Night of the Meek
Encyclopedia
"The Night of the Meek" is the December 23, 1960 episode of the American television anthology series The Twilight Zone
.
suit, stumbles and half-falls at a curbside lamppost. He is approached by two tenement children pleading for toys, a Christmas dinner and "a job for my daddy". As Corwin begins to sob helplessly, the camera slowly pans to the right revealing, in the same shot, Rod Serling standing on the sidewalk, wearing a winter coat and scarf, with the snowflakes settling on his hair and shoulders. His two-sentence introduction describes Henry Corwin, "normally unemployed", whose brief annual job is "that of the department-store Santa Claus", as entering "a strange kind of North Pole" which consists of the "spirit of Christmas" and "the magic" of "the Twilight Zone".
. Henry Corwin, a down-and-out ne'er-do-well, dressed in a baggy, worn-out Santa Claus suit, has just spent his last few dollars on six drinks at Jack's Place, the neighborhood bar. Bruce, the brusque bartender, throws him out after spotting Corwin, now low on funds, reaching for the bottle. Arriving an hour late for his seasonal job as a department store Santa, the visibly drunk Corwin is soon fired by Mr. Dundee, the mean-spirited manager, acting on a complaint from the overbearing customer who pushed her ill-mannered son to sit on Santa's lap. As Dundee orders him to leave the premises, Corwin pours out his heartache over living in a "dirty rooming house on a street filled with hungry kids and shabby people" for whom he is unable to fulfill his desired role as Santa. He declares that if he had just "one wish" granted him on Christmas Eve — "I'd like to see the meek inherit the earth". Still in his outfit, he returns to Jack's Place, but is refused re-entry by Bruce who explains to the inebriated patrons that "Santa's a lush".
Stumbling aimlessly into an alley, he hears sleigh bells and trips over a large burlap bag, overfull with packages, which seems to have the ability to produce any item that's asked of it. Overjoyed at the sudden ability to fulfill his lifelong desire, Corwin proceeds to hand out gift-wrapped presents to passersby and then, entering Sister Florence's "Delancey Street Mission House", to derelict men attending Christmas Eve service. Irritated at this interruption, Sister Florence goes outside to fetch Officer Flaherty who proceeds to arrest Corwin for apparently stealing merchandise from his former place of employment. Flaherty then contacts Mr. Dundee who arrives at the police station exclaiming, "Ah-ha, here he is, and here we are, and there that is!". Calling Corwin a "moth-eaten Robin Hood
", Dundee reaches into the garbage bag to display some of the purported "wholesale theft of thousands of dollars worth of goods", but all he manages to pull out are a couple of empty cans and a meowing stray cat, as Corwin interjects that "this bag doesn't know whether to give out gifts or garbage". At this point, Flaherty tells Corwin to "clean up this mess and get out of here", as Dundee, angry at having his time wasted, throws accusations of incompetence at Flaherty who responds that "like Corwin says, we're dealing with the supernatural here". With sarcastic disbelief, Dundee challenges Corwin to produce a bottle of cherry brandy, vintage
1903 and, as he continues to berate Flaherty ("...how dare you drag me here at the busiest time of the year..."), Corwin comments "oh, that's a good year" and reaches into the bag to hand Dundee his exact request. Leaving the precinct, he continues to distribute gifts for the remainder of the evening, until the bag is empty. Burt, an elderly local resident who had already received a couple of Corwin's presents, points out that Corwin has taken "...nothing for yourself, not a thing" and Corwin replies that his only wish is to do this every year. Returning to the alley where he found the bag, he encounters a young female elf, sleigh and four reindeer waiting to take him to his destiny as the eternal Santa Claus.
Emerging from the precinct, Flaherty and Dundee, now slightly tipsy from sampling the brandy, hear the tinkle of bells and confirm to each other that they have, indeed, just seen Henry Corwin, in a sleigh with reindeer, "sitting next to an elf", ascend into the night sky on Christmas Eve. Dundee invites Flaherty to accompany him home and share some hot coffee and more brandy, adding, "...and we'll thank God for miracles, Flaherty..."
Even though the six episodes were recorded in a row, through November and into mid-December, their broadcast dates were out of order and varied widely, with this, the fourth one, shown on December 23, 1960 as second season episode 11. The first, "The Lateness of the Hour
", was seen on December 2, 1960 as episode 8; The second, "Static
", was shown on March 10, 1961 as episode 20; the third, "The Whole Truth", appeared on January 20, 1961 as episode 14; the fifth, "Twenty Two", came on February 10, 1961 as episode 17; and the last one, "Long Distance Call
", was transmitted on March 3, 1961 as episode 22.
The Twilight Zone (1959 TV series)
The Twilight Zone is an American anthology television series created by Rod Serling, which ran for five seasons on CBS from 1959 to 1964. The series consisted of unrelated episodes depicting paranormal, futuristic, dystopian, or simply disturbing events; each show typically featured a surprising...
.
Introductory scene
As snow begins to fall, a drunk and dejected Henry Corwin, wearing his Santa ClausSanta Claus
Santa Claus is a folklore figure in various cultures who distributes gifts to children, normally on Christmas Eve. Each name is a variation of Saint Nicholas, but refers to Santa Claus...
suit, stumbles and half-falls at a curbside lamppost. He is approached by two tenement children pleading for toys, a Christmas dinner and "a job for my daddy". As Corwin begins to sob helplessly, the camera slowly pans to the right revealing, in the same shot, Rod Serling standing on the sidewalk, wearing a winter coat and scarf, with the snowflakes settling on his hair and shoulders. His two-sentence introduction describes Henry Corwin, "normally unemployed", whose brief annual job is "that of the department-store Santa Claus", as entering "a strange kind of North Pole" which consists of the "spirit of Christmas" and "the magic" of "the Twilight Zone".
Synopsis
It is Christmas EveChristmas Eve
Christmas Eve refers to the evening or entire day preceding Christmas Day, a widely celebrated festival commemorating the birth of Jesus of Nazareth that takes place on December 25...
. Henry Corwin, a down-and-out ne'er-do-well, dressed in a baggy, worn-out Santa Claus suit, has just spent his last few dollars on six drinks at Jack's Place, the neighborhood bar. Bruce, the brusque bartender, throws him out after spotting Corwin, now low on funds, reaching for the bottle. Arriving an hour late for his seasonal job as a department store Santa, the visibly drunk Corwin is soon fired by Mr. Dundee, the mean-spirited manager, acting on a complaint from the overbearing customer who pushed her ill-mannered son to sit on Santa's lap. As Dundee orders him to leave the premises, Corwin pours out his heartache over living in a "dirty rooming house on a street filled with hungry kids and shabby people" for whom he is unable to fulfill his desired role as Santa. He declares that if he had just "one wish" granted him on Christmas Eve — "I'd like to see the meek inherit the earth". Still in his outfit, he returns to Jack's Place, but is refused re-entry by Bruce who explains to the inebriated patrons that "Santa's a lush".
Stumbling aimlessly into an alley, he hears sleigh bells and trips over a large burlap bag, overfull with packages, which seems to have the ability to produce any item that's asked of it. Overjoyed at the sudden ability to fulfill his lifelong desire, Corwin proceeds to hand out gift-wrapped presents to passersby and then, entering Sister Florence's "Delancey Street Mission House", to derelict men attending Christmas Eve service. Irritated at this interruption, Sister Florence goes outside to fetch Officer Flaherty who proceeds to arrest Corwin for apparently stealing merchandise from his former place of employment. Flaherty then contacts Mr. Dundee who arrives at the police station exclaiming, "Ah-ha, here he is, and here we are, and there that is!". Calling Corwin a "moth-eaten Robin Hood
Robin Hood
Robin Hood was a heroic outlaw in English folklore. A highly skilled archer and swordsman, he is known for "robbing from the rich and giving to the poor", assisted by a group of fellow outlaws known as his "Merry Men". Traditionally, Robin Hood and his men are depicted wearing Lincoln green clothes....
", Dundee reaches into the garbage bag to display some of the purported "wholesale theft of thousands of dollars worth of goods", but all he manages to pull out are a couple of empty cans and a meowing stray cat, as Corwin interjects that "this bag doesn't know whether to give out gifts or garbage". At this point, Flaherty tells Corwin to "clean up this mess and get out of here", as Dundee, angry at having his time wasted, throws accusations of incompetence at Flaherty who responds that "like Corwin says, we're dealing with the supernatural here". With sarcastic disbelief, Dundee challenges Corwin to produce a bottle of cherry brandy, vintage
Vintage
Vintage, in wine-making, is the process of picking grapes and creating the finished product . A vintage wine is one made from grapes that were all, or primarily, grown and harvested in a single specified year. In certain wines, it can denote quality, as in Port wine, where Port houses make and...
1903 and, as he continues to berate Flaherty ("...how dare you drag me here at the busiest time of the year..."), Corwin comments "oh, that's a good year" and reaches into the bag to hand Dundee his exact request. Leaving the precinct, he continues to distribute gifts for the remainder of the evening, until the bag is empty. Burt, an elderly local resident who had already received a couple of Corwin's presents, points out that Corwin has taken "...nothing for yourself, not a thing" and Corwin replies that his only wish is to do this every year. Returning to the alley where he found the bag, he encounters a young female elf, sleigh and four reindeer waiting to take him to his destiny as the eternal Santa Claus.
Emerging from the precinct, Flaherty and Dundee, now slightly tipsy from sampling the brandy, hear the tinkle of bells and confirm to each other that they have, indeed, just seen Henry Corwin, in a sleigh with reindeer, "sitting next to an elf", ascend into the night sky on Christmas Eve. Dundee invites Flaherty to accompany him home and share some hot coffee and more brandy, adding, "...and we'll thank God for miracles, Flaherty..."
Closing narration
Rod Serling's voice is heard inviting "all the children of the twentieth century", young and old, to appreciate "a wondrous magic" that belongs "to Christmas" and especially a "power reserved for little people". The original narration, in 1960, ended with the words, "and a Merry Christmas, to each and all", but that phrase was deleted when the episode was initially repeated in August 1962, and was not restored in the syndicated edition.End credits
- "THE NIGHT OF THE MEEK"
- Directed by Jack SmightJack SmightJack Smight was an American theatre and film director.Smight was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota and went to school with future actor Peter Graves...
[third of four Twilight Zone episodes—see "Episode notes"] - Written by Rod SerlingRod SerlingRodman Edward "Rod" Serling 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. Serling was active in politics, both on and off the screen and helped form...
[thirty-sixth of ninety-two Twilight Zone episodes] - Produced by Buck HoughtonBuck HoughtonArchible Ernest "Buck" Houghton was an American television producer best known for producing the first three seasons of The Twilight Zone, as well as many other television programs from the 1950s through the 1990s...
[forty-sixth of one-hundred-one Twilight Zone episodes] - The Twilight Zone Created by Rod Serling
- Starring Art CarneyArt CarneyArthur William Matthew “Art” Carney was an American actor in film, stage, television and radio. He is best known for playing Ed Norton, opposite Jackie Gleason's Ralph Kramden in the situation comedy The Honeymooners....
as Henry Corwin [sole Twilight Zone appearance, but previously starred in Rod Serling's "The Velvet Alley" on Playhouse 90Playhouse 90Playhouse 90 is an American television anthology series that was telecast on CBS from 1956 to 1960 for a total of 133 episodes. It originated from CBS Television City in Los Angeles, California...
—see "Episode notes"] - John FiedlerJohn FiedlerJohn Donald Fiedler was an American voice actor and character actor in stage, film, television and radio. He was slight, balding, and bespectacled, with a distinctive, high-pitched voice and a career lasting more than 55 years.He is best remembered for four roles: as the nervous Juror #2 in 12...
as Mr. Dundee (the department store manager) [first of two Twilight Zone appearances—see "Episode notes"] - Robert P. Lieb as Flaherty (the police officer who arrests Corwin)
- Val AveryVal AveryVal Avery was an American character actor who appeared in hundreds of movies and television shows since the 1950s. In a career that spanned 50 years, Avery appeared in over 100 films and had appearances in over 300 television series.-Early life:Avery was born in Philadelphia...
as the Bartender ("Hello. Jack's Place... No, Jack's not here. This is Bruce") - Meg WyllieMeg WyllieMargaret Gillespie "Meg" Wyllie was an American actress. Born in Honolulu, Hawaii, she was the first ever Star Trek villain, the Talosian Keeper in the first Star Trek: The Original Series pilot episode The Cage. The character was voiced by Malachi Throne...
as Sister Florence (who leads a rendition of "Joy to the WorldJoy to the World"Joy to the World" is a Christian Christmas carol.The words are by English hymn writer Isaac Watts, based on Psalm 98 in the Bible. The song was first published in 1719 in Watts' collection; The Psalms of David: Imitated in the language of the New Testament, and applied to the Christian state and...
" at the Christmas service for skid row derelict men) - Kay Cousins as Irate Mother (of "Percival Smithers", the ill-mannered kid who tells "Santa Corwin" that, for a Christmas present, he wants "a new front name")
- Burt MustinBurt MustinBurton Hill "Burt" Mustin was an American character actor.-Early life:Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to W. I. and Sadie Mustin, Mustin was a 1903 graduate of the Pennsylvania Military College , earning his degree in civil engineering...
as Old Man (Burt, who receives from Corwin a pipe and a smoking jacket) [first of two Twilight Zone appearances—see "Episode notes"] - Trains by LIONEL CORP.Lionel Corp.Lionel Corporation was an American toy manufacturer and retailer that did business from 1900 to 1993. Founded as an electrical novelties company, Lionel specialized in various products throughout its existence, but toy trains and model railroads were its main claim to fame...
- Reindeer Furnished by SANTA'S VILLAGE Skyforest, CaliforniaSkyforest, CaliforniaSkyforest is an unincorporated community in San Bernardino County, California, United States. Skyforest is located on California State Route 18 southeast of Lake Arrowhead. Skyforest has a post office with ZIP code 92385, which opened in 1928....
Unbilled (in order of appearance)
- Andrea Margolis (little girl pleading with "Santa Corwin" for "a carriage and a dolly and a playhouse... a job for my daddy") [first of two Twilight Zone appearances—see "Episode notes"]
- Jimmy Garrett (little boy pleading with "Santa Corwin" for "a gun and a set of soldiers and a fort... a big turkey pot Christmas dinner")
- Nan Peterson (blonde in the bar, sitting next to the sleeping drunk, as Henry Corwin knocks on the window glass of the entrance door) [second of four Twilight Zone appearances—see "Episode notes"]
- Matthew McCue (Collins, one of the derelicts at the mission, who requests a sweater... "what size? who cares what size")
- Larrian Gillespie (adolescent female elf who, along with a large sleigh and four reindeer, waits for "Santa Corwin")
Episode notes
By November 1960, The Twilight Zones second season had already broadcast five episodes and finished filming sixteen. However, at a cost of about $65,000 per episode, the show was exceeding its budget. As a result, six consecutive episodes were videotaped and subsequently transferred to 16-millimeter film for TV transmission and future syndicated rebroadcasts. Total savings on editing and cinematography costs amounted to only about $30,000 for all six entries — not enough to justify the loss of depth of visual perspective, which gave those shows an appearance akin to that of stagebound live TV dramas, or even soap operas. The experiment, which is considered extremely rare, if not unique, for episodes of filmed series, was therefore deemed a failure and never attempted again.Even though the six episodes were recorded in a row, through November and into mid-December, their broadcast dates were out of order and varied widely, with this, the fourth one, shown on December 23, 1960 as second season episode 11. The first, "The Lateness of the Hour
The Lateness of the Hour
"The Lateness of the Hour" is an episode of the American television anthology series The Twilight Zone that was originally broadcast in the United States on December 2, 1960.-Synopsis:...
", was seen on December 2, 1960 as episode 8; The second, "Static
Static (The Twilight Zone)
"Static" is an episode of the American television anthology series The Twilight Zone.-Opening narration:As Ed Lindsay retrieves his old radio from the boarding house basement, he says to a boy watching him, "Don't you know what a radio is?". "Sure", says the kid, "but I've never seen one like that ...
", was shown on March 10, 1961 as episode 20; the third, "The Whole Truth", appeared on January 20, 1961 as episode 14; the fifth, "Twenty Two", came on February 10, 1961 as episode 17; and the last one, "Long Distance Call
Long Distance Call
"Long Distance Call" is an episode of the American television anthology series The Twilight Zone.-Synopsis:A boy communicates with his father's European-immigrant mother, who had recently died, using a toy telephone that she gave him on his birthday before her passing. The boy, Billy, runs out in...
", was transmitted on March 3, 1961 as episode 22.
Personnel and cast with multiple Twilight Zone credits
- Jack SmightJack SmightJack Smight was an American theatre and film director.Smight was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota and went to school with future actor Peter Graves...
(1925–2003), a director of numerous TV episodes, made-for-TV movieTelevision movieA television film is a feature film that is a television program produced for and originally distributed by a television network, in contrast to...
s and theatrical films, helmed four Twilight Zone episodes, including three of the six videotaped ones, the other two being "The Lateness of the HourThe Lateness of the Hour"The Lateness of the Hour" is an episode of the American television anthology series The Twilight Zone that was originally broadcast in the United States on December 2, 1960.-Synopsis:...
" and "Twenty Two". His initial assignment was "The LonelyThe Lonely (The Twilight Zone)"The Lonely" is an episode of the American television series The Twilight Zone.-Synopsis:In 2046, an inmate, named Corry is sentenced to solitary confinement on a distant asteroid for 50 years. In the fourth year he is visited by a spacecraft that regularly brings him supplies and news from the...
" which, shown as the seventh episode of the first season, was the first regularly filmed installment after the pilot episode.
- A character star, Art CarneyArt CarneyArthur William Matthew “Art” Carney was an American actor in film, stage, television and radio. He is best known for playing Ed Norton, opposite Jackie Gleason's Ralph Kramden in the situation comedy The Honeymooners....
(1918–2003) later appeared as Santa Claus in CBSCBSCBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
' December 1970 hour-long Muppet special, The Great Santa Claus SwitchThe Great Santa Claus SwitchThe Great Santa Claus Switch was a Jim Henson television special featuring his Muppets. It first aired on CBS in December 1970. It was directed by John Moffitt, written by Jerry Juhl, with music by Joe Raposo and puppets by Don Sahlin.-Plot:...
, and in ABCAmerican Broadcasting CompanyThe American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
's December 1984 television film, The Night They Saved ChristmasThe Night They Saved ChristmasThe Night They Saved Christmas is a 1984 RHI Entertainment Christmas film, executive produced by Robert Halmi, Senior and Junior; and originally developed for ABC. The film is about an oil company dynamiting in the North Pole in search of an oil field, unaware that they are endangering Santa Claus...
. Best remembered by TV viewers in 1960 as Jackie GleasonJackie GleasonJackie Gleason was an American comedian, actor and musician. He was known for his brash visual and verbal comedy style, especially by his character Ralph Kramden on The Honeymooners, a situation-comedy television series. His most noted film roles were as Minnesota Fats in the drama film The...
's sidekick on Gleason's various 1950s comedy/variety shows, including The HoneymoonersThe HoneymoonersThe Honeymooners is an American situation comedy television show, based on a recurring 1951–'55 sketch of the same name. It originally aired on the DuMont network's Cavalcade of Stars and subsequently on the CBS network's The Jackie Gleason Show hosted by Jackie Gleason, and filmed before a live...
"Ed Norton", it was Carney who received the honors — six EmmiesEmmy AwardAn Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
and a Best Actor OscarAcademy Award for Best ActorPerformance by an Actor in a Leading Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry...
(for 1974's Harry and TontoHarry and TontoHarry and Tonto is a 1974 road movie written by Paul Mazursky and Josh Greenfeld and directed by Mazursky, starring Art Carney.-Synopsis:...
) — to Gleason's none. This was Carney's only Twilight Zone appearance but, nearly two years earlier, on January 22, 1959, he starred in Rod Serling's semi-autobiographical story, "The Velvet Alley", the eighth of ten Serling teleplays featured on Playhouse 90Playhouse 90Playhouse 90 is an American television anthology series that was telecast on CBS from 1956 to 1960 for a total of 133 episodes. It originated from CBS Television City in Los Angeles, California...
, the most prestigious of the many live drama anthology series from the Golden Age of TelevisionGolden Age of TelevisionThe Golden Age of Television in the United States began sometime in the late 1940s and extended to the late 1950s or early 1960s.-Evolutions of drama on television:...
. Carney's role, that of an aspiring writer who sells his first teleplay to a major TV drama series, paralleled Serling's own career. As in Serling's 1963 screenplay for the political thriller, Seven Days in MaySeven Days in MaySeven Days in May is an American political thriller novel written by Fletcher Knebel and Charles W. Bailey II and published in 1962. It was made into a motion picture and released in February 1964, with a screenplay by Rod Serling, directed by John Frankenheimer, and starring Burt Lancaster, Kirk...
, in which a highly moral minor character is named Art Corwin, the appellation of Carney's "Night of the Meek" character, Henry Corwin, was a tribute to Serling's idol, legendary television, film and, most memorably for Serling, radio writer Norman CorwinNorman CorwinNorman Lewis Corwin was an American writer, screenwriter, producer, essayist and teacher of journalism and writing...
whose lengthy career, in contrast to Serling's relatively brief 50-year lifetime, has spanned over seven decades. On May 3, 2011, Corwin celebrated his 101st birthday.
- Busy character actor John FiedlerJohn FiedlerJohn Donald Fiedler was an American voice actor and character actor in stage, film, television and radio. He was slight, balding, and bespectacled, with a distinctive, high-pitched voice and a career lasting more than 55 years.He is best remembered for four roles: as the nervous Juror #2 in 12...
(1925–2005) played usually bald and bespectacled officious types in hundreds of radio shows, TV episodes and movies starting in the 1940s. Appearing on TV from its earliest days, he was one of the cadets in Tom Corbett, Space CadetTom Corbett, Space CadetTom Corbett is the main character in a series of Tom Corbett — Space Cadet stories that were depicted in television, radio, books, comic books, comic strips, coloring books, punch-out books and View-Master reels in the 1950s....
from 1951 to 1954, had regular roles in three series between 1973 and 1984 and did countless cartoon voices, including that of PigletPiglet (Winnie the Pooh)Piglet is a fictional character from A. A. Milne's Winnie-the-Pooh books. Piglet is Winnie-the-Pooh's closest friend amongst all the toys/animals featured in the stories...
for DisneyWalt Disney PicturesWalt Disney Pictures is an American film studio owned by The Walt Disney Company. Walt Disney Pictures and Television, a subsidiary of the Walt Disney Studios and the main production company for live-action feature films within the Walt Disney Motion Pictures Group, based at the Walt Disney...
. His other Twilight Zone part, as a bureaucratic angel (without spectacles), was in third season's penultimate episode, "Cavender Is ComingCavender Is Coming"Cavender is Coming" is an episode of the American television anthology series The Twilight Zone.-Synopsis:Agnes Grep, unemployed and behind on her rent, gets help from Cavender, her guardian angel, who has to make Agnes happier in twenty-four hours to earn his wings...
", a failed sitcom pilot replete with a laugh trackLaugh trackA laugh track is a separate soundtrack invented by Charles "Charley" Douglass, with the artificial sound of audience laughter, made to be inserted into television programming of comedy shows and sitcoms.The term "laugh track" does not apply to the genuine audience laughter on shows that shoot in...
.
- A unique character, Burt MustinBurt MustinBurton Hill "Burt" Mustin was an American character actor.-Early life:Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to W. I. and Sadie Mustin, Mustin was a 1903 graduate of the Pennsylvania Military College , earning his degree in civil engineering...
(1884–1977) was a retired car salesman who began acting in films and television in 1951, at the age of 67, and continued as a performer for the next twenty-six years, dying eleven days short of his ninety-third birthday. Here, he's an elderly denizen of skid row, whom Corwin addresses as "Burt" and presents with a pipe and, as a follow-up, with a smoking jacket, while, in his other Twilight Zone appearance, he's again typecast, playing one of the residents of the old-age home in third season's "Kick the CanKick the Can"Kick the Can" is an episode of the American television anthology series The Twilight Zone that was remade in the 1983 movie version.-Synopsis:...
".
- Child actress Andrea Margolis (born 1952) appeared in over a dozen TV episodes starting unbilled with this, her first role, and, billed as Andrea Darvi (from 1962 onward), continued for six years, until her last performance in a 1966 installment of I Spy. She subsequently became a journalist as well as a social worker and discusses "The Night of the Meek" at length in her partially autobiographical book about child actors, Pretty Babies, published in 1983 by McGraw-HillMcGraw-HillThe McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., is a publicly traded corporation headquartered in Rockefeller Center in New York City. Its primary areas of business are financial, education, publishing, broadcasting, and business services...
. Her other Twilight Zone appearance was in the next episode, "DustDust (The Twilight Zone)"Dust" is an episode of the American television anthology series The Twilight Zone.-Synopsis:An unscrupulous peddler, after selling the executioner some rope needed for a hanging, sells a bag of "magic dust" to the condemned man's father. The condemned man had just been found guilty for murdering a...
", in which she plays Estrelita, a little MexicanMexican peopleMexican people refers to all persons from Mexico, a multiethnic country in North America, and/or who identify with the Mexican cultural and/or national identity....
girl, helping her father to plead for the life of her condemned brother.
- Attractive blonde Nan Peterson (born 1939) played mainly decorative parts in some twenty TV shows and four films during a five-year period between 1959 and 1964. She was the title character in the poverty-budgeted 1959 independent Louisiana Hussy and is remembered by specialized genre fans as one of the two female leads in two other small-scale productions, 1959's The Hideous Sun DemonThe Hideous Sun DemonThe Hideous Sun Demon was the directorial debut of Robert Clarke, star of many of the 1950s best science fiction films. The movie became an Atomic Age cult classic. Clarke wrote, directed and produced The Hideous Sun Demon...
and 1963's Ed Wood-scripted Shotgun Wedding. Her four Twilight Zone appearances, in which she barely utters a couple of words, are spread between the beginning and the end of her brief career. Here, she is little more than an extra, sitting at the bar in Jack's Place, next to a drunk whose sleeping face is in foreground, turned towards the camera. Her debut performance, as the mother who calls out to her merry-go-round-riding child, can be seen in first season's memorable fifth episode "Walking DistanceWalking Distance"Walking Distance" is an episode of the American television anthology series The Twilight Zone. The episode was listed as the ninth best episode in the history of The Twilight Zone by Time.-Plot summary:...
", and her second, the most prominent of the four, in the episode videotaped immediately before this one, "The Whole Truth", where she and Jack GingJack GingJack Lee Ging is an American actor best known for his role as General Harlan 'Bull' Fullbright in the NBC television series The A-Team.-Early life:...
play a newly married couple considering the purchase of one of the substandard vehicles in the lot of used-car dealer Jack CarsonJack CarsonJohn Elmer "Jack" Carson was a Canadian-born U.S.-based film actor.Jack Carson was one of the most popular character actors during the 'golden age of Hollywood', with a film career spanning the 1930s, '40s and '50s...
. Her final acting role, a bit part as a secretary, was three years later, in February 1964's fifth season installment, "From Agnes—With LoveFrom Agnes—With Love"From Agnes—With Love" is an episode of the American television anthology series The Twilight Zone.-Synopsis:James Elwood, a computer programmer, replaces a computer programmer named Fred who cannot resolve a functional error in the office computer. Elwood fixes the problem, and later develops a...
", in which, as here, she is unbilled.
See also
- List of The Twilight Zone episodes
- Night of the Meek (1986) (The Twilight Zone)Night of the Meek (1986) (The Twilight Zone)"Night of the Meek" is the first segment of the thirteenth episode from the first season from the television series The Twilight Zone.-Synopsis:...
- remake in the 1985 revival of the series