ROD SERLING WAS A LITTLE GUY!

I was watching a Jack Benny TV episode the other morning (at 4:30 AM, to be close to exact) in which Rod Serling was the special guest. The show was from 1962, the peak of Serling and 'The Twilight Zone's' fame and I was struck by a very odd thing. Serling was a little guy. I don't mean just diminutive but really small. Certainly Benny, no hulking giant himself, towered over him by what seemed to be almost a foot. I was genuinely perplexed by this as my image of Serling has always been of an authoritatively tall, suave and commanding presence. But then I realized that most of the TZ intros have him either seated (as above) or walking toward camera, emerging from  an indeterminate background space.

There is nothing wrong with being 5 foot 2 inches (Serling's incredibly short height--Benny, it turns out was a relatively weedy 5 foot 9)--Serling apparently boosted himself up to 5 foot 4 with the help of lifts. I am not attempting to body shame or mock the dead. I love Rod Serling, short or not. It's just that I didn't know he was so friggin' small! That's all. See below for the Jack Benny show appearance. Serling shows up nine minutes into the show.



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