Carol Serling


After WWII, at small Antioch College


in Ohio, a young student named Carol Kramer would spot returning war hero Rod Serling. . . riding a bike while acting like a monkey. She knew that he was different—special even. But she had no idea that over six decades later she would be the champion to keep the legacy of one of Hollywood’s greatest talents, her husband, burning strong.


Famous Monsters. How did you meet your husband? Carol Serling. We met when we were in college. That was a couple of years ago. [Laughs] When I went to college it was after World War II and a lot of the guys on campus were veterans, in fact I’d say that about 75-80 percent of the guys were older fellas who had been through the war, Rod being one of them. So they were sort of the leaders on the campus, and he was very involved in student council and leadership. My first visual of him was riding a bike and pretending to be a monkey. He liked to do that. Don’t ask me why.


FM. It’s the creative mind. One can never question the creative mind. CS. [Laughs] I like that.


FM. A lot of people don’t realize that he was a very decorated war veteran, a hero, in fact. And he was injured when he came back. CS. Yes. He had a purple heart. Shrapnel in the knee and wrist.


FM. And that was something that kind of shaped his world view for the rest of his life, his experiences there. People who take a close look at THE TWILIGHT ZONE are going to see that there are a lot of messages about the war and the military. CS. Oh absolutely. You know, in those days they didn’t recognize the shock that the veterans were coming home with. They were supposed to just come home and fit back into normal life, but nowadays we


56 FAMOUS MONSTERS OF FILMLAND • JAN/FEB 2012


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