Cuban-born writer and producer Manny Coto, who won an Emmy for his work on 24 and contributed to both the first four seasons of American Horror Story and the subsequent two seasons, has passed away.
Manny Coto Cause Of Death
After a 13-month battle with pancreatic cancer, Coto, whose early interest in Star Trek and Super-8 filmmaking led to a 40-year career in cinema and television, passed away on Sunday at his home in Pasadena, a family spokeswoman said.
We have lost Manny Coto. Manny Coto, a great writer and producer who worked on shows including “24,” “Dexter,” and “American Horror Story,” died at the age of 62.
On Sunday, at his home in Pasadena, he passed away from pancreatic cancer. A representative for Coto’s family has verified the news, saying that he fought cancer for 13 months and died with his loved ones around.
Unfortunately, Manny Coto has passed away. His contributions to the entertainment business were substantial, and his influence on hit TV shows will be felt for years to come. His writing, producing, and creative efforts were met with widespread appreciation. The iconic tales that Coto helped bring to the big screen will forever be associated with his name.
Mark A. Altman, a prominent Trek journalist and self-proclaimed “Inglorious Trekspert,” tweeted that Coto is a “legend” in the Star Trek universe.
Heartbroken to hear about the death of MANNY COTO. He was a wonderful guy, talented showrunner and his love for #StarTrek knew no bounds. Not since Michael Piller died of throat cancer has the Trek writing family lost such a legend. https://t.co/Brv55dm1n3
— Mark A. Altman * (@markaaltman) July 10, 2023
Mike Okuda, a legendary alumnus of the art department, recently spoke with Coto and Doug Drexler and posed for a great portrait.
Remembering writer-producer Manny Coto, who brought the fun back to Enterprise’s fourth season with his love for Star Trek. Manny had been battling pancreatic cancer and passed away at age 62. Photo: Admiral Manny Coto with Doug Drexler & me during the Enterprise finale in 2005. pic.twitter.com/klHwX7EJQ3
— Michael Okuda (@MikeOkuda) July 11, 2023
Manny Coto’s Profession
In 2006, Coto’s first year with the Fox drama 24, starring Kiefer Sutherland, won him the Emmy for Outstanding Drama Series. He lasted through the show’s eighth and final season and then wrote and produced the 2014 and 2016–17 follow-ups, 24: Live Another Day and 24: Legacy.
Coto was the executive producer for the 2018–22 and 2021–22 seasons of the FX anthology series American Horror Story. He also directed the 2021 episode “Feral” of Stories. Coto devised and oversaw the production of Fox’s neXt in 2020, and he also developed and produced Odyssey 5, which aired for two years (2002–2003) on Showtime.
In the latter, played by Peter Weller, a shuttle crew is sent back in time five years to alter their actions and prevent Earth’s destruction. The Ticking Man, a screenplay written by Coto and Brian Helgeland in 1990, follows a bomb squad officer as he tracks down a cyborg with a nuclear weapon. Although it was never made into a film, it holds the record as the first feature screenplay to sell for $1 million.
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Coto and Helgeland were talking ideas over the phone during a time when the market for spec scripts was booming. “Let’s not hang up until we come up with an idea that we can sell for a million dollars,” Helgeland suggested. Coto finally posed the question, “What if a nuclear bomb became sentient?” after the group discussed the possibility.
On June 10, 1961, Manuel Hector Coto entered the world in Havana. His mother, Norma, was a schoolteacher, and his father, also named Manuel, worked as a physician. The Cotos decided their children would not be raised in a totalitarian society when the government of Fidel Castro changed textbooks to include pro-Castro ideology and indoctrination.
Mother and son immigrated to the United States in February 1962, leaving father behind. (They’d see each other again in Tampa in a few months.) Coto, who grew up in Orlando with his siblings Jorge, Juan Carlos, and Normi, used his father’s Super-8 camera to create a horror film called Flesh.
The Incredible Bulk then featured Tico Perez, a high school classmate, and fellow wrestler, painting his body green and bouncing around Bishop Moore. During the summers, Coto worked at Disney World’s Haunted Mansion. Coto moved to Los Angeles in 1983 and started working in advertisements after graduating from Loyola University in New Orleans.
Proud to have worked with such an incredible group of people. Still the happiest time of my career. https://t.co/9Njcd1ITHI
— Manny Coto (@mannyhectorcoto) September 26, 2022
After meeting actress Tippi Hedren, he got her to star in a murder mystery short film he wrote for her. Because of that, he was accepted to study at the American Film Institute. Jack in the Box, his AFI short horror film, led to him directing an episode of the revived Alfred Hitchcock Presents in 1988 when he reimagined the classic story of Twist. After that, in 1989, he directed an episode of the Monsters TV show.
From there, he directed the horror movie Playroom (1990), featuring Christopher McDonald as a doomed archeologist; the political thriller Cover-Up (1991), starring Dolph Lundgren; and the family science fiction film Star Kid (1997), starring Joseph Mazzello.
His 1992 horror film Dr. Giggles, which he co-wrote and directed, has recently been reissued on Blu-ray by Shout! Factory and has gained cult status in the meantime. In 2001, he led the Disney Channel original movie Zenon: The Zequel.
His mother, Norma, and eight nieces and nephews all survive him, as does his wife, visual effects supervisor Robin Trickett, whom he met on Odyssey 5; his children Manny, Riley, and twins Charlotte and Finley; and his sister and brother Juan Carlos.
In his spare time, Coto enjoyed working on model trains, watching old episodes of Doc Savage and The Shadow, and tending to his backyard vineyard, which produces 200 bottles of a zinfandel/petite sirah blend annually.
The bottle’s label was written by Coto, who says, “Nurtured in the California sunshine, and with the laughter of our four children … this is a humble wine rich in fruit and character for you to enjoy at every occasion in need of a special surprise.”
