WWE is mourning the loss of one of the most influential figures behind its television presentation.

Longtime director Kerwin Silfies has passed away at the age of 75. According to PWInsider, Silfies had been privately battling health issues and died last night. He had been living in Florida in recent years.

Silfies began his run with WWE in 1985 during the WWF era and became one of the most important creative forces behind the camera for decades. His work spanned multiple eras of the company’s growth, from the national expansion boom of the 1980s to its modern global reach. He remained in his position into the early 2020s before being furloughed during the COVID-19 pandemic. He did not return to the company, a decision that caught many within the business off guard. Marty Miller would later step into the director role for Raw.

Throughout his career, Silfies was responsible for directing some of WWE’s most historic broadcasts. He called the shots for Saturday Night’s Main Event during its prime network television run, helmed numerous WrestleMania events, and oversaw major international productions, including WWE’s first events in Saudi Arabia.

His influence extended far beyond camera angles. Silfies played a critical role in how WWE characters were introduced and presented to audiences. Bruce Prichard has previously credited him for helping craft the memorable vignettes that introduced Curt Henning as Mr. Perfect, segments that remain among the most celebrated character builds in wrestling history.

Outside of wrestling, Silfies directed The Last Full Measure in 2007, a documentary narrated by Stacy Keach that examined The Battle of Gettysburg.

In a lesser known connection to WWE storylines, Silfies’ first name inspired the short lived Kerwin White character portrayed by Chavo Guerrero in 2005. Though he largely remained behind the scenes, he did briefly appear in a recent Peacock documentary focused on WrestleMania IX, offering fans a rare look at the man responsible for shaping so much of WWE’s visual storytelling.