Rod Serling

Background

Rod Serling was born Rodman Edward Serling in Syracuse, New York, U.S. His mother’s name was Esther Serling and she was a homemaker. His father was Samuel Lawrence Serling, who worked as an amateur inventor and secretary before the birth of his kids. After they were born, however, Samuel began working as a grocer in a bid to make a steady income and support his family. Serling is the second of two kids and has an older brother named Robert J. Serling, who is a well-known aviation writer and novelist.

Serling’s father ended up closing his store due to the Great Depression and started to make a living as a butcher. The family relocated to Binghamton, New York, in the year 1926, where Serling spent the majority of his youth. He also developed an interest in performing during this time, which his parents encouraged. Moreover, he entertained himself by acting out dialogues from movies and magazines. When he was in elementary school, he became one of the class clowns, and as a result, was dismissed by several teachers as a lost cause.

Things took a turn when he reached seventh grade and started participating in public speaking competitions with the encouragement of a teacher. Serling also became a part of his school’s debate team as well as a speaker at the school graduation ceremony. It was during this time that he developed a knack for writing too, and he started writing for his school’s newspaper. He kick-started his career in the year 1946 as a writer and actor for a local radio station. He passed away on June 28, 1975, due to deteriorating health.