The Real Life Murders and Suicides Of 'The Twilight Zone'
TZ Stars Albert Salmi & Gig Young Both Killed Their Wives & Took Their Own Lives
It is the middle ground between light and shadow, between science and superstition, and it lies between the pit of man's fears and the summit of his knowledge. This is the dimension of imagination. It is an area which we call the Twilight Zone. - Rod Serling’s Opening Narration
The Twilight Zone terrifies as a truly dark place and often one of extreme nightmares. Creator Rod Serling crafted a timeless dreamscape where anything unimaginable can happen, and TZ fans know it usually does. Dark sci-fi, horror, fantasy - they’re all to be found here.
One of the priceless additional joys of the program is seeing the big performers, many of them household names, guest star in the tremendously complex anthology TV series. Legends such as Carol Burnett, Jack Klugman, Buster Keaton, Robert Duvall and Robert Redford impress as just a handful of sizzling celebrities who’ve taken a shortcut right smack into wild Zone weirdness.
Yet of all the fantastic fiction portrayed in the ever fanciful TZ, real life murders figure into a connection between two prominent guest stars just as eerie as any TV episode.
Sadly, and weirdly coincidentally, two big name Twilight Zone guest stars - one an Oscar Winner - not only murdered their wives, but then also took their own lives with firearms. Albert Salmi and Gig Young both gave memorable performances in Rod Serling’s dreamy television opus, then in real life, they ended things for themselves and for their spouse in what can only be called a true nightmare.
The Zone Tone
Rod Serling is on record saying he wanted his Twilight Zone to be expertly crafted, short feature films. No fan would argue that he didn’t succeed. It’s basically what we got in this fantastic show. I’m such a fan, I’ve not only written dozens of articles covering it, but pitched a book to a New York publisher centered around Zone’s unique charms.
Overall, Twilight Zone often deals in twisted little terrors. The stories involve mostly seemingly normal, unsuspecting people caught up in the most outlandish situations. Here are just a few choice moments from the show.
It’s a cookbook - To Serve Man! There’s something out on the wing of the plane! Nightmare at 20,000 Feet. Little lost girl - she disappeared into the wall itself!
Yes, these episodes serve us as filmed nightmares. An invading alien race, masquerading as benevolent helpers, serve us up on their buffet table. William Shatner, future Starship Captain on a rain soaked night flight, sees real gremlins on the wing of his plane. A couple lose their little girl, not to a home invading kidnapper, but to a hellish kind of dimensional hole right in the wall of their daughter’s bedroom.
TZ also dealt in tamer stories, and with legendary comic Carol Burnett and Buster Keaton, it served up some incredible comedy as well.
Albert Salmi
Albert Salmi appeared in two classic Twilight Zone episodes. The first, Execution, from the first season aired in 1960. Salmi plays a ruthless murderer who’s just about to be hung when a scientist beams his time travel ray to snatch him from the hangman’s noose and transport him to the modern times of 1960.
From the New York Times article on Salmi’s death and his wife, Roberta Salmi:
Albert Salmi, an actor who made a career of portraying cowboys in television westerns like ''Gunsmoke,'' and his wife, Roberta, were found shot to death in an apparent murder-suicide, the police said today.
Mr. Salmi apparently shot his wife and then killed himself, said a police spokesman, Lieut. Robert Van Leuven. Mr. Salmi was 62 years old; his wife was 55.
A friend who had gone to check on Mrs. Salmi on Monday night peered through a window and saw her body, the police said. Officers forced their way into the house and found her dead on the kitchen floor. Mr. Salmi's body was found in an upstairs den. The police also found two guns that they believe were used late Saturday night or early Sunday.
Police said that the couple had been separated and that Mrs. Salmi had been living in the house alone.
Execution is known for being one of TZ’s darker, more violent time travel episodes. It co-stars Russell Johnson, perhaps best known for his role as the Professor on the wacky sitcom Gilligan’s Island. Ultimately, Salmi’s character is served up deadly justice, though delayed by 80 years.
Salmi later appeared in one of TZ’s hour long episodes from the show’s fourth season. The memorable installment, Of Late I Think Of Cliffordville, also guest stars Julie Newmar, slinky Catwoman from classic TV’s Batman with Adam West, playing a seductive devil to tempt Salmi’s character to sell his soul for a deceptive trip back in time.
Gig Young
Gig Young appeared in one TZ episode, Walking Distance, from the first season, which aired in 1959. Young plays an overworked executive who longs for the simplicity of his childhood home and existence. He gets that courtesy of a trip back in time, but comes to realize that the old saying, You can’t go home again, is all too true.
Young became such a respected and accomplished actor, he won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his performance in the feature film, They Shoot Horses Don’t They? co starring Jane Fonda.
From The National Enquirer on Gig Young’s death and the murder of his wife, Kim Schmidt, dated 2015:
Young was riding high after a lifetime of reaching for super-stardom when he won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor in 1968 for “They Shoot Horses Don’t They?” role as Rocky, the dance marathon M.C. Yet, within ten years, in a haze of booze and tranquilizers, and in spite of a hot young wife, the 64 year-old veteran thesp took matters into his own hands – spewing bloody headlines worldwide.
On the afternoon of October 19, 1978 in Young’s luxurious Manhattan apartment, Young pointed a .38 caliber snub-revolver at the back of his new wife Kim Schmidt’s head. He pulled the trigger. She died instantly. Then he stuck the gun in his mouth and sent the fatal bullet blasting through his brain.
Young endured the emotional stress and frustration of five failed marriages, including one to well known and beloved actress Elizabeth Montgomery of TV’s Bewitched fame. He also had severe bouts with alcoholism, as is illustrated in this quote from the same National Enquirer article.
“Drinking became more of a problem,’ Steiner told The ENQUIRER. “There were four week bouts with booze and pills and that made producers wary. It kept ruining his chances.”
Rod Serling’s classic The Twilight Zone dazzles us with complex narrative twists and turns, and in many cases it deals quite maturely with death, dying and murder. There are more than a handful of episodes which genuinely chill us. Gig Young and Albert Salmi were two actors who never quite became household names, though they boasted Hollywood acting resumes which most performers would be envious to possess. That the two are eerily connected with one of the most surreal shows in television history only heightens the legendary Twilight Zone’s phantasmagoric reputation.
So sad.