Robert Jerome Serling (born Jerome Robert Serling; March 28, 1918 – May 6, 2010) was an American novelist and aviation writer.

Biography

Born in

Cortland, New York Cortland is a city and the county seat of Cortland County, New York, United States. Known as the Crown City, Cortland is in New York's Southern Tier region. As of 2024, the estimated population of Cortland, New York, is 17,196, reflecting a dec ...

and raised in Binghamton, Serling graduated from

Antioch College Antioch College is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Yellow Springs, Ohio, United States. It was founded in 1850 by the Christian Connection and began operating in 1852 as a non-secta ...

in 1942. He "deplored the name Jerome" and swapped his first and middle names as a young man. He was the older brother of screenwriter and ''

The Twilight Zone ''The Twilight Zone'' is an American media franchise based on the anthology series, anthology television series created by Rod Serling in which characters find themselves dealing with often disturbing or unusual events, an experience described ...

'' creator

Rod Serling Rodman Edward Serling (December 25, 1924 – June 28, 1975) was an American screenwriter and television producer best known for his live television dramas of the 1950s and his Anthology series, anthology television series ''The Twilight Zone (1 ...

. Serling became full-time aviation editor for

United Press International United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 20th ce ...

in 1960. He wrote at least eight novels and sixteen books of nonfiction. His novel '' The President's Plane Is Missing'' was made into a 1973 made-for-TV film starring

Buddy Ebsen Buddy Ebsen (born Christian Ludolf Ebsen Jr.; April 2, 1908 – July 6, 2003), also known as Frank "Buddy" Ebsen, was an American actor and dancer. One of his most famous roles was as Jed Clampett in the CBS television sitcom ''The Beverly Hillb ...

. He received the 1988 Lauren D. Lyman Award "for distinguished achievement in the field of aviation and aerospace journalism." He had two children with his second wife, Priscilla Arone, a former

Western Airlines Western Airlines was a major airline in the United States based in California, operating in the Western United States including Alaska and Hawaii, and western Canada, as well as to New York City, Boston, Washington, D.C., and Miami and to Mex ...

stewardess A flight attendant is a member of the aircrew whose primary responsibility is ensure the safety of passengers in the cabin of an aircraft across all stages of flight. Their secondary duty is to see to the comfort of passengers. Flight attenda ...

. His daughter Jennifer is a veterinary technician. Serling died of pancreatic cancer on May 6, 2010, at age 92 in

Tucson, Arizona Tucson (; ; ) is a city in Pima County, Arizona, United States, and its county seat. It is the second-most populous city in Arizona, behind Phoenix, Arizona, Phoenix, with a population of 542,630 in the 2020 United States census. The Tucson ...

Fiction

Non-fiction

Career

* Was a

, Washington, DC, reporter and manager of Radio News Division, 1945–60, aviation editor, 1960–66; air safety lecturer and consultant, beginning 1966. * Received numerous honors of his work throughout his career: Trans-World Airlines, seven awards, 1958–65, for aviation news reporting, Strebig-Dobben Memorial Award, 1960; special citations from Sherman Fairchild Foundation, 1963, Flight Safety Foundation, 1970, and Airline Pilots Association, 1970; Aviation/Space Writers Association, James Trebig Memorial Award, 1964, special citation, 1967, award in fiction, 1966, for ''The Left Seat'', and in nonfiction, 1969, for ''Loud and Clear''. * Collected commercial airline models (more than four hundred during his life) and material on aviation research. * Member of the Society of Air Safety Investigators and the Aviation/Space Writers Association * Brother

hired him as a technical consultant (for which he received on-screen credit) for the airplane sequences in the episode " The Odyssey of Flight 33" of his hit TV-show ''

''. Robert Serling also received advisor or researcher credits on two other Rod Serling scripts: one each for scripts penned for '' Studio One'' and ''

Playhouse 90 ''Playhouse 90'' is an American television anthology drama series that aired on CBS from 1956 to 1960 for a total of 134 episodes. The show was produced at CBS Television City in Los Angeles, California. Since live anthology drama series of t ...

''. * ''Something's Alive on the Titanic'' and ''The President's Plane Is Missing'' and ‘’Air Force One is Haunted’’ are fantasy novels set in real life high-profile backdrops. * Was a reporter for the

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East ...

. Travelled with the team and roomed with quarterback Eddie LeBaron. * He was a very devout conservative Republican, in contrast to his brother’s liberal Democratic stance. * Authored the short story "Ghost Writer" published in '' Twilight Zone: 19 Original Stories on the 50th Anniversary''. * In 2008, was featured speaker at the 32nd annual Airliners International collectibles show and convention in Dallas, Texas.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Serling, Robert 1918 births 2010 deaths People from Cortland, New York Antioch College alumni American historians American aviation writers American aviation historians 20th-century American novelists American male novelists Jewish American novelists 20th-century American male writers Novelists from New York (state) 20th-century American non-fiction writers American male non-fiction writers 21st-century American Jews