X-Files Director Manners Dies
Longtime The X-Files director/producer Kim Manners has lost his battle with lung cancer. He was 59. Manners passed away on Sunday at the Cedars-Sinai hospital in Los Angeles following a long struggle with the deadly disease.
He was best known for his work on sci-fi series The X-Files, for which he won four Emmy Award nominations, and his stint on U.S. TV series Supernatural.
Manners began his career as a director on 1970s show Charlie's Angels. He went on to helm a variety of TV classics including 21 Jump Street and Mission: Impossible, as well as Star Trek: The Next Generation.
X-Files writer Frank Spotnitz has paid tribute to his late colleague, writing on his official web blog: "Kim had a blazing intensity that inspired everyone - writers, producers, actors and crew. As long as he'd been a director, he never lost his passion for his work. Every time he got a script, he gave it his all. He was driven to execute what he saw in his mind's eye in the most powerful and beautiful way he could. Kim was an incredible force of life. It is hard for me to believe or accept that he is gone."
Supernatural creator and executive producer Eric Kripke adds: "Everyone at Supernatural is walking around in a daze, shocked and absolutely devastated. Kim was a brilliant director; more than that, he was a mentor and friend. He was one of the patriarchs of the family, and we miss him desperately. He gave so much to Supernatural, and everything we do on the show, now and forever, is in memory of him."