Who was originally hired as the voice of "The Twilight Zone"?

"The Twilight Zone" opens with Rod Serling inviting viewers into "a fifth dimension beyond that which is known to man," which is pretty bold when most people can't explain the fourth one. Serling's original script referenced a sixth dimension, but that was a place beyond that which was known to Serling. Serling's correction and his own voice are dubbed over the first episode because he wasn't the original narrator. Who was originally hired as the voice of "The Twilight Zone"?

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Correct Answer: Westbrook Van Voorhis

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Serling's voice became so tied to the show that it's hard to picture anyone else delivering those eerie monologues about time, space, and the human condition, but a guy with the nickname "Voice of Doom" almost fit the bill. Westbrook Van Voorhis had spent years narrating newsreels, radio shows, and commercials, and CBS initially hired him to bring that gravitas to their new anthology series. He went as far as recording the pilot's narration, but he was either too pompous or too busy (depends on who you ask) and needed to be replaced.

Executives talked to Orson Welles because he brought Hitchcock-level star power that would be great on camera, but Welles wanted too much money. Serling himself desperately wanted actor Richard Egan and told CBS if it couldn't be Egan, he'd just do it himself. When Egan's contractual issues meant he wasn't available, the network called Serling's bluff.

Who was originally hired as the voice of "The Twilight Zone"?

Correct Answer: Westbrook Van Voorhis

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