Stanislaus Pascal Franchot Tone was an American actor, producer, and director of stage, film and television. He was a leading man in the 1930s and early 1940s, and at the height of his career was known for his gentlemanly sophisticate roles, with supporting roles by the 1950s. His acting crossed many genres including pre-Code romantic leads to noir layered roles and World War I films. He appeared as a guest star in episodes of several golden age television series, including The Twilight Zone and The Alfred Hitchcock Hour while continuing to act and produce in the theater and movies throughout the 1960s.
Hollywood Walk of Fame star at 6558 Hollywood Blvd.
June Walker (Laurey Williams), Helen Westley (Aunt Eller Murphy) and Tone (Curly McClain) in the original Broadway production of Green Grow the Lilacs (1931)
Top-billed with a lead role back at MGM studios on a 1937 film poster
Tone and Ella Raines in Phantom Lady; an early noir and villainous role for him
The Twilight Zone (1959 TV series)
The Twilight Zone is an American fantasy science fiction horror anthology television series created and presented by Rod Serling, which ran for five seasons on CBS from October 2, 1959, to June 19, 1964. Each episode presents a standalone story in which characters find themselves dealing with often disturbing or unusual events, an experience described as entering "the Twilight Zone", often with a surprise ending and a moral. Although often considered predominantly science-fiction, the show's paranormal and Kafkaesque events leaned the show much closer to fantasy and horror. The phrase "twilight zone" has entered the vernacular, used to describe surreal experiences.
Serling working on his script with a dictating machine, 1959
Serling models an airplane with actress Inger Stevens, who appeared in "The Hitch-Hiker" and "The Lateness of the Hour."
Pippa Scott in "The Trouble With Templeton"
Rod Serling at home in 1959