Kim Manners Producer of Supernatural and the X-Files Has Died

Kim Manners, Executive Producer of the CW horror series Supernatural, died in Los Angeles on January 25, 2009 of lung cancer. He had been ill since last fall. The first public announcement of his illness came on the morning of January 26, on Supernatural actor Jim Beaver's MySpace blog. Beaver, who plays recurring character Bobby Singer, wrote that he was mourning his good friend Kim Manners.

Word quickly spread among the show's fans, who at first thought it was a hoax. Not until the afternoon did the media get on board. By then, a Book of Condolence had sprung up on the actor board for Jensen Ackles on Internet Movie Database. The Supernatural Wiki site also put up an "Honoring Kim Manners" page. Eric Kripke, executive producer and creator of Supernatural, confirmed the news with a press announcement:

"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."

Writer Frank Spotnitz, who had worked with Manners on SF cult show The X-Files also wrote a tribute on his blog: "Kim had a blazing intensity that inspired everyone - writers, producers, actors and crew."

In his blog, Jim Beaver wrote: "Last night, a friend my age left me and all those who loved him forever. I first met Kim Manners when he directed me in an episode of THE X-FILES, for which he was a major figure in the appeal of that show, its look, style, and movement. I thought, in that few days, that I had found one of the great directors I'd ever worked with, and a mensch of the first order. Little did I know."

Manners was best known for being the producer of both Supernatural and The X-Files, but he made a career as a director, first, starting out with Charlie's Angels back in the late 1970s and directing for series like Simon & Simon, 21 Jump Street and The Adventures of Brisco County Jr., as well as for Supernatural and The X-Files. His last directing project was Supernatural season four episode "Metamorphosis".

Kim Manners was popular with Supernatural fans and much-beloved by the cast, directing fan favorites like season one's "Scarecrow", season two premiere "In My Time of Dying" and season three's "Mystery Spot". About Manners' first episode directed for Supernatural, "Dead in the Water", series star Jensen Ackles (Dean Winchester) told the Supernatural: The Official Companion, Season 1, "I kind of always stuck to 'Dead in the Water' being one of my favorites...It was the first episode we did with Kim--it kind of gave us Kim, so that was a nice thing."

Ackles and his co-star Jared Padalecki (Sam Winchester) got into an infamous prank war with Manners following an incident during the filming of season two episode "No Exit" in which they threw him into a pool of water. Manners got them back a week later. After luring them into a vertical sewer shaft with no way out, the crew dumped cold water on Padalecki and Ackles, Padalecki getting the worst of it, then called down, "Better wake ya up in the morning!" To add merry insult to injury, the prank was saved for posterity on the season two gag reel. Padalecki and Ackles swore epic revenge, but never did get the chance, leaving Manners the final laugh.

The incident contributed to the reputation Supernatural acquired for having a fun set to work on, particularly when Kim Manners was directing. In an interview from issue one of Supernatural Magazine, Manners said, "If you've ever seen a Fellini movie, that's what the set is like. Everyone's nuts, and we have a great time."

Kim Manners was supposed to direct the season four finale. Eric Kripke will take over the directorial honors instead. How the show will be affected in the long run by Manners' loss remains unclear. The show will go on without him, but he can never be replaced. We miss you, Kim.