Rodman `` Rod '' Serling ( December 25 , 1924 â `` June 28 , 1975 ) was American screenwriter , radio and television narrator and producer . Rodman `` Rod '' Edward Serling ( December 25 , 1924 â `` June 28 , 1975 ) was an American screenwriter , novelist , television producer , and narrator best known for his live television dramas of the 1950s and his science fiction anthology TV series , The Twilight Zone .