We’re Getting Closer to Having a Statue of Rod Serling in His Hometown — and You Can Help

What does Rod Serling mean to you?

Perhaps you’re a writer who finds his work inspiring. In fact, you may have even started writing in the first place because of Rod Serling. A lot of people who follow my Serling Twitter page tell me that.

Maybe you’re an actor or a producer whose imagination was sparked by The Twilight Zone, and your career path was lighted years ago by the man who penned such classics as “The Midnight Sun,” “Eye of the Beholder,” and “The Monsters are Due on Maple Street,” to name only a few of his many beloved scripts.

Or, like so many others, you simply enjoy science fiction and fantasy, and you can trace your love of the genre back to watching the Zone.

Whatever your particular circumstances, we share that bond: a love of Serling’s work, and a deep and abiding respect and admiration for the man himself. So let me ask you: Do you think he deserves to have a statue dedicated to him in his hometown of Binghamton, NY, home of the carousel that we see in “Walking Distance”?

I’m sure every Serling fan would agree that he merits such an honor. Well, I’m glad to say an effort to get such a statue made is underway now — and you can help.

Yep, I’m talking money. “But wait,” you may say. “I’m not rich.” Join the club! The good news is, you don’t have to contribute a lot to make a difference. Any amount will do.

Is your love of Serling and his work worth $5? $10 $20? At least that much, I’m sure.

And if you find yourself able to give a little more, you can get some cool merchandise. For example, $50 contributed to this Kickstarter gets you your choice of a commemorative t-shirt or a 2024 calendar being produced for the Rod Serling Memorial Foundation. $80 gets you both. $200 gets you the the t-shirt and a 4″ x 8″ brick you can personally inscribe for the base of the statue. And so on.

Those who can give even more can get a larger brick, a three-pound Rod Serling bust, or some combination of the prizes I’ve already mentioned. Check rodserlingmonument.com and click “back this project” for a full list of prizes and the amounts needed to get them.

If you can give a large donation, that’s fantastic. Please do! But if a smaller amount is all you can do for now, don’t hesitate to give. And one thing free thing we can all do? Spread the word. Get the link and this appeal out on social media — and do it today.

Why the urgency? Because it’s a Kickstarter project. This is a crowd-funded effort, and the clock is ticking. If the project doesn’t reach its goal of $35,000 by April 3, it won’t happen.

Fortunately, just under $20,000 has been collected as I write this. Another $15,000 is all we need. But time is short. We need to give ASAP, and encourage others to do so as well.

“Rod Serling had a real connection to Binghamton,” Foundation President Nick Parisi told me when this campaign first started in 2021. “Yet there’s no real tribute to him in his hometown.” This project is designed to fix that oversight.

Think about it. If every Serling fan kicked in just $5, we’d have this thing funded in no time. So please, go to rodserlingmonument.com, and give what you can. You can honor Rod Serling by helping fund a permanent marker to this great man — and ensure that his legacy lives on for many more generations of fans.

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Hope to see you in some corner of the fifth dimension soon!