NEW! Amazing hand-drawn Twilight Zone sketch trading cards
Note: not for sale!
Season 5 Trivia Quiz finally posted. See how much you know about TZ Season 5!
For our latest Newsletter of November 2011, see the NEWS page. Updates to this site will be posted here starting 1/1/2012.
For a limited time only, check out these TZ Art Prints!
SUSAN GORDON
(1949 - 2011)
With sadness, I relate that Susan Gordon passed away on 11 December, 2011 after a cancer struggle. She was a treasure. Susan was the daughter of Bert I. Gordon, famed director known as "Mr. BIG", and Flora Lang, a production manager who worked on numerous TV movies and movies of the week, and for 5 years on "Dynasty", as well as Susan's on-set guardian for all of her work. Susan's first showbiz experience came in 1958 with her father Bert's "Attack of the Puppet People" when she replaced another young actress. TV and more films followed, including of course, "The Fugitive" episode of TZ where she played Jenny, the crippled niece of Mrs. Gann (played by Nancy Kulp), who runs away with Old Ben (J. Pat O'Malley) to another world. She always held that role in high regard. In late 2001, I got in touch with Susan. She'd just begun doing autograph/memorabilia events and conventions after 35 years away from the entertainment world. I invited her to our Stars of the Zone Convention scheduled for the following August and she said she'd be there. And she was, and she added a great deal to the event, speaking on a panel with Ben Cooper, and directors Elliot Silverstein and James Sheldon - she and Sheldon worked together, although not on "Twilight Zone", and were amazed to see each other again after a long time. She also reunited with a number of other actors, including H.M. Wynant, with whom she'd worked on "Route 66." On the panel discussion, she shared that although she loved the part of Jenny on TZ, she never got to meet Rod Serling - she became ill for a brief time on the set and was being carried off on a stretcher just as Rod was coming in. She never quite got over that. As soon as she reached legal age, she wisely broke out of Hollywood to pursue an uninterrupted college education and to start a family and career. She was Chief Information Officer for a corporation for over 20 years. Susan lived in Japan for 13 years, and even though she didn't act in Hollywood ever again, she did continue to act throughout her life in community theater. "The desire to act never leaves you," she said. She met her husband-to-be, and returned to the US, settling in New Jersey. Her marriage produced six wonderful children and she often said that her children were her greatest accomplishments. Susan attended our second TZ Convention in 2004, at which point she discussed with Herman Darvick the possibility of doing a TZ convention in the New York/New Jersey area. Herman organized it, and Susan of course was the first on the guest list. Although she lived 15 minutes away, she stayed at the hotel because she wanted to get the full Twilight Zone experience. I will never forget seeing her in the late hours of the evening, sitting with her fans along with Mary Badham and writer George Clayton Johnson, discussing the legacy of TZ, and the old days of TV and film. Susan's interests were many and varied. She loved popular music, and computer animation was one of her hobbies. She was soft-spoken and intelligent. When you talked to Susan, you could always tell that she genuinely cared - everyone was important to her. She was always appreciative of others' efforts. I will miss her, and will always be glad I knew her. Her parents, two sisters, six children and husband, and a legion of fans and friends, survive her. Please see her website for details on Susan's life and career.
Online Since 2002 * By Fans, For Fans.
Twilightzonemuseum.com is a non-profit website. We do not solicit donations, as that violates our purpose and mission and it's just downright cheezy (not to mention cheap!) However, every year since 2002, when this site debuted, we have had individuals and organizations sponsor the website for the costs of keeping it online - and thank you to our "media sponsor from Manhattan" for renewing their sponsorship through 2012 and also an auto firm who just recently (15 November, 2011) paid for most of our 2012 site hosting costs! Of course, the sponsors benefit from the ads and links placed within this website. For information about sponsorship and product placement opportunities, please email oceanave@usa.net
We often get inquiries from people regarding purchasing props and photos signed by T.Z. actors. Here's the scoop - there are no more! 'The Prop Man', Bill DeVoe, is no longer manufacturing them. I sold off nearly my entire inventory of TZ autographed photos and other items and will not be acquiring any more.
According to the epos systems the only items remaining are DVDs of the Stars of the Zone Convention Actor/Writer/Director panel discussions plus George Clayton Johnson's address at the VIP Dinner Celebration from 2002. In 2004 we did the same three panels with different actors/writers/directors, and there was a fourth panel of folks involved with "The New Twilight Zone" (from the 80s), led by Alan Brennert and including Harlan Ellison, Rockne O'Bannon, and others, and a FIFTH panel, a reading of "The Long Morrow", with Michael Dante and Kathy Garver starring in the parts played by Bob Lansing and Mariette Hartley in the original. The charge is $60 for all four of the 2002 panels ($6 shipping within USA) and the charge for the 2004 panels is also $60 (five for the price of four, plus $6 shipping within USA.) Purchasing both the panels of 2002 and 2004 is $110 (savings of $10, free shipping within USA.) Outside USA shipping - please inquire for cost. These are high quality Region 1 DVDs. Payment methods accepted are Paypal, cash, or USPS money order ONLY! If paying by Paypal, there is a surcharge of $6 if purchasing both sets, or $3 if purchasing only one set, due to Paypal's processing fees. Please email oceanave@usa.net to place your order or if you have further questions!
on Kindle now!!
This two-volume set of books contains the scripts of "The Chaser", "The Trouble With Templeton", "Dead Man's Shoes", "I Dream of Genie", "Long Distance Call", "The Incredible World of Horace Ford", "The Encounter", "What's In the Box", "Come Wander With Me", "Number 12 Looks Just Like You" (both the original and shooting scripts) plus "Dreamflight" by W.F. Nolan and G.C. Johnson, which was bought by Cayuga Productions but never produced. Also included is a story outline for "Pattern for Doomsday" by Charles Beaumont. The scripts, plus commentaries for each, written by me, are included. Order today on Amazon.com or directly thru my publisher, BearManor Media, Inc. These two books round out the other books of TZ scripts of principal writers Serling, Matheson, Johnson, Hamner, and Beaumont (11 of the 22 scripts he did have been published...and I'm trying to see if we can get the other 11 printed at long last), The scripts of Montgomery Pittman (3 of them), plus a few assorted ones by various 1-episode contributing writers, will hopefully be in print someday. "Why script books??" well, if you're a film/TV school student, or a researcher, or hardcore enthusiast, these scripts read very, very well. And you can see differences between what was conceived and what was actually filmed.
GENERAL COMMENT ABOUT DVDs: We're keeping our mouths most of the way shut about the new TZ Blu-Ray release. Just FYI, we are among those who do not recommend it. The folks at the "Production Company" botched it up badly by omitting a lot of things yet including other things that are clearly unnecessary and unwanted, instead (and as usual) focusing on getting the product out there so they can ca$h in on it. A number of people have written to or emailed them, with no response or even acknowledgement.
Our recommendation: Go to eBay, iOffer, Amazon, or any number of online outlets, and
just pick up a previous edition in regular format. You don't need the Blu-Rays. :-) The recession still isn't over; save your money when you can. So, even though you may see
some click-ads at the left, we here at The Twilight Zone Museum do not endorse or recommend you act upon them. Sorry, we really wish we could! :-(
from Betty White
Is there anyone more awesome on TV than Betty White? She's not only a gem of an actor but she'll always be known as the first lady of television.
I recently re-read Betty's second book, published in 1995, entitled "Here We Go Again." It was intended to be her last book; by that point, Betty had been in shobiz for nearly five decades and was preparing for the natural possibility of "succumbing to Hollywood ageism." Thank God it never happened!! She has another book out now, entitled "If You Ask Me...And Of Course, You Won't" which was just released (May 2011), which I haven't read. But in "Here We Go Again", she talks a lot about Rod Serling and his game show days. Without breaking copyright, I will mention a few of the fun facts here:
1. Rod had an Irish Setter dog named Mike. Serling liked the name Mike (for instance, Mike Ferris was the character's name in the pilot he wrote to sell the show, and which served as Episode 1!) Rod brought Mike to Betty White's show "The Pet Set" one time.
2. Rod was no good at ad-libbing, nor was he a host by trade. He needed a script. He was a writer, after all. Betty, who of course was a staple part of dozens of game shows for over three decades, was on Rod's game show "The Liar's Club." Whenever the stage manager would give Rod the cue that only 15-20 seconds remained before cut-off, it would be painful for him - and all he could do was break up in laughter over it, along with the guests on the show. In 1976, after Rod's death, "The Liars Club" came back for 3 more years and was hosted by Betty's husband Allen Ludden of "Password" fame. Betty says it was the funnest game to play of all.
3. Rod and his wife Carol would dine with Betty and Allen often (The Luddens lived in New York and Los Angeles as The Serlings did.) When they met in New York, they usually went to a mutually favorite restaurant, Johnny Sproat's The Bat Rack, which had magnificent hand-made bar stools. Apparently Rod - as well as the others - were interested in just about everything and their discussions weren't at all limited to TV. Rod didn't like what was happening to TV at that time but he had great faith in it and believed that it was trying to be better (which it was in those days.) Had he lived, TV might have been different. Of course it would've been. Although with the state TV is in nowadays, it's that much more painful to think of what could've been.
4. Betty predicted, "When and if the Superhighway becomes a reality, don't be surprised to find Rod Serling in a driver's seat." Not on a bar stool though! Although Rod hasn't quite occupied such a position, his spirit certainly has, in a way. Other people as wise as Betty White, who worked in the biz at the same time Rod did, were well aware of Rod's clairvoyancy, which presented itself multiple times in his writing on "Twilight Zone."
Death Valley and Olancha, CA - Fifty Years Later!
Paul Giammarco, lifelong TZ fan and authority on the series, made a National Geographic-style trek to capture footage of the exact filming locations of "The Lonely", "I Shot an Arrow Into the Air", "A Hundred Yards over the Rim", "The Little People", and "The Rip Van Winkle Caper" - fifty years later. Check out this amazing video. Too bad James A. Corry's cabin in "The Lonely" didn't have bar stools!
Rod Serling had a few favorites of the episodes he penned - "The Trade Ins" was one of his favorites. He never liked "Walking Distance" - I think he was one of the very few - but "A Stop at Willoughby" was another fave that he thought turned out much better than its predecessor. Jason Wingreen, who played the present-day Conductor - has always called it one of the highest points of his long career in TV and film ("Archie Bunker's Place", "Matlock", ad inf.) "I knew there was a very special quality about it when we were filming it," he said. 50 years hence, it remains as fresh and original...and ultimately saddening...as it was then. This photo was taken by Herman Darvick, and Jason Wingreen autographed it with a few of the Conductor's lines. The photo was taken in 2010 by Herman, with the intention of having Jason write the quote and sign it. A most unique and priceless item!
About This Site
The Twilight Zone Museum, this website, opened on 15 September, 2002, the month after the first Stars of the Zone Convention, the first ever "Twilight Zone" Convention, hosted by myself and Bill DeVoe in Hollywood, California. The website was opened because it was an attempt to complete the circle of "Twilight Zone" websites online at that time. The Twilight Zone Archives was and is online, and focused on the 'behind-the-scenes' aspect of the show (and now claims to be 'the #1 Twilight Zone website online, if for no other reason than its higher search engine listings.) As many of you remember, there was The Fifth Dimension, hosted by a fan from Texas. This was a wonderful site and for a long time was the most comprehensive one online. It was a treasure trove of information - coverage of each episode, and had numerous articles and information about virtually all of the things that sprang forth after Rod Serling created the show - movie connections, references in popular culture and on other TV shows and in films. I'm sure that guy spent into the tens of thousands of hours building it. There was also a very good message board there for a brief time in the late 1990s, [which still exists as The Twilight Zone Cafe, but only two or three folks from those early days remain active on the forum.] The site came online in 1996 and saw many transformations - including a name change from The Fifth Dimension to TheTZSite.com (after the band of the former name wanted the domain name for themselves.) There were also other assorted sites that filled in most of the gaps.
But the BIG gap had still not been filled. There was no real website that kept people informed of the current happenings related to the "The Twilight Zone." A convention had just been done, and like the show itself, had broken new ground and eventually spawned 4 more TZ conventions. Coverage of those events needed to be shared with the Twilight Zone public, especially those who could not attend. The actors - the people who really 'made' the show what it was, has been largely forgotten - they needed to be spotlighted again - and we found a good way to do it. They would be spotlighted in the form of their autographs. And luckily over the past decade, a very few of us got them to sign "Twilight Zone" production stills. Sure, they appeared in the episodes - but a personal signature on a piece of memorabilia makes it that much more valid. Not to mention, it makes for nice viewing, especially for those who know TZ really well. After all, "Twilight Zone" had some of the best casting in the history of television. And, those who recently departed Earth would be given a mini obituary. A decent, non-critical episode guide with an acceptable presentation was also in order. And if you look at the menu bar, you will see other things that are not to be found elsewhere, and we continue to add new stuff all the time. I suppose you could say that the Twilight Zone Museum attempts to provide what can't be found elsewhere. Material upcoming includes a page on Automobiles in the Twilight Zone, and TZ Studs n' Babes. Possibly!! One never knows.
TheTZSite.com eventually closed after being ordered to cease and desist; the website overstepped its bounds as far as copyright. Numerous audio files of dialogue and screen captures from each episode were included, as well as articles reprinted without permission, and CBS issued the webmaster with a cease and desist notice in mid 2004. Most of the sundry TZ websites have since fallen away too, but a few still remain. There were plans for a physical Twilight Zone Museum in Binghamton, NY, but they fell through for reasons unknown. I'm not exactly sure what they would have displayed, though. Not much still exists from the original show, and what does exist is in the hands of collectors and CBS, Inc.
So, there you have it. And this site will be online as long as humanly possible. We've been Serving Man for over seven years now! Figuratively. If you want literal, you'll need to talk to the Kanamits about it. They have the recipes.
This Week's TZ Flub!
From the opening shot of "Mr. Denton on Doomsday"...what are those radio towers doing there?!
From the opening shot of "Mr. Denton on Doomsday"...what are those radio towers doing there?!
Comments, suggestions, or questions? Feel free to contact us. Thanks for dropping past...and be sure to stay within The Zone!
