8 Stars From Broadway’s Golden Age in This New Year’s Twilight Zone Marathon
Long before Law & Order became the “it” show for guest-starring theater actors, there was The Twilight Zone, Rod Serling’s spooky black-and-white serial that ran on CBS from 1959 to 1964. Since then, this psychological thriller has become the go-to program for holiday marathons on the Syfy network, specifically New Year’s Eve. If you’re a Broadway fan watching this year, keep an eye out for these stars, who, once upon a time, trod the boards before (or after) crossing over into [dramatic pause] The Twilight Zone.
Note: Times below are Eastern Standard. The marathon begins at 8am on Saturday, December 30.
(© Tricia Baron)
1. Carol Burnett
Episode: “Cavendar Is Coming”
When to Watch: 4:10pm on December 31
Original Airdate: May 25, 1962
Burnett plays the down-on-her-luck Agnes Grep, a woman who is sent a guardian angel to show her how lucky she truly is. Prior to her appearance on The Twilight Zone, Burnett had made a splash on Broadway, originating the role of Winnifred in Once Upon a Mattress in 1959, receiving a Tony nomination. After her appearance, Burnett earned worldwide fame, and a shelfful of Emmys with her own sketch comedy show, which ran from 1967 to 78. Her most recent appearance on Broadway came in A.R. Gurney’s Love Letters in 2014, but she’s currently advocating for the Shubert Organization to rename the Majestic Theatre after her longtime friend and colleague, Harold Prince.
(© Joseph Marzullo)
2. Lois Nettleton
Episode: “The Midnight Sun”
When to Watch: 11:35am on December 31
Original Airdate: November 17, 1961
The earth changed its orbit and the planet is moving closer and closer to the sun. Nettleton plays Norma, a prolific artist who has not yet fled to warmer climates. On Broadway, Nettleton made her debut in 1949 in The Biggest Thief in Town using the stage name Lydia Scott. A 1976 Tony nominee for They Knew What They Wanted, she made a total of nine appearances on Broadway from 1949 to ’79, and made her final stage appearance in 2004 in the off-Broadway play How to Build a Better Tulip. She died in 2008.
(© Joseph Marzullo)
3. Robert Redford
Episode: “Nothing in the Dark”
When to Watch: 5:30am on January 1
Original Airdate: January 5, 1962
Redford stars as Harold Beldon, an injured police officer requiring the help of a woman who refuses to open her door, out of fear that death is on the other side of it. At the time of airing, Redford had appeared on Broadway in Tall Story, The Highest Tree, Little Moon of Alban, and Sunday in New York. He played his last and most famous Broadway role, as Paul in Neil Simon’s Barefoot in the Park, in 1963. He later went on to gain international fame in films like The Sting and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.
(© Joseph Marzullo)
4. Fritz Weaver
Episode: “The Obsolete Man”
When to Watch: 9am on December 31
Original Airdate: June 2, 1961
In The Obsolete Man, Weaver plays the Chancellor, a state leader who must determine which human beings to keep alive, and which are no longer necessary. Weaver amassed 21 Broadway credits over the course of his career, starting in 1955 with The Chalk Garden. He received a Tony Award in 1970 for Child’s Play and made his final stage appearance in the Atlantic Theater Company’s 2006 production of The Voysey Inheritance. He died in 2016.
(© Joseph Marzullo)
5. Cliff Robertson
Episode: “The Dummy”
When to Watch: 3:45pm on December 31
Original Airdate: May 4, 1962
In this creepy outing, Robertson stars as an alcoholic ventriloquist who is convinced his dummy is actually coming to life. Robertson would go on to win an Oscar for Charly (based on Flowers for Algernon) in 1968. Prior to that, he performed on Broadway in the original 1957 production of Tennessee Williams’s Orpheus Descending and also served as a replacement in the 1990 original production of A.R. Gurney’s Love Letters, opposite Elaine Stritch.
(© David Gordon
6. George Takei
Episode: “The Encounter”
When to Watch: 12:30am on January 1
Original Airdate: May 1, 1964
The Encounter finds a young Japanese-American gardener butting heads with a bigoted World War II vet over a katana sword the latter stole off a Japanese solider he killed 20 years earlier. Unaired in syndication for nearly 50 years due to racist and anti-Asian overtones, this episode was an early, pre-Star Trek role for Takei, who was forced into an internment camp during the war, an experience he would go on to explore in the Broadway musical Allegiance.
(© handout image)
7. Mary Badham
Episode: “The Bewitchin’ Pool”
When to Watch: 2:10am on January 1
Original Airdate: June 19, 1964
Mary Badham was 12 in this episode, and two years past being nominated for an Oscar for her performance as Scout in the film To Kill a Mockingbird. Her voice, however, only appears in indoor scenes — after the initial edit revealed too much background noise in the outdoor scenes, her performance was dubbed by actor June Foray. Decades later, Badham appears on the national tour of To Kill a Mockingbird, playing racist neighbor Mrs. Dubose.
(© Tristan Fuge)
8. Theodore Bikel
Episode: “Four o’Clock”
When to Watch: 12pm on January 1
Original Airdate: April 6, 1962
Bikel plays a paranoid fanatic who believes that at 4pm, he will shrink all of the evil people in the world so they’re two feet tall. On Broadway, Bikel was already a star, having originated the role of Captain Georg von Trapp in The Sound of Music in 1959 and received a Tony nomination for his work. His most famous role came in 1967, when he made his first appearance as Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof, a character he would play for more than 2,000 performances in various productions through his death in 2015.
