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Robert J. Serling

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Robert J. Serling
BornJerome Robert Serling
(1918-03-28)March 28, 1918
Cortland, New York, U.S.
DiedMay 6, 2010(2010-05-06) (aged 92)
Tucson, Arizona, U.S.
Resting placeLake View Cemetery
Interlaken, New York, U.S.
OccupationNovelist, writer
GenreNon-fiction, historical fiction, aviation stories
Years active1945–2008[1]
Notable worksThe President's Plane Is Missing
Spouses
  • Patricia Huntley (m. 1949; div. 19??)[2]
  • Priscilla Arone
    ​
    ​
    (m. 1968; died 2000)​
  • Patricia Hoyer
    ​
    (m. 2002)​
    [3]
Children2
RelativesRod Serling (brother)

Robert Jerome Serling (born Jerome Robert Serling;[4] March 28, 1918 – May 6, 2010) was an American novelist and aviation writer.

Biography

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Born in Cortland, New York and raised in Binghamton, Serling graduated from Antioch College in 1942.[5] He "deplored the name Jerome" and swapped his first and middle names as a young man.[4] He was the older brother of screenwriter and The Twilight Zone creator Rod Serling.[6]

Serling became full-time aviation editor for United Press International in 1960. He wrote at least eight novels and sixteen books of nonfiction. His novel The President's Plane Is Missing was made into a 1973 made-for-TV film starring Buddy Ebsen. He received the 1988 Lauren D. Lyman Award "for distinguished achievement in the field of aviation and aerospace journalism."[7]

He had two children with his second wife, Priscilla Arone, a former Western Airlines stewardess. His daughter Jennifer is a veterinary technician.[4]

Serling died of pancreatic cancer on May 6, 2010, at age 92 in Tucson, Arizona. He is buried beside his second wife, Priscilla Arone Serling, brother Rod Serling, and sister-in-law Carol Serling at Lake View Cemetery in Interlaken, New York.[4][8][9][10][11]

Fiction

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Title Published ISBNs Notes
The Left Seat Doubleday, 1966 Paperback: Popular Library, 1966
The President's Plane Is Missing Doubleday, 1967 Paperback: Dell, 1968
She'll Never Get off the Ground Doubleday, 1971 Paperback: Dell, 1972
McDermott's Sky Laurel Group, 1977 0930392000, 9780930392000 Paperback: Pocket Books, 1980
Wings Dial Press, 1978 0803795920, 9780803795921 Paperback: New American Library, 1979
Stewardess St. Martin's, 1982 0312761937, 9780312761936 Paperback: New American Library, 1984
Air Force One Is Haunted St. Martin's, 1985 0312015348, 9780312015343 Sequel to The President's Plane Is Missing, again featuring President Haines
Something's Alive on the Titanic St. Martin's, 1990 031205159X, 9780312051594 Paperback: St. Martin's, 1993

Non-fiction

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Title Published ISBN Notes
The Probable Cause: The Truth About Air Travel Today Doubleday & Co., 1960 Library of Congress 60-15194 Paperback: Ballantine Books, 1964
The Electra Story Doubleday & Co., 1963 Library of Congress 63-7715 Paperback: Bantam Books, 1991
Loud and Clear: The Full Answer to Aviation's Vital Question – Are the Jets Really Safe? Doubleday & Co., 1969 Paperback: Dell, 1970
Birth of an Industry: A Nostalgic Collection of Airline Schedules for the Years 1929 to 1939 (in facsimile) R. H. Donnelly, 1969
Ceiling Unlimited: The Story of North Central Airlines Walsworth Publishing, 1973 LCCN 73090730
Little Giant: The Story of Gates LearJet Serling, 1974
Maverick: The Story of Robert Six and Continental Airlines Doubleday & Co., 1974 0385040571, 9780385040570
The Only Way to Fly: The Story of Western Airlines, America's Senior Air Carrier Doubleday & Co., 1976 0385013426, 9780385013420
The Jet Age Time-Life Books, 1978 9780809433636, 9780809433629 Series: "The Epic of Flight"
From the Captain to the Colonel: An Informal History of Eastern Airlines Dial Press, 1980 0803746105, 9780803746107
Howard Hughes' Airline: An Informal History of TWA St. Martin's Press, 1983 0312396317, 9780312396312
Eagle: The Story of American Airlines St. Martin's Press, 1985 0312224532, 9780312224530
Countdown: An Autobiography Silver Arrow, 1988 0-688-07929-6, 9780688079291 co-authored with Frank Borman
Legend and Legacy: The Story of Boeing and Its People St. Martin's Press, 1992 031205890X 9780312058906
When the Airlines Went to War Kensington Books, 1997 1575662469, 9781575662466
Steel Rails and Silver Wings: The Lindbergh Line to the Birth of TWA Weekend Chief Pub., 2006 0961281499, 9780961281496 co-authored with George H. Foster
Character and Characters: The Spirit of Alaska Airlines Documentary Media, 2008 9781933245119

Career

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  • Was a United Press International, Washington, DC, reporter and manager of Radio News Division, 1945–60, aviation editor, 1960–66; air safety lecturer and consultant, beginning 1966.
  • Received numerous honors of his work throughout his career: Trans-World Airlines, seven awards, 1958–65, for aviation news reporting, Strebig-Dobben Memorial Award, 1960; special citations from Sherman Fairchild Foundation, 1963, Flight Safety Foundation, 1970, and Airline Pilots Association, 1970; Aviation/Space Writers Association, James Trebig Memorial Award, 1964, special citation, 1967, award in fiction, 1966, for The Left Seat, and in nonfiction, 1969, for Loud and Clear.
  • Collected commercial airline models (more than four hundred during his life) and material on aviation research.
  • Member of the Society of Air Safety Investigators and the Aviation/Space Writers Association
  • Brother Rod Serling hired him as a technical consultant (for which he received on-screen credit) for the airplane sequences in the episode "The Odyssey of Flight 33" of his hit TV-show The Twilight Zone. Robert Serling also received advisor or researcher credits on two other Rod Serling scripts: one each for scripts penned for Studio One and Playhouse 90.
  • Something's Alive on the Titanic and The President's Plane Is Missing and ‘’Air Force One is Haunted’’ are fantasy novels set in real life high-profile backdrops.
  • Was a reporter for the Washington Redskins. Travelled with the team and roomed with quarterback Eddie LeBaron.
  • He was a very devout conservative Republican, in contrast to his brother’s liberal Democratic stance.
  • Authored the short story "Ghost Writer" published in Twilight Zone: 19 Original Stories on the 50th Anniversary.
  • In 2008, was featured speaker at the 32nd annual Airliners International collectibles show and convention in Dallas, Texas.[12]

References

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  1. ^ Dennis McLellan (May 20, 2010). "Robert J. Serling dies at 92; one of the nation's top aviation writers". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 6, 2020.
  2. ^ Los Angeles Times, Robert J. Serling dies at 92; one of the nation’s top aviation writers by Dennis McClellan, May 20, 2010, Retrieved Sep. 4, 2019.
  3. ^ The Washington Post, Robert Serling (obituary), May 12, 2010, Retrieved Sep. 4, 2019.
  4. ^ a b c d Fox, Margalit (May 18, 2010). "Robert J. Serling, Aviation Writer, Dies at 92". The New York Times. Retrieved June 1, 2018.
  5. ^ "Robert J. Serling Obituary (2010) the Seattle Times". Legacy.com.
  6. ^ Henry, Bonny (September 24, 2006). "Love of aviation led to seven-decade writing career". Associated Press Newswires.
  7. ^ "Robert Serling to receive 1988 Lauren D. Lyman Award". Aviation Daily. Vol. 295, no. 3. January 5, 1989.
  8. ^ Find-A-Grave, Robert Jerome Serling, Retrieved Sep. 4, 2019.
  9. ^ Find-A-Grave, Priscilla Elane Arone Serling, Retrieved Sep. 4, 2019.
  10. ^ Geni, Robert Jerome Serling (1918–2010), managed by Jennifer Serling, May 24, 2018, Retrieved Sep. 4, 2019.
  11. ^ Find-A-Grave, Carolyn Louise (Kramer) Serling, Retrieved Mar. 20, 2020.
  12. ^ "Welcome to Our 42nd Convention Celebration! Here are some of the details we have gleaned from the Airliners International Archives". Airliners International. Retrieved March 15, 2018.
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