I never knew Rod Serling was born on Christmas Day 1924. He died much too soon in 1975 at the age of just 50 after a heart bypass operation. But what an amazing life he squeezed into that half century, creating and writing what is arguably TV's greatest sci-fi series, "The Twilight Zone."  

The show ran for years on CBS, but in all that time, there was only one Christmas episode. It was called "The Night Of The Meek" and it starred Art Carney as a drunk, down-on-his-luck department store Santa, who fate calls into becoming the real thing. It aired in 1960 and has been rerun ever since. 

He's generally considered one of the most important writers to ever grace the TV industry. So happy birthday to one of the true greats. His show will probably be watched for at least the next 100 years. 

If you have a VPN set to the U.S., you can watch this classic episode below.

Otherwise you can listen to it for free. Not sure how many remember The Twilight Zone was made into a series of radio shows that aired from 2002 to 2012, recreating all those famous scripts in audio only. Stacy Keach took on Serling's narrator role in all of them. That one is available to everyone free here. 

Rod Serling, Born on Christmas 100 Years Ago, Gave Us an Enduring Yuletide Gift