'The Twilight Zone' host and creator was plagued with PTSD after WWII but was 'not a broken man': authors

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-winning creator and host of "The Twilight Zone" passed away in 1975 at age 50 from a heart attack. 

Ahead of what would have been his 100th birthday - Dec. 25 - Serling's daughter, Anne Serling, and TV writer Marc Scott Zicree are looking back at his life and legacy.

"I know 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 enemy was coming at him."

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

Anne's sister, Jodi Serling, later wrote that the war "opened up dark horizons of terror" for her father. She said it left the patriarch with "gut-wrenching memories" that influenced his writing and awakened him at night, "sweating and screaming inconsolably." 

"There's a strange light that affects them that he can see, and the feeling of soul weariness of those soldiers - it feels so real and authentic," he shared. "You can tell that the man who wrote that episode lived that experience. It's one of the best things ever written about war."

Anne described Serling as a doting father who wasn't fazed by fame - family always came first.

"He had a great singing voice. He would belt out Sinatra and Tony Bennett. He did the best gorilla imitation you could imagine, as is evidenced in almost every single home movie. He told an audience [member] once, 'You think you know me, but actually, I don't even like to go into the attic unless the light is on.'"

WATCH: ROD SERLING OF 'THE TWILIGHT ZONE' HAD PTSD, WAS 'NOT A BROKEN MAN'

"There are so many memories I have of my father that make me smile," Anne continued. "One time he came down wearing my lampshade, and it was just a funny thing. Another is, when he would get angry, he walked out of the room and, about five minutes later, walked back in and say, 'Have you seen my twin brother anywhere?'

"The other great memory I have is taking trips with my dad to New York City. Every time we got into an elevator, he would tell me - this is when I was a little older - an off-color limerick. I would start to laugh the minute we got on the elevator, and then he would start to laugh. There we were like two fools giggling away."

"I wish Rod Serling never had a day when an executive rejected him ever because he was our genius," Zicree reflected. "But I think toward the end of his life, he didn't think 'The Twilight Zone' would withstand the test of time. He said as much in interviews."

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 someday."

"He was feeling very positive about his future," she said. "My parents had talked about maybe staying back east longer because they both loved the change of seasons."