Somewhere in the Twilight Zone

For five seasons, host Rod Serling appeared in living rooms across the land with an extraordinary tale from the Twilight Zone. If you’re too young to recall this classic show, do yourself a favor and watch it on Hulu or Netflix. The show had many actors who would become Hollywood legends. For instance, Robert Redford, Dennis Hopper, Carol Burnett, Elizabeth Montgomery, and Burgess Meredith all visited the Twilight Zone.

One of my favorite episodes was called Walking Distance and originally aired on October 30, 1959. The story involved Martin Sloan, who was near a psychological breakdown from stress. After he stops for gas, he strays into a town from his past where he confronts himself as a youth and his parents. Martin, as an adult, has a conversation with his father about life. His father advises him to leave his childhood behind and make the best of his remaining adult life.

Martin transitions back into adulthood with a unique outlook on life. In a twenty something minute episode, Martin Sloan gathered himself together mentally and moved on. Of course, this only takes place in the Twilight Zone. In reality, we cannot fix our lives in minutes. It can take an entire lifetime just to realize life isn’t so simple.

We know what happened to Martin Sloan, but whatever happened to actor Byron Elsworth Barr? My guess is you have never heard of him. That’s because Barr went by the name Gig Young. Unless you’re really ancient, like myself, you have never heard of him. He was once a successful actor who won an Academy Award for his performance in “They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?”

Young was a handsome actor who didn’t have any problems with meeting women. He was married five times. One of his wives was fellow celebrity Elizabeth Montgomery who also appeared on her own Twilight Zone episode.

For a while, Young remained busy. Unfortunately, his issues with alcohol cost him both in his personal relationships and career opportunities. For instance, Blazing Saddles is one of the raunchiest and funniest films ever produced. It’s a true classic that still makes me laugh. One of the movie’s main characters was the Waco Kid. Originally, Young played the Waco Kid. But after he arrived on the set sick from alcohol, he couldn’t work. Director Mel Brooks called an ambulance for Young and then fired him. In true Mel Brooks form, he said he would never hire another alcoholic to play an alcoholic. Brooks called in his old friend Gene Wilder to save the day and become the Waco Kid. Afterward, life didn’t get much better for Gig Young, the former Oscar winner.

Actor Gig Young kills his wife and then himself

On September 27, 1978, Young married Kim Schmidt, who became his fifth and last wife. She was much younger than Young. However, his demons would eventually catch up with him. On October 19, 1978, authorities found the couple deceased in their Manhattan residence. Police surmised Young shot Schmidt to death and then killed himself. Before Young died, he had been meeting with a psychologist. Today, no one knows why Young killed himself or his wife.

Young was buried as Byron Elsworth Barr in a North Carolina cemetery and left his Oscar with his agent Martin Baum. After Baum’s death, Young’s daughter received her father’s Oscar from Baum’s family. Today, whenever I see the lone Twilight Zone episode starring Gig Young, I always remember him as a man who never overcame his personal demons. At one point, he was a beloved celebrity. Today, he’s mostly forgotten. What went wrong in his life? How much different was he from Martin Sloan? The answer probably lies somewhere in the Twilight Zone.