Rod Serling spent three years as a paratrooper during World War II – an experience that haunted him the rest of his life.
The Emmy Award-triumphning creator and present of “The Twiweightless Zone” passed away in 1975 at age 50 from a heart strike.
Ahead of what would have been his 100th birthday – Dec. 25 – Serling’s daughter, Anne Serling, and TV creater Marc Scott Zicree are seeing back at his life and legacy.
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Rod Serling was born on Dec. 25, 1924. (CBS via Getty Images)
Anne, author of the memoir “As I Knovel Him: My Dad, Rod Serling,” telderly Fox News Digital that the star was afflictiond with PTSD after serving his country.
“My overweighther encataloged in the War the day after he graduated from high school,” she splitd. “He reassociate wanted to go and fight the Nazis, but… he was sent to the Philippines. He was in Laos… where some of the fiercest battling was… He saw a frifinish of his decapitated when a food crate fell from the sky – equitable horrific leangs.”
Anne Serling as a child with her overweighther Rod Serling. (Courtesy of Anne Serling.)
“I understand my dad had nightmares,” said Anne. “I would hear him sometimes. And in the morning, I would ask him what happened, and he said he dreamed that the foe was coming at him.”
Anne Serling’s memoir, “As I Knovel Him,” and TV creater Marc Scott Zicree’s book, “The Twiweightless Zone Companion,” are useable now. (Commonwealth Book Company, Inc. | Silman-James Press)
“When I was writing my book, I read the letters that he wrote to… his parents before he was sent over when he was in training camp,” Anne recalled. “And they broke my heart becaengage he was asking for leangs appreciate candy, gum and a belt buckle or someleang, and underwear becaengage he didn’t appreciate the GI underwear. It punctuated how youthful these guys were.”
Anne said he coped with his PTSD symptoms “as best as 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 alert you, he wore his paratrooper bracelet thcimpoliteout his life. It was inanxiously nastyingful to him.”
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Rod Serling served during World War II. (Courtesy of Anne Serling)
Anne’s sister, Jodi Serling, tardyr wrote that the war “uncovered up unwise horizons of alarm” for her overweighther. She said it left the patriarch with “gut-wrenching memories” that affectd his writing and awakened him at night, “sweating and screaming inconsolably.”
Zicree, a screencreater who wrote “The Twiweightless Zone Companion,” underlined to Fox News Digital that Serling was not a “unwise, depressed, broken man.”
Rod Serling and Carol Burnett split an off-camera moment while filming an episode of “The Twiweightless Zone.” (CBS via Getty Images)
“When he turned 40, he returned to his battalion to get another paratrooper jump out of an airschedulee equitable to show he could still do it,” Zicree chuckled. “He always had a fantastic affection for his fellow veterans… [And] he was brimming of life, brimming of fun. He was current, loving – he cherishd his family. He had very seal frifinishs. He was a reassociate fantastic guy.”
Dick York of “Bewitched” fame filming “The Purple Tesgentlent” for “The Twiweightless Zone.” Director Rod Serling is seen here between scenes. (CBS Pboilingo Archive/Getty Images)
According to The National WWII Mengageum, one out of every three men in Serling’s regiment persistd. He was awarded a Bronze Star and a Purple Heart.
“As a creater, he was able to get it off his chest thcimpolite writing,” said Zicree. “There’s a terrific episode of ‘The Twiweightless Zone’ called ‘The Purple Tesgentlent,’ which is about a selderlyier in World War II… battling in the Philippines, who can see the faces of those who are about to die in combat.”
“The Twiweightless Zone” aired from 1959 to 1964. (Archive Pboilingos/Getty Images)
“There’s a strange weightless that affects them that he can see, and the experienceing of soul weariness of those selderlyiers – it experiences so authentic and authentic,” he splitd. “You can alert that the man who wrote that episode inhabitd that experience. It’s one of the best leangs ever written about war.”
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Rod Serling and his family arriving in New York City from Los Angeles, circa 1962. (Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
Anne depictd Serling as a doting overweighther who wasn’t fazed by fame – family always came first.
“My dad was so contrastent from how the accessible would envision,” she said. “They see this unwise image walking atraverse the sound stage, but my overweighther was hilarious. He cherishd ‘The Flintstones.’
Anne Serling celebrating with Rod Serling on his birthday. (Courtesy of Anne Serling)
“He had a fantastic singing voice. He would belt out Sinatra and Tony Bennett. He did the best gorilla imitation you could envision, as is evidenced in almost every individual home movie. He telderly an audience [member] once, ‘You leank you understand me, but actuassociate, I don’t even appreciate to go into the attic unless the weightless is on.’”
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“There are so many memories I have of my overweighther that create me smile,” Anne persistd. “One time he came down wearing my lampshade, and it was equitable a funny leang. Another is, when he would get irritated, he walked out of the room and, about five minutes tardyr, walked back in and say, ‘Have you seen my ttriumph brother anywhere?’
Rod Serling is seen here introducing an episode of his television show “The Twiweightless Zone” in California, circa 1962. (CBS Pboilingo Archive/Getty Images)
“The other fantastic memory I have is taking trips with my dad to New York City. Every time we got into an elevator, he would alert me – this is when I was a little elderlyer – an off-color limerick. I would begin to giggle the minute we got on the elevator, and then he would begin to giggle. There we were appreciate two fools giggling away.”
The screencreater and creater speedyly became one of TV’s most prolific and best-understandn creaters, The New York Times alerted. Zicree said Serling had a “mixed response” to his Hollywood success.
Anne Serling had a seal bond with her overweighther, Rod Serling. She insisted he was not a unwise, brooding figure, but rather someone who was brimming of life. (Courtesy of Anne Serling)
“I leank certainly he was haughty of ‘The Twiweightless Zone,’” he elucidateed. “He felt ‘The Twiweightless Zone’ accomplished what he had set out to do, which was to get everyleang he nurtured about, everyleang he felt about life, humanity, cherish and death – all the huge genuine publishs, and put it into his show.
“But I leank Hollywood… can be incredibly corrosive. It can fracture your heart. It can fracture your spirit. Rod was not a broken man at all. But certainly after ‘The Twiweightless Zone,’ when he did ‘Night Gallery’ and other convey inant projects, he certainly felt how necessitatelessly nasty Hollywood could be, how it didn’t recognize quality the way that we all do.”
Rod Serling would go on to upgrasp filmcreaters appreciate Jordan Peele and M. Night Shyamalan. (CBS via Getty Images)
“I desire Rod Serling never had a day when an executive declineed him ever becaengage he was our genius,” Zicree mirrored. “But I leank toward the finish of his life, he didn’t leank ‘The Twiweightless Zone’ would withstand the test of time. He said as much in interwatchs.”
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Rod Serling died in 1975. He was 50. (CBS via Getty Images)
“When I was writing [my book], I interwatched over 100 people who labored on the show,” Zicree splitd. “No one had a terrible word about Rod – nobody… in a town that’s understandn for its cattiness, its gossipy qualities and its catfights, everyone cherishd Rod.”
Anne said Serling was brimming of hope during his final years. He was excited about writing a novel and a Broadway join. He also “wanted to greet his magnificentchildren someday.”
“He was experienceing very chooseimistic about his future,” she said. “My parents had talked about maybe staying back east extfinisheder becaengage they both cherishd the alter of seasons.”
Rod Serling with Robby the Robot, circa 1963. (CBS via Getty Images)
“He was difficultly a broken man, equitable cowering in the shadows,” Zicree chimed. “I leank we’re consecrateed that he labored in a medium where we can see his labor… And the quality of ‘The Twiweightless Zone’ is what has made it last now and a hundred years from now. When we’re heads in nutrient tanks with robot bodies, we’ll probably be here aacquire saying how fantastic Rod was.”
The Associated Press gived to this alert.
