Rod Serling spent three years as a paratrooper during World War II – an experience that haunted him for the rest of his life.
The Emmy Award-winning creator and host of “The Twilight Zone” died in 1975 at age 50 of a heart attack.
Ahead of his 100th birthday — December 25 — Serling's daughter, Anne Serling, and television writer Mark Scott Zicree look back at his life and legacy.
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Rod Serling was born on December 25, 1924. (CBS via Getty Images)
Anne, author of memoirs “As I knew him: My father, Rod Serling.” He told Fox News Digital that the star was suffering from PTSD after serving his country.
“My father joined the war the day after he graduated from high school,” she said. “He really wanted to go and fight the Nazis, but… he was sent to the Philippines. He was in Laos… where some of the fiercest fighting took place… he saw a friend of his beheaded when a box of food fell from the sky – just horrible stuff.”
Anne Serling as a child with her father Rod Serling. (Courtesy of Anne Serling.)
“I know my father had nightmares,” Anne said. “I would hear him sometimes. In the morning, I would ask him what happened, and he would say that he dreamed that the enemy was approaching him.”
Anne Serling's memoir “As I Knew Him” and television writer Mark Scott Zicree's book “The Twilight Zone Companion” are available now. (Commonwealth Book Company | Silman James Press)
“When I was writing my book, “I read the letters he wrote to his parents before he was sent when he was at boot camp. They broke my heart because he would ask for things like candy and gum and a belt buckle or something,” Anne recalls. And underwear because he didn't like GI underwear. “It permeated how young these guys were.”
Ahn said he dealt with his PTSD symptoms “as best he could.”
Anne Serling with Rod Serling on Father's Day. (Courtesy of Anne Serling)
“It was called 'shell shock' back then,” she said. “It wasn't even a term, PTSD…but I'll tell you, he wore the parachutist bracelet his whole life. “It was very meaningful to him.”
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Rod Serling served during World War II. (Courtesy of Anne Serling)
Anne's sister, Judy Serling, later wrote that the war “opened up dark horizons of horror” for her father. She said that this left the patriarch with “painful memories” that affected his writing and woke him up at night, “sweating and screaming relentlessly.”
Zicree, the screenwriter who wrote “The Twilight Zone Companion” He stressed to Fox News Digital that Serling was not a “dark, depressed, broken man.”
Rod Serling and Carol Burnett share an off-camera moment while filming an episode of “The Twilight Zone.” (CBS via Getty Images)
“When he turned 40, he went back to his battalion to do another parachute jump from a plane just to show he could still do it,” Zicri said with a laugh. “He always had great affection for his fellow veterans… (and) he was full of life, full of fun. He was present and loving — he loved his family. He had very close friends. He was a truly wonderful man.”
Dick York of “Bewitched” fame portrays “The Purple Covenant” for “The Twilight Zone.” Director Rod Serling appears here between scenes. (CBS Photo Archive/Getty Images)
according to National World War II MuseumOne out of every three men in Serling's regiment survived. He was awarded the Bronze Star and Purple Heart.
“As a writer, he was able to get his heart out through writing,” Zikri said. “There's a great episode of 'The Twilight Zone' called 'Purple Reign,' which is about a World War II soldier…fighting in the Philippines, and he can see the faces of those who are about to die in combat.”
“The Twilight Zone” aired from 1959 to 1964. (Archive Photos/Getty Images)
“There is a strange light affecting them that can be seen, and feeling the weariness of the soul of these soldiers – it is a very real and authentic feeling,” he said. “You can tell the guy who wrote that episode lived that experience. It's one of the best things ever written about war.”
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Rod Serling and his family arrive in New York City from Los Angeles, circa 1962. (Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
Anne described Serling as a doting father and was not bothered by fame – family always came first.
“My father was very different from what the public imagines,” she said. “They saw this dark image going across the soundstage, but my dad was hilarious. He loved “The Flintstones.”
Anne Serling celebrates with Rod Serling on his birthday. (Courtesy of Anne Serling)
“He had a wonderful singing voice. He was superior to Sinatra and Tony Bennett. He did the best gorilla imitation you can imagine, as is evident in almost every home movie. 'You think you know me,' he once told an audience, but in fact, 'I don't like going into the attic unless the light's on.'”
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“There are so many memories I have of my father that make me smile,” Anne continued. “One time he came down wearing my lamp shade, and it was funny. Another time, when he was getting angry, he ran out of the room, and after about five minutes, he came back in and said, 'Have you seen my twin brother anywhere?'
Shown here is Rod Serling presenting an episode of his TV show “The Twilight Zone” in California, circa 1962. (CBS Photo Archive/Getty Images)
“Another great memory I have is taking trips with my father to New York City. Every time we got into the elevator, he would say to me – and this was when I was a little older – an off-color poem. I would start laughing the minute we got on the elevator.” “The elevator, then he starts laughing, and here we are, laughing like two idiots.”
The screenwriter and producer quickly became one of television's most prolific and popular writers, New York Times I mentioned. Zicri said Serling had mixed reactions to his success in Hollywood.
Anne Serling had a close relationship with her father, Rod Serling. She insisted that he was not a dark and depressed character, but rather someone full of life. (Courtesy of Anne Serling)
“I think it definitely is He was proud of The Twilight Zone,” He explained. He felt that The Twilight Zone had accomplished what it set out to do, which was to take everything he cared about, everything he felt about life and humanity and love and death—all the big real issues, and put them into his show. .
“But I think Hollywood… can be incredibly corrosive. It can break your heart. It can break your spirit. Rudd was never a broken man. But certainly after The Twilight Zone, when he did Night Gallery and other movies . major projects, he definitely felt how unnecessarily cruel Hollywood is, how it doesn't recognize quality the way we all do.
Rod Serling would go on to inspire filmmakers like Jordan Peele and M. Night Shyamalan. (CBS via Getty Images)
“I hope Rod Serling never has a day where an executive ever turns him down because he was our genius,” Zicri said. “But I think at the end of his life, he didn't think 'The Twilight Zone' would stand the test of time. He's said that in interviews.”
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Rod Serling died in 1975 at the age of 50. (CBS via Getty Images)
“When I was writing (my book), I interviewed over 100 people who worked on the show,” Zicri said. “No one said a bad word about Rudd – no one… In a city known for its rudeness, gossipy qualities and cat fights, everyone loved Rudd.”
Ann said Serling was full of hope during his final years. He was excited to write a novel and a Broadway play. He also “wanted to meet his grandchildren one day.”
“He was feeling very positive about his future,” she said. “My parents talked about the possibility of staying east longer because they liked the change of seasons.”
Rod Serling with Robbie the Robot, circa 1963. (CBS via Getty Images)
“He wasn't a broken man, he was trembling in the shadows,” Zicri said. “I think we're lucky that he worked in a medium where we can see his work… and it's the quality of The Twilight Zone that keeps it going now and a hundred years from now. When we head toward tank feeders with robotic bodies, we'll probably be here saying how great Rod was “.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
