What Happened to the Rod Serling's Night Gallery Paintings?
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 30 มี.ค. 2024
- What happened to the Night Gallery paintings? Night Gallery co-author Jim Benson reveals the strange and sometimes sad fate of these classic, and valuable, TV artifacts.
The fate of the Night Gallery paintings has always been shrouded in mystery--until now!
Artist Tom Wright created over 100 paintings for the classic horror TV series, Rod Serling’s Night Gallery. When Rod Serling's Night Gallery aired on NBC from 1970 to 1973, Mr. Wright's paintings became a nationwide phenomenon, ultimately becoming rare and much sought-after works of art.
Tom Wright’s paintings for Night Gallery, Serling's follow-up to his classic TV series The Twilight Zone, served as a visual springboard for Rod Serling’s distinctive narrations and were truly the show's soul.
After creating Night Gallery’s frightening canvases, Tom Wright became one of Hollywood’s top television directors, notably on the hit TV series NCIS. - บันเทิง
As a kid I thought the paintings were scarier than the show itself. I thought the music was scarier than the show, too. The show was both scary and fun.
That theme music was the best! Sometimes the music outshines the show, like Mod Squad or Ironsides.
@@solitaryman777And now no tv shows have theme music. Sad.
Agreed completely.
I agree entirely. There’s a VERY spooky video with creepy music on the background and it shows all the paintings! look it up! Just don’t do it at night. lol
I wondered what happened with the paintings! This show was before my time only meaning I didn’t get to watch them when they originally premiered! But I love this show just like kolchak!! For both series on DVD! Night Gallery opening theme music has to be the most unnerving and unsettling of all time!!it was scary, some segments were quirky! Sci-fi, suspense. Too many BEST segments to pick! My time is almost up! Now I’m looking for that coffee table book!
Some of these paintings may be lost forever, but they continue reside in my nightmares ever since I first saw them as a kid in the early 1970s.
Me too!!!
Night Gallery was a Friday night fright treat as a young kid in the 70s. 😄
Unimportant.
Sometimes the paintings were scarier than the show.
Exactly! The opening credits scared the *bejeezus* out of me as a kid. I loved the show but I’d frequently hide behind a pillow until the credits were over. Great music, too.
Great show. As a little kid it scared the hell out of me. The Roddy McDowell episode showing a corpse coming out of a grave painting comes to mind.
That one scared the crap out of me too and was my favorite!
That's "The Cemetery," painted by Jaroslav Gebr, for the 1969 Night Gallery pilot movie. Fortunately, that painting still exists.
Portifoy
That was the one that scared ME the most, too!
I spent a many Sunday night 🌙 hiding under the cover thanks to this show. Lol. Wasn't funny then.
My family would watch this show all the time. My father once asked me if one of those artists would do a portrait of our family and I told him that the painting would have ended up on the show! I was grounded for a week for making that comment.
😆
In my family if someone had said that, the comment back was would have been. yeah, probably.. LOL
😂😂
😂😂😂😂😂 that's cute
Early 70's horror is my personal favorite. Night Gallery is a great example of that era's aesthetic.
Legend of Hell House with Roddy McDowell.
Great movie of that era.
The early 1970s was a bit of a renaissance for classic-style horror, both in films and TV. It faded quickly, to be replaced by slasher-themed horror in the 1980s.
As a young teen I had just gotten the black and white TV put in my bedroom that family used when they got a new one. I had so much fun watching all these scary shows without parental discretion, lol. Night Gallery has to be just about my favorite. So scary!
Trilogy of Terror comes to mind.
Kolchak: The Night Stalker
The paintings just ADDED to the creepiness of the stories. Some of the stories can still scare me today.
Agreed!
Being 12 when it came on late at night. Great childhood
It's amazing one painter could create such works of art on demand in a short period of time.
Lmfao..i use to paint three 4x6 paintings in one morning..while.watching tv...ibwould make about 100 of each one..in thr afternoon I would paid t about 40 to 50 water colors...then I would do one show..i would sell out first day..one time before the event started..so it's not impossible at all.
@@sislertxI'm trying very hard..... But nothing you wrote there makes sense.
A 4x6 canvas?
Wait.... Watercolors? That doesn't use canvas....
What do you mean you'd make a hundred in the afternoon?? Paintings? Dollars??
Is this painting or screen printing?
I showed this to my artist friends (I'm a writer, not a painter).... But they couldn't make sense of it all either. 😶
@@sislertxat that rate yours probably weren't that great.
Pay me and I could paint you some great works of surreal horror post haste.
@@sislertx No way you did that many in one afternoon. Not any that were any good.
As a kid, I loved this show....it was the best of television times: miss those shows (Twilight Zone, Outer Limits, Night Gallery, etc).....
Another good one was Tales of the Dark Side.
Bowling for Dollars... and The Dark Shadows... No, seriously, I watched ALL of the TZ, and OL episodes. And then the Night Gallery as well. Great times.
Agreed. Even Circle of Fear was often better than it's often credited as being
40 odd years ago ... I was at one of the SCENE DOCKS at Universal and there were some of the paintings. I remember thinking how cool it was to see these as NIGHT GALLERY was one of my favorite shows as a kid.
D.A.
The main reason I watched this series when I was a kid was for the paintings. They were thrilling for a country kid who didn't get to see a lot of TV.❤
I watched this show as a child and it terrified me then and I still cannot watch certain episodes to this day. Absolutely terrifying - especially after the show ended and you had to go to bed!
Yep! I'll never forget the one about the mean father, who made his son kill a deer or he wouldn't get his inheritance. The father's head ended up on the wall as a trophy. Scared the HELL outta me.
@@klvr5863The horrific, "The Caterpillar."
Still remember the final words of the episode The Caterpillar...it was a female,Mr.Macy,.. they lay eggs...got it on disc.. they are old but they still work.
I liked the one with the Nazi war criminal dreaming of going into the fisherman on the lake painting and getting a surprise at the end! Thanks for the great trivia videos!
Exactly what I said. I gave away the ending because I haven’t been able to find the show.
You're welcome!
This is the one painting I remember well.
That episode stays with me to this day. It's definitely a childhood memory for me.
That was poetic justice.
I lose it laughing when I spot a painting on a Universal series set. "Ask him about his art dealer, Columbo!"
Night Gallery's paintings stood out thanks to Tom Wright, a versatile artist. I wouldn't mind displaying one of these paintings at home.
😊🖌️🎨
Agreed!
That theme song still gives me chills!!!!
By the great composer Gil Melle'. Night Gallery was the first electronic score ever composed for a television series.
Me too!😳 My scary childhood memories.
The original one from the pilot is what does that for me! More so than the other theme that followed!
As does me.
Thank you for doing this video. I was always fascinated by the Night Gallery paintings but didn't know anything about them. Id love to own one.
You're welcome! I'd love to own one as well, but they're a bit out of my price range. :-)
I loved the paintings of the guy crawling out of his grave and slowly coming up to the house. I think Roddy McDowell was in that episode.
That was "The Cemetery," from the Night Gallery pilot movie.
Portifoy....
@@helbitkelbit1790 LOL! yes
I never guessed all those, so different paintings, were done by one person.
I got an artist friend of mine to paint me two of the paintings. He did an amazing job! They’re still proudly hanging in my home today.
can I ask which paintings you had reproduced? 'Lone Survivor' is one that I remember, great painting.
@@jornfox3545 that’s a great one! I had him paint me “The Nature of the Enemy” and “Midnight Never Ends”. The latter ended up being my favorite, not only because it’s one of my top episodes but also because it’s like a tribute to Rod.
@@completesentences2125 i think it's great that you had those paintings reproduced, but as an artist myself would not want anyone to paint a duplicate of my work, but in this case what can you do. Too bad you couldn't have gone directly to Tom Wright !
I had two of these paintings, in my possession, and sold them through an auction house about 14 years ago. Still wish I had them.
Which ones did you own?
Rod Serling and Mr Wright are one of a kind! Thank you
You're welcome!
How can 2people be one of a kind?
@@cliffordbowman6777 who is equal to Mr Serling and who is equal to Mr Wright? In the context of this show?
I saw a smaller exhibition of these works at the actual Creature Features shop in North Hollywood a year or so prior. Loved it so much I went through twice. They hired my buddy, Brett Butler, to walk around doing his impersonation of Rod Serling. It was pretty great.
When Universal Studios began their tram tours in the 1970s the trams actually drove through a (cordoned off) section of Uni's Prop House. Several of the Night Gallery paintings were prominently hung for riders to view. Even as late as the 1990's several of the paintings were owned by various prop houses in the L.A. area.
I remember seeing the statue of Bill Bixby from Last Rights Of A Dead Druid in there.
Great show! We certainly don't have shows like this anymore. 😮😮😮
The artist was a genius! Sunday nights, 10 pm. I had to sneak watching it since it was a school night(junior high). Now, I bought the series on DVD.
Agree. Tom Wright is amazing!
I have always wondered about this.
I loved Night Gallery..more even than the Twilight Zone..
It used to come on at 9 p.m. and just the sound of the theme music would send a chill down my spine.
Same! However, I always get angry looks when I admit that I like _Night Gallery_ better than _The Twilight Zone_ 😄. As I mentioned in another post, it was my introduction to H.P. Lovecraft and I will forever be grateful for that.
Night Gallery was a turbocharged Twilight Zone. As great as TZ was, it had some clunkers. NG was darker and waaay more intense
I was in elementary school and this show would air around midnight and just the show's intro, would just freak me out?!!
As a little kid the paintings scares the crap out of me
Me too. The stores were terrifying as well.
Seen from our vantage point 50 years later, it's astonishing that the studio took such a cavalier attitude toward the paintings, which were more involved and creative than most "props." Probably the notion of collector's items was much less developed then, or things tended to get lost in the scale and cost of TV productions - but it's a shame the whole collection wasn't preserved in some way. There would be plenty of people willing to visit that exhibition today! Tom Wright's work is amazing for the insight he showed, how it fit in perfectly with the show, the speed at which he painted, and the genre diversity he achieved. Great work! Interesting video!
As mentioned in the video, certain individuals, such as Sylvester Stallone, appreciated and valued the paintings. However, as a previous poster pointed out, after the studio changed hands a number of times, the system to keep track of props fell by the wayside. The paintings then became vulnerable to ignorance, apathy, and opportunists.
I'm pleased to find that one of my personal favorites, "A Question of Fear," is among the works that were spared.
Agreed! Great painting and great episode.
“Spectre in Tap Shoes” was the painting that captured my attention as a child, and I was so thrilled to see it survived the purge.
Oh, how I miss the television shows of those years. So many Westerns, variety shows, talent shows, comedies, detective series and quiz shows. We would actually hurry up to finish our supper and get the dishes washed so we could all take our special spot in the living room to watch our favorite sitcoms or action series. Many times we would fall asleep and miss the conclusion of a show but could see it when the season reruns would be televised. I miss those times.
Creating a painting is hard enough...creating a show referencing that painting is at another level. 😱
Great video-thanks! I was a kid when _Night Gallery_ first aired and absolutely loved it. It also broadened my tastes in science fiction and fantasy. I was one of those weird kids who always read the credits of the shows I watched. I noticed more than once that the screenplay was based on a short story by H.P. Lovecraft, who I had never heard of before. So, I went to the library and checked out several of his titles and got hooked on his works.
You're welcome! Yes, two Night Gallery episodes were based on H.P. Lovecraft short stories: "Cool Air," and "Pickman's Model."
go watch "From Beyond" a movie from the makers of " reanimator".
@@thetvtimemachine Ohh, "Cool Air" was my favorite! So creepy!! I still think of the ending sometimes and it's still frightening.
Rod Serling has always been one of my favorite people. I heard he didn't really want to host Night Gallery but bless him, his introductions were so cool! Talented writer and good looking man too.🥺🥰
Rod Serling soured on Night Gallery only toward the end of the show's run, after the network began creatively interfering with the series. Serling had a much better experience on The Twilight Zone, however, Rod Serling made a significant impact on Night Gallery, writing over one-third of the show's stories.
I will NEVER forget the night I watched the Night Gallery Episode entitled "THE CEMETARY " because when the painting CAME TO LIFE it freaked me out so much that I couldn't sleep. I was four.
Portafoy! Yes that one terrified me as a 7 year old damn I loved it though. Roddy McDowall I think it was
That one still scares me. I am 65 !
@@deborahchesser7375Also Ossie Davis as Portafoy!
@@coffeecoffee1627 IDK how people can even watch TV now days honestly
@@deborahchesser7375 With all the crap going on. I stick to cartoons. :) Self preservation.
Back when talented people roamed the earth.
Indeed.
We still have talented people, they just keep getting replaced with AI.
😂
@@CT-gl2zj Which brings me to say we should get control of AI before it gets control of us!
AI existence or not, there are still and will always be very talented artists out there. ✌🏾
I have your book and the coffee table book as well. I really appreciate the work of enthusiasts. For those of us who were kids when the show ran, the paintings are iconic. I wasn't able to see the exhibit, but hopefully it won't be a once in a lifetime opportunity. The Joan Crawford painting sold at Heritage Auctions for over $110,000 last year or the year before I believe. A couple of the other paintings have gone up for sale. The one you noted at $7,000 is a steal in my opinion. Some others have failed to meet the minimum bid and didn't sell. If memory serves me correctly one didn't sell at $12,000 and another at $40,000. That's a lot of money to spend on nostalgia. I really don't know if they are a sound long term investment. The younger generations don't care about shows such as Night Gallery and Twilight Zone.
Thank you for the kind words! Fortunately, some younger viewers have discovered The Twilight Zone, via the marathons and videos about the series are still popular on You Tube. The best way for older content to be discovered and appreciated by younger generations are the young people who produce 'reaction' videos featuring classic movies, songs and TV shows on You Tube. Sadly, that will not be the case with Night Gallery, as Universal is no longer making the series available to online platforms.
@@thetvtimemachineHope you're right on younger people discovering real television 📺 from the classic years. Vast majority of today's material is junk, plain and simple.
Bruh! This is literally a question several of my friends and relations have asked over the years.
Thank you!
You're welcome!
I was 4 years old and my mom let me watch night gallery and dark shadows. This is why Gen X is the best generation ever.
Rod Serling was indeed a nice man. He was also a paratrooper. He has said ideas and concepts for the TZ were infrequently taken from his time in the service. I wanted NG to just be a continuation of the TZ, but it was different. Still creepy though. Yes, the paintings held a lot of weight in setting the tone of each episode. Mr Serling died way too early...damn cigarettes!
Serling originally pitched this concept, titled "Rod Serling's Wax Museum" to ABC shortly after The Twilight Zone was cancelled. Producer Jack Laird had creative control over the series, but Serling was the show's most prolific writer. Night Gallery is the product of the two men's distinct creative visions.
@@thetvtimemachine The concept had also been titled Witches, Warlocks And Werewolves by then ABC president Tom Moore.
Oh, I would LOVE to get my hands on one of these!
We all would! :-)
I own the DVD box set of both Serling series and remember watching them as a kid. This is a wonderful piece of trivia to enhance the enjoyment of watching them.👍👍
Thank you for your kind words!
I saw green fingers way back. I’m 66 now. And that show still scares the hell out of me… well played.
Night Gallery makeup artist Leonard Engelman actually glued grass roots to Elsa Lanchester's arms and legs to create the effect of an newly-grown old lady. Thank you for watching!
Thanks for the cool information. Fantastic program interesting insight still scares hell out of me, The writing was so accurate and visual We’re so purposeful. Can’t walk by a garden without thinking of it.👍🏻
They were compelling as well as provocative
Rod Serling is an icon of mine. Such an intelligent man, wonderful to listen to.
Agreed!
Many thanks to Jim and Tom! 🖼
Thank you!
@@thetvtimemachine You're very welcome. 💐
I had a Night Gallery themed Halloween display once. I got cheap art from the thrift stores and added monsters or creepy stuff and set them up along the walkway to my door, and lit them with electric candles and battery operated string lights. And then played the theme song on a loop. It was easy and fun and several kids commented that my yard was really spooky ☺
This is a wonderful piece about a favorite subject of mine. I always loved seeing the new paintings each week and wondering about the mind of the artist that produced them. Thank you for sharing this! ⚘
You're very welcome!
As a child I LOVED this show. I never got into The Twilight Zone, but I never missed an episode of Night Gallery. I still remember my favorite episode. A Nazi who escaped the trials wanted to go into a painting of a tranquil lake with a fisherman on a small boat. Because of the dark, he ended up hanging in misery crucified on a cross for all eternity. This show was amazing!!
Agreed! The episode that you refer to is "The Escape Route," starring Richard Kiley. It was one of three stories from the 1969 Night Gallery pilot movie.
Night Gallery! a favorite of mine👍
Really cool to learn this!
Those paintings were so cool!
NG doesn't get the love its older brother does but some all time great episodes are there!
TY!
You're very welcome!
I was a kid when that show was on. It scared the crap out of me. That said I watched most of them. Great show actually.
It was a great show!
I watched Night Gallery when I was a child and absolutely loved it. I slept with cotton in my ears for weeks after one episode. Lol. I have often wondered what became of all the paintings. Thank you for sharing this.
You're very welcome. Thank you for sharing your Night Gallery memories!
It breaks my heart to hear the story of how neglected the paintings were after the show was canceled. They should have been collected and stored together for a museum.
Agreed. At least a percentage survived so they could be displayed for that one last time in 2019!
Glad to see that there are quite a few that were preserved.
Agreed. But no nearly enough!
Thanks for sharing this important commercial art history!
You're welcome! Thank you for watching!
Those Tom Wright paintings sure add to the very macabre atmosphere that was prevalent on Night Gallery.
That's why it was one of my favorite TV shows of the 70's. 😱
Rod created so many scripts that are metaphysical truths. My inspiration for inspired thinking and moral truths.
What a scary and unforgettable show. The paintings at the beginning just forced your curiosity into overdrive! The writers really messed with what was culturally cool and often stuck a finger in it's eye! Masterfully done paintings the scared you like crazy.
Agreed! Tom Wright was an amazing artist.
I was a little kid when this show was on and the theme music combined with the imagery in the opening credits absolutely freaked me out
Main title designer Wayne Fitzgerald created the credits for Night Gallery. Hired at the last minute, he borrowed the design from a film that he had worked on a year earlier, "On a Clear Day You Can See Forever."
I remember an episode starring Roddy McDowall. The painting depicted an old house and a nearby cemetery. During the episode, the painting changed as it depicted a spectral figure moving closer and closer from the cemetery to the house. It freaked me out a a kid. I would love to have that painting.
That was "The Cemetery," part of the Night Gallery pilot movie. The original painting sold several years ago for tens of thousands of dollars at auction. Reproduction posters of the Night Gallery paintings can be found at Night Gallery Dot Net.
This is great!! I have often wondered what happened to these paintings. I would love to own several of them, especially The Cemetery and Pickman’s Model. Wow.
Thank you!
Night gallery and twilight zone were me and moms favorite shows..still watch old reruns today.
thank you for this. the paintings influenced me when i watched back in 71 72. i was 8 or 9 yrs old so it made a big impression on me
You're welcome, thank you for watching!
Was my favorite show as a kid. I bought the DVD boxed set for when I want to relive old (scary) memories.
They did a great job with the DVD/Blu Ray release of Night Gallery!
Night Gallery terrified me from age 13 to 16. I loved and feared it, but never missed an episode!! 💀💀💀😱😱😱
One of his paintings is in the movie The Burbs. Its the POV surgery painting.
That painting was created by Jaroslav Gebr for one of the "Sixth Sense" episodes that were included in the Night Gallery syndication package, to expand the number of episodes to make the show more viable to syndicators. Gebr also painted the canvases for the Night Gallery pilot movie, but all of the paintings for the Night Gallery series were created by Tom Wright.
Great vid. I'm 70 now and back in the day when this was on, I used to call it Night Ghoulery. One episode I remember was when a doctor puts someone in suspended animation and then forgets the number of thumps with his fist it takes to revive him. He finally remembers years later with the right number of thumps and of course Mr. Ghoul comes out after all that time - definitely pissed off.
Thank you so much! The episode you mention was the first Night Gallery episode aired, entitled, "The Dead Man."
😊 👍 That was really nice 🙂. Thank you for posting this. I love watching Night Gallery. It's a damn shame they didn't take better care of those beautiful paintings. 5/2/24.
I agree. Thank you for watching, I appreciate it!
@@thetvtimemachine You're very welcome. 5/5/24.
The *"earwig"* episode scarred me for life. I was just a little kid and supposed to be in bed but my parents were out late that night and my sister let me stay up late to watch TV with her.
The Earwig scared all of us!
Just hearing that theme music gave me the chills.
Awesome video, I enjoyed taking a dark stroll back in time. My sister and I would watch Night Gallery together under a blanket on the couch for protection. I especially remember "The Doll" episode from January 13, 1971. My sister had dolls, and after the episode, I was terrified the dolls might come to life at night while I was asleep! Boo! 😱👻🦇
Thank you! "The Doll" is horror director Guillermo del Toro's favorite episode!
Would love one of his paintings from the iconic show.
Wow this was fantastic...I was a big fan of Night Gallery because l loved The Twilight Zone...Rod Serling was so cool, sometimes he'd smoke while introducing the show...
Thank you!
Very well done. I had actually forgotten about Night Gallery until I seen the thumbnail and it came flooding back to me. It can't remember particular episodes, but I do remember that me and my siblings enjoyed it. Thanks for bringing back a memory for me.
Thank you so much!
It is such a mysterious show! Love it
Thanks for answering this question
You're very welcome!
my favorite painting was always the one at the closing credits: the stairs with the creepy open floor, the columns and appearing to float high above the earth or horizon. always made me a little dizzy.
I loved Night Gallery as a kid. It’s too bad it was cancelled. Rod Serling was a genius.
Agreed!
*I noticed that one of Tom's beautiful works for the "Quoth the Raven" episode sold at auction in 2022 for $12,500! Jaroslav "Jerry" Gebr also did a number of original paintings for the series. Some of those that've survived and come to auction have fetched five-figures. However, Gebr's painting of Joan Crawford for the pilot episode (directed by Steven Spielberg) sold for an eye-watering $118,750!*
With only 43 episodes there were a lot of them never featured. My favorite was with Roddy McDowell and the painting of the house that included the graveyard. The grave opened and his dead (uncle?) made his way to the door in progressive paintings.
That had to be fun to paint.
That was "The Cemetery," from the 1969 Night Gallery pilot movie.
I so loved this series. The one episode that has never left my memory (meaning that it’s in constant rotation, with no help from me) is The Sin Eater (if I’m not mistaken).
That's correct. That episode is "Sins of the Fathers," starring Richard Thomas.
What a great video of a great artist, what a travesty to lose paintings such as these...
Hopefully more of the Night Gallery paintings will surface someday.
thanks for the wonderful post. loved that show as a kid.
You're welcome. Thank you for watching!
This is fascinating! Thank you so much!
You're very welcome!
Thank you for this!
You're very welcome!
This is so cool ! Thanks for this . I loved that show .
Thank you so much!
Great subject to cover! Thanks!!
You're very welcome!
Jim, thanks for this wonderful and edifying video. I still have my “After Hours Tour” NG series retrospective you co-authored with Scott and it sits proudly in my bookcase for many years now.
Around 1978 or so I had the good fortune to see one of Tom Wright’s paintings on a Universal Tour, the Rod Serling portrait “Midnight Never Ends”, which coincidentally is my favorite episode of the series. Thanks again!
You're welcome! Hopefully the "Midnight Never Ends" painting will be found one day!
Awesome video, as informative as one is going to get for this particular subject.
Thank you so much!
Wow! I remember a couple of those paintings from the show. Great video.
Thank you so much!
Thank you for this video
You're welcome!
It would be quite a conversational piece if one had the great privilege of owning one! Fantastic video.
Thank you. And thank you for watching!
Thanks for filling in the gap I've had for years between the end of Twilight Zone and Rod's premature death.
You're very welcome!
I enjoyed the video, thank you.
You're very welcome!
Awesome! Thanks for researching this and bringing it to the world's attention. Visual art is the manifestation of dreams ....or nightmares.
You're very welcome!
Amazing wonderful stuff by this artist to create all these paintings. Sad they weren’t preserved together by the studio.
Fantastic video, thank you for putting this together. I’ve been wondering for so long what happened to all those wonderfully mysterious paintings. It’s such a shame that many were lost. I’m going to seek out that book which displays them. 🖼️😃👍
Thank you so much, I appreciate it!
I had always enjoyed the paintings at the beginning of each Night Gallery episode but knew little about them otherwise. Thanks for an informative video!
I'm so glad you enjoyed the video and thank you for watching!