This Twilight Zone Actress Said She “Never Forgot” Serling’s High Praise

I often focus on the writing behind The Twilight Zone, and for a good reason: It’s the blueprint, the spine … in many ways the heart and soul of stories that resonate deeply with so many of us.

But a script can’t come alive without directors, actors and other crew members ⁠— and Serling attracted the best. I’ve highlighted some of TZ’s directors and big stars, but today I’d like to feature a lesser-known actress, one who took a single scene in the Season 1 favorite “The Four of Us Are Dying” and really made it her own.

The story concerns a man named Arch Hammer with a unique talent: he can change his face to look like anyone else. All he has to do is concentrate for a few seconds on how that person looks, and voila, he’s transformed into an exact duplicate.

This being the fifth dimension, Hammer has decided to use this skill for personal gain, no matter who else gets hurt. Part one of his scheme is turning himself into a dead ringer of a dead musician: Johnny Foster. That way he can reconnect with Johnny’s grieving girlfriend and make plans to run away with her after he has (unbeknownst to her) impersonated a slain gangster and stolen a lot of money.