Gene Roddenberry Eulogizes the “Irreplaceable” Rod Serling
On July 7, 1975, a memorial service was held for Rod Serling. Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry eulogized him this way:
“The fact that Rod Serling was a uniquely talented writer with extraordinary imagination is not our real loss. These merely describe his tools and the level of his skill. Our loss is the man, the intelligence and the conscience that used these things for us.
“No one could know Serling, or view or read his work, without recognizing his deep affection for humanity, his sympathetically enthusiastic curiosity about us, and his determination to enlarge our horizons by giving us a better understanding of ourselves.
“He dreamed of much for us, and demanded much of himself, perhaps more than was possible for either in this time and place. But it is that quality of dreams and demands that makes the ones like Rod Serling rare … and always irreplaceable.”
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Posted on 07/07/2015, in Rod Serling and tagged Gene Roddenberry, Rod Serling. Bookmark the permalink. 6 Comments.
Shadow & Substance 
Reblogged this on Televixen: When 140 characters just isn't enough and commented:
This is so cool! When I met Rod Serling’s daughter I asked her if she knew if her Dad was friends with Gene Roddenberry. When she said he wrote his eulogy, I told her I was friend’s with Gene’s son, Rod. They were such contemporaries, how could they not have high regard for one another and each other’s work?
Thanks, Mary! I’m glad you liked the post. You’re so right — how could they NOT like each other’s work? Serling was very complimentary toward Star Trek as well. We can be grateful that they both gave us such memorable and enduring work.
Great post. Paul. I always liked both shows for they way they addressed the human condition and attacked contemporary issues in a way that both diffused the anger of the day and provoked our thoughts. They both had a gift for that.
Is that a new banner image? I like it.
That’s a beautiful eulogy.
Isn’t it? It’s clear Gene was as much of a fan as the rest of us.
I remember reading a quote by one of Rod’s admirers after his death: “Five feet four inches of the best writer this town (Hollywood) has ever seen has died”…but I don’t remember who wrote it.