TWILIGHT ZONE Creator Would Have Turne 100 This Christmas
By Movieguide® Contributor
Few people in the world have a birthday on Christmas, but the late screenwriter Rod Serling was one of these people. This Christmas would’ve been THE TWILIGHT ZONE creator’s 100th birthday. He died from a heart attack in 1975, at just 50 years old.
His daughter Anne Serling shared more about her father in a recent discussion with PEOPLE.
“I knew my dad was a writer, but I didn’t really understand or know what he was writing about until some mean kid on the playground asked me, when I was about seven or eight, ‘Are you something out of The Twilight Zone?’” she said. “And then I asked my father what that meant, and he explained that he wrote for a series. It was probably too old for me.”
Serling died when Anne was just 20, and in 2013 she wrote a memoir about the father she knew, titled, “As I Knew Him: My Dad, Rod Serling.”
“My dad would get a look when he was writing, and he’d disappear, and I knew what was happening in those moments,” Serling said. “But he was always at the dinner table, always present. We went on father-daughter trips together. I don’t forget for a moment what an extraordinary dad I’ve had.”
She continued, “He was funny. He would do things like disappear and then come back with a lampshade on his head. He did the most amazing gorilla impersonation you could imagine. In almost every home movie, you’ll see him pretending to be a gorilla. He had an incredible singing voice. He loved The Flintstones. Every off-colored limerick I know I learned from my dad.”
THE TWILIGHT ZONE aired from 1959-1964.
Movieguide® reviewed THE TWILIGHT ZONE: Episode 3:19 “The Hunt”:
“The Hunt” is one of our favorite TWILIGHT ZONE episodes. Character actor Arthur Hunnicutt stars as Hyder Simpson, a backwoods man who lives in a small Appalachian cabin with his wife of 50 years, Rachel. One evening after dinner, Hyder and his dog, Rip, go raccoon hunting. Hyder jumps into a stream to rescue Rip. However, the next morning he and Rip are invisible to everyone, including Rachel, who’s dressed in black. Hyder ends up walking Eternity Road, where he experiences of Heaven and Hell.
“The Hunt” is written by Earl Hamner, creator of THE WALTONS. It’s a marvelous TWILIGHT ZONE allegory about the Afterlife. Arthur Hunnicutt and Jeannette Nolan as Hyder and Rachel deliver engaging, heartwarming, poignant performances. Dexter Dupont has a great cameo as a wise angel. “The Hunt” has a strong Christian, biblical worldview. It teaches several profound, whimsical lessons. It cites the deceitfulness of demons and the gullibility of men. It also contains short statements of faith. Finally, it extols marriage and promotes strong love between husbands and wives. “The Hunt” is truly a must-watch TWILIGHT ZONE episode.
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