RIP
Kim Manners

I am – Hercules.
Kim Manners, a prolific director and producer whose long showbiz career stretches from 1971’s “Valdez is Coming” to “Charlie’s Angels,” “Automan,” “Star Trek: The Next Generation,” “The Adventures of Brisco County Jr.,” “MANTIS,” and “Harsh Realm,” passed away Sunday night following a battle with cancer. His last directorial effort was “Metamorphosis,” the Oct. 9 episode of “Supernatural.” Manners directed 53 hours of “The X-Files,” including the 2002 two-hour series finale, “The Truth.” Hailing from a showbiz family, Manners got his start as a second assistant director on the big-screen Burt Lancaster western “Valdez is Coming,” produced by his father Sam. Joining “Charlie’s Angels” in 1977 as an assistant director and production manager, he eventually directed 11 episodes of that series, starting with 1979’s “Angels Remembered.” His episode of “Star Trek: The Next Generation” was season one’s “When The Bough Breaks,” about impotent extraterrestrials who kidnap the Enterprise’s children. “Supernatural” mastermind Eric Kripke issued this statement:

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.

Among those surviving Manners is sister and longtime assistant director Tana Manners (“Deadly Whispers”). A brother, Kelly Manners, was a producer on “Buffy The Vampire Slayer” and “Angel” and currently serves as a producer on the upcoming Fox series “Dollhouse.”