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The Twilight Zone Podcast

Roddy McDowall: An Actor's Life, with Samuel Garza Bernstein

The Twilight Zone Podcast

Tom Elliot

After Shows, Tv & Film, Tv Reviews

4.7 • 615 Ratings

🗓️ 3 May 2026

⏱️ 59 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Tom Elliot sits down with author Samuel Garza Bernstein to explore his new biography of Roddy McDowall—an actor whose career threaded through The Twilight Zone, Night Gallery, and of course the Planet of the Apes franchise.

Together, Tom and Samuel dig into McDowall’s remarkable life, his artistic discipline, his quiet influence in Hollywood, and the creative instincts that made him such a natural fit for the worlds of Serling and beyond.If you’ve ever been captivated by McDowall’s performances—or wondered about the man behind the roles—this is a conversation you won’t want to miss.

Check out Samuels website HERE
Order the book at Amazon US HERE
Order the book at Amazon UK HERE

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-twilight-zone-podcast--5856481/support.

Transcript

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0:00.0

There are any windows.

0:05.0

There are any windows anywhere.

0:08.0

Marcuson!

0:16.0

Marcoson! You were right!

0:20.0

You were right. Motherson, you are right!

0:23.6

You were right.

0:27.6

People are alike.

0:31.6

People are alike everywhere.

0:51.3

Consider a face that seems etched in a permanent state of youthful curiosity, yet carries the weight of a thousand lifetimes.

0:55.6

You have seen this face before, perhaps on a man desperate to escape the confines of a lunar zoo,

1:04.3

or maybe hidden beneath layers of a Simeon mask.

1:08.4

And you certainly heard him calling the name of his tortured butler, Portafoy.

1:15.5

The person I'm talking about is, of course, Roddy McDowell. And while his contribution to the

1:21.5

fifth dimension was brief a single haunting excursion into a cosmic cage, he holds the distinction of making an

1:30.8

indelible mark on the Holy Trinity of Rod Sailing Creations.

1:37.4

His career was a map of the sailing landscape, a journey that led him not only into the

1:43.3

twilight zone, but into the shadows of the

1:46.4

night gallery and onto the shores of Planet of the Apes.

1:51.7

But how much do we understand about the man behind the masks?

1:56.8

I recently sat down with Samuel Garza Bernstein, the author of an upcoming book, Roddy McDowell,

2:03.6

an actor's life, which chronicles the life and legacy of a man whose life was lived on the screen.

2:10.6

So submitted for your approval, my conversation with Samuel Garza Bernstein.

...

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