The Twilight Zone's Rod Serling Tricked Jodie Foster Into Thinking She Was A Witch (On A TV Show)
Rod Serling is primarily known for creating and developing the majorly popular anthology series "The Twilight Zone," on top of being the charismatic host who bookended every episode with valuable insight. Airing for five seasons, "The Twilight Zone" was home to tales that ranged from the nostalgic to the macabre, often sprinkled with a touch of science fiction and horror that reflect everyday societal ills. Interested in telling stories that pushed the boundaries of network TV while evading censorship, Serling and his talented team of writers came up with scripts that forayed into a liminal space they dubbed The Twilight Zone, where anything was possible and nothing could be taken for granted.
Serling's legacy eclipses "The Twilight Zone," of course, as the screenwriter/playwright was also involved in penning the scripts for films like "Patterns," which was televised by the Kraft Television Theater in 1955. He additionally wrote scripts for shows such as "Playhouse 90" and "Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse," and even forayed into acting stints in television at the height of his career. On one such occasion, Serling played a witchcraft store salesman in an episode of "Ironside" titled "Bubble, Bubble, Toil and Murder," starring alongside a young Jodie Foster, who played an impressionable child who is convinced that she has successfully cast a spell.
While "Ironside" boasts several memorable episodes throughout its eight-season run, "Bubble, Bubble, Toil and Murder" features this unexpected pairing, whose characters are indirectly involved in a case overseen by police consultant Robert T. Ironside (Raymond Burr), the protagonist of the series. Here's how the events of this episode played out.
Is it witchcraft or murder?
Foster was only 10 when she was cast as Pip Baker, the daughter of Ironside's friends, Gerald (Paul Carr) and Carol Barker (Anne Whitfield). While Pip is rather naive, considering that she is a child, her inquisitive nature leads to an obsession with the occult, particularly witchcraft. While she casually dabbles in spells with childlike glee, things take a darker turn when Pip believes that her spellwork has directly caused the death of her landlord, who is established as an unpleasant figure before his murder. When a man named Billy (Lee Paul) comes forward claiming that he is responsible for the murder, Pip is more disturbed, as she believes herself to be responsible for the death.
Ironside tries to convince Pip that her superstitious beliefs about dark versus black magic are not rooted in objective reality, leading them to enter a magic shop presided over by a certain Mr. Thyros (Serling). While Thyros tries to discourage Pip's misguided beliefs, stating that herbs from his apothecary are just watered-down daily ingredients, she adamantly believes that she brewed a success potion that went wrong. At this point, Thyros sighs and asks her to consult his wife, who he claims is a real witch. It's a rather amusing segment that allows Serling and Foster to share the screen, although it's later revealed that neither Pip nor Billy is responsible. In truth, the victim had fallen from the stairs, and a third person had cracked his skull with a heavy object.
As brief as Serling's appearance in the episode is, it's delightful to see him ham it up in such an eccentric role. Meanwhile, Foster's Pip adds an occult twist to a mysterious murder that ends up becoming more than a little convoluted to solve ... until it isn't.