight--the hour between light and darkness where nothing is certain--between the conscious and subconscious where fantasy takes flight--and BAM Twilight Zone
35:40 holy shit he predicted video cassettes....what an insightful and brilliant man...The world may never have another insightful and articulate human being like him.