‘The Twilight Zone’ creator was plagued with PTSD after WWII: daughter

Rod Serling spent three years as a paratrooper during World War II – an experience that stayed with him for the rest of his life.

The Emmy Award-winning creator and host of “The Twilight Zone” died of a heart attack in 1975 at the age of 50.

On the eve of his 100th birthday – December 25 – Serling’s daughter Anne Serling and TV writer Marc 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, memoirist “As I Knew Him: My Dad, Rod Serling,” told Fox News Digital that the star suffered from PTSD after serving his country.

“My father enlisted in 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 there was some of the fiercest fighting… He saw his friend’s head beheaded when a crate of food fell from the sky – just horrible things. “

Anne Serling as a child with her father Rod Serling. (Courtesy of Anne Serling.)

“I know my dad had nightmares,” Anne said. “I would hear him sometimes. And in the morning I would ask him what happened, and he said he dreamed that the enemy was coming at him.”

Anna Serling’s memoir “As I Knew Him” ​​and television writer Marc Scott Zicree’s book “The Twilight Zone Companion” are now available. (Commonwealth Book Company, Inc. | Silman-James Press)

“When I wrote my book, I read the letters he wrote … to his parents before they sent him away when he was in boot camp,” Anne recalled. “And it broke my heart because he asked for things like candy and gum and belt buckles or something like that, and underwear because he didn’t like GI underwear. It showed how young those guys were.”

Anne said he coped with his PTSD symptoms “as best he could”.

Anne Serling with Rod Serling on Father’s Day. (Courtesy of Anne Serling)

“Back then it was called ‘shell shock,'” she said. “It wasn’t even a term, PTSD… But I’ll tell you, he wore his parachute bracelet his whole life. It meant a lot to him.”

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Rod Serling served during World War II. (Courtesy of Anne Serling)

Anne’s sister, Jodi Serling, later wrote that the war “opened the dark horizons of terror” to her father. She said it left the patriarch with “torturous memories” that affected his writing and woke him up at night, “sweating and screaming inconsolably”.

Zicree, the screenwriter who wrote “The Twilight Zone Companion”, emphasized to Fox News Digital that Serling is 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 skydive just to show he could still do it,” laughed Zicree. “He always had great affection for his fellow veterans… [And] he was full of life, full of fun. He was present, full of love – he loved his family. He had very close friends. He was a really great guy.”

Dick York from the series “Bewitched” became famous for filming “The Purple Testament” for “The Twilight Zone”. Director Rod Serling is seen here between scenes. (CBS Photo Archive/Getty Images)

According to National Museum of the Second World Warone out of every three men in Serling’s regiment survived. He was awarded the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart.

“As a writer, he was able to solve that with his writing,” Zicree said. “There’s a great episode of ‘The Twilight Zone’ called ‘The Purple Testament,’ which is about a soldier in World War II … fighting in the Philippines, who can see the faces of those who will die in battle.”

“The Twilight Zone” was broadcast from 1959 to 1964. (Archive Photos/Getty Images)

“There’s a strange light affecting them that he can see, and the sense of mental weariness of those soldiers – it feels so real and authentic,” he shared. “You can tell the man 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 from Los Angeles, circa 1962. (Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Anne described Serling as a caring father who was unfazed by fame – family always came first.

“My dad was so different than the public would imagine,” she said. “They see this dark image walking across the sound stage, but my father was funny. He loved ‘The Flintstones’.

Anne Serling celebrates with Rod Serling on his birthday. (Courtesy of Anne Serling)

“He had a great singing voice. He would sing Sinatra and Tony Bennett. He did the best impersonation of a gorilla you can imagine, which is seen in almost every domestic film. He told the audience [member] once, ‘You think you know me, but actually, I don’t even like to go in the attic unless the lights are 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 downstairs carrying my lampshade, and it was a funny thing. Another time, when he got angry, he would go out of the room and, about five minutes later, come back in and say, ‘Have you seen my twin brother anywhere? ‘

Rod Serling is seen here presenting an episode of his television show “The Twilight Zone” in California, circa 1962. (CBS Photo Archive/Getty Images)

“Another good memory I have is a trip with my father to New York. Every time we got in the elevator, he would tell me – this was when I was a little older – some bad limerick. I would start laughing as soon as we got in the elevator, and then he would start laughing, we were like two fools giggling.”

The screenwriter and producer quickly became one of the most prolific and famous TV writers, The New York Times reported. Zicree 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, brooding person, but someone who was full of life. (Courtesy of Anne Serling)

“I think he must be was proud of ‘The Twilight Zone,'” he explained. “He felt that ‘The Twilight Zone’ accomplished what he set out to do, which was to take everything he cared about, everything he felt about life, humanity, love and death – all the big true questions, and put it into your show.

“But I think Hollywood … can be incredibly corrosive. It can break your heart. It can break your spirit. Rod wasn’t a broken man at all. But certainly after ‘The Twilight Zone,’ when he did ‘Night Gallery’ and other big projects, he certainly felt how needlessly cruel Hollywood can be, 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 wish Rod Serling never had a day when a CEO ever turned him down because he was our genius,” Zicree mused. “But I don’t think near the end of his life he thought ‘The Twilight Zone’ would stand the test of time. He said that in interviews.”

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Rod Serling died in 1975. He was 50 years old. (CBS via Getty Images)

“When I wrote [my book]I interviewed over 100 people who worked on the show,” shared Zicree. “No one had a bad word to say about Rod – no one… in a town known for its catiness, gossip and cat fights, everyone loved Rod. “

Anne said Serling was full of hope during his final years. He was excited about writing a novel and a Broadway play. He also “wanted to meet his grandchildren one day.”

“He was very positive about his future,” she said. “My parents talked about maybe staying back east longer because they both liked the change of seasons.”

Rod Serling with Robby the robot, circa 1963. (CBS via Getty Images)

“He was hardly a broken man, just hiding in the shadows,” Zicree chimed. “I think we’re blessed that he worked in a medium where we can see his work… And the quality of ‘The Twilight Zone’ is what made it last now and in a hundred years. When we’re in a nutritional tank with robot bodies, probably we’ll be here again saying how great Rod was.”