Though he is best known for his iconic series The Twilight Zone, Rod Serling also used his talents on other projects, like the original Planet of the Apes.
Mr. Serling had a hard time adapting the book into a usable script and spent over a year working on it. His original draft featured topless ape women, but Twentieth Century Fox forbade it, to the chagrin of many a young man at the time. Originally, Charlton Heston resisted the project since he disliked the book it was based on. Rod's script, however, changed his mind.
At a time when the studio was barely hanging on, this high budget film was extremely important to Fox. Luckily it succeeded beyond its wildest projections. Certainly Mr. Serling helped save Fox.
