Actress From the Best 'Twilight Zone' Episode Dies at 80

Lois Nettleton as 'Norma' in the popular Twilight Zone episode 'The Midnight Sun'.

This photo provided courtesy of 'Leen Zone', a faithful member of The Twilight Zone Cafe, the premiere site dedicated to the show. Lois Nettleton is the one in the pink dress.

Left to Right - H. M. Wynant, Susan Gordon, Lois Nettleton, Peter Mark Richman, Paul Comi, Noah Keene, Jacqueline Scott, Tom Reese, Tom Lowell, Timothy J. Forbes (kneeling) From the 2006 Twilight Zone Convention.

'Leen Zone' from the Twilight Zone Cafe is on the right, posing with Morgan Brittany. My sincere thanks to her for the use of her pictures of the TZ Convention.

Although Brittany is more known for her role as 'Katherine' on the TV series 'Dallas', as a child she played the little girl in the Twilight Zone episode Nightmare as a Child.

It will always be ingrained on our collective conciousness as long as The Twilight Zone continues to be viewed by future generations.

The episode The Midnight Sun begins with a narration from Rod Serling. (partially reproduced here)

'One month ago, the Earth suddenly changed its elliptical orbit and in doing so began to follow a path which gradually, moment by moment, day by day, took it closer to the sun. And all of man's little devices to stir up the air are now no longer luxuries - they happen to be pitiful and panicky keys to survival. The time is five minutes to twelve, midnight. There is no more darkness. The place is New York City and this is the eve of the end, because even at midnight it's high noon, the hottest day in history, and you're about to spend it in the Twilight Zone.'

Lois Nettleton plays an aspiring artist doomed to die in a world that is much like a runaway version of global warming. The Earth is moving closer to the Sun, and the sentence for humanity is death. There is no escape.

But it is how we deal with the humanity of dying that this story is about. Nettleton made the episode a classic for the ages with her acting, and never once do you suspect what is happening to her is not real. It just IS.

In most polls, The Midnight Sun is named as the best all-time episode of the famous show.

Although Nettleton probably would have preferred people to remember her more for her portrayal of Blanche DuBois in 'Death of a Salesman', she understood the effect The Midnight Sun had on viewers. She often attended the TZ Conventions and was very gracious with fans. Some of the pictures shown are from those convention appearances.

If the world does eventually end in a miasma of melted paintings and waterfalls that no longer exist, people will always remember The Midnight Sun as thirty minutes of some of the best television ever.

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