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December 25: Rod Serling
Rod Serling, creator of The Twilight Zone (1959-1964) and one of the first screenwriters to recognize the potential of television for drama, was born on this day in 1924 in Syracuse, New York. A paratrooper in World War II, Serling suffered from post-traumatic stress syndrome. He became an outspoken critic of the Vietnam War and social injustice in the 1960s. Despite his great success as a television writer and producer, he faced censorship when he tried to write about racism in America. His film scripts included Seven Days in May, The Man, and The Planet of the Apes.
“We’re developing a new citizenry. One that will be very selective about cereals and automobiles, but won’t be able to think.” —Rod Serling
Lawrence Bush edited Jewish Currents from 2003 until 2018. He is the author of Bessie: A Novel of Love and Revolution and Waiting for God: The Spiritual Explorations of a Reluctant Atheist, among other books. His new volume of illustrated Torah commentaries, American Torah Toons 2, is scheduled for publication this year.
