Jerry Manley

**Jerry Manley** (died 1990) was a photographer specializing in sports photography. A native of the small town of Canaima, California, Manley was commissioned by entomologist Dr. James Atherton to perform photography field work on a scientific expedition in the Amazon basin of Venezuela. There, in an unexplored region of the rainforest, the team encountered a new species of spider, one of which accompanied Manley, killed him, and used his corpse for continued sustenance as it was delivered to California. His body arrived withered and mutilated, prompting a closed casket funeral and great distress to his family.

## Biography

### Early life

Manley was the son of Henrietta and Dick Manley, a family in the small, seaside town of Canaima, California, where he was presumably raised.

Manley eventually became a photographer by trade. He specialized in sports photography, particularly football, perhaps influenced by his own independent interest in the sport. Notably, he was a fan of the Miami Dolphins and wore a baseball cap indicating his enthusiasm for the team.

### Venezuela assignment

“*Dr. Atherton, I presume?*”
—Manley, meeting Dr. James Atherton[src]
In 1990, Manley was commissioned by a famous entomologist, Dr. James Atherton, for photography field work on a scientific expedition in South America. Though a specialized sports photographer, Manley came to an agreement with Atherton for his services.

En route to the job site, Manley landed in Caracas, Venezuela. There he began to suffer from a fever, which delayed his arrival and afflicted him even as he continued along the Orinoco River via boat to the research team's base camp.

When he arrived, the photographer disembarked to find Atherton waiting by the riverside. He explained his delay with reference to the fever he had caught in Caracas, to which Atherton was unsympathetic. Instead, the scientist introduced him to field assistant Miguel Higueras, gave photographic instructions, and revealed their destination—a new and unexplored tepui, a kind of flat-top mountain which often hosts an isolated ecosystem.

### Descending the sinkhole

Manley, along with Atherton, Higueras, and native escorts, embarked by helicopter to the tepui, which they discovered upon arrival had been eroded by millions of years of waterfalls into a deep and cavernous sinkhole.

## Characters met

* James Atherton
* Miguel Higueras

## Behind the scenes

Jerry Manley was portrayed by Mark L. Taylor in the 1990 film *Arachnophobia*. Later, Taylor would host *Thrills, Chills & Spiders: The Making of Arachnophobia*, in which he said, "it's not every day an actor gets a chance to work with co-stars like this [the *Delena cancerides* spiders used to portray the smaller killer arachnids of the film], so I was thrilled when Frank Marshall offered me the part of photographer Jerry Manley." While filming in Venezuela, at Canaima National Park, Taylor took several memorable boat and helicopter rides. On one day of filming, after reaching the remote tepui filming site by helicopter, Taylor realized that he had misplaced his conspicuous "Miami Dolphins" hat, which he usually kept in his pocket, leaving the crew unable to film any of his scenes until it was retrieved. He joked with director Frank Marshall that some day an adventurer would uncover the hat in the middle of the jungle, thus beginning a new movie, "Sombrerophobia." Marshall responded that the film would not work because "there's no showdown."

## Appearances

1. ARACHNOPHOBIA (first appearance)
2. ARACHNOPHOBIA novel
3. ARACHNOPHOBIA: Official Movie Adaptation

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 *Thrills, Chills & Spiders: The Making of* Arachnophobia ( Available on YouTube on YouTube)