Anecdotes

Father of actress Gaby Hoffmann, with Viva, although he remained largely estranged from the family.

In October 2010, Herrera was the featured guest speaker at the Cardiology & Oncology International Symposium in Nashville, Tennessee. He had been diagnosed with a rare and usually fatal form of non-Hodgkins lymphoma in 1997, but underwent a stem cell transplant and, after a relapse, received a donor stem cell transplant that made medical history.

In remission for 10 years, he had also written the book The Cancer War, and testified before the U.S. Congress about the importance of federal funding for stem cell research.

He graduated with a BA in Zoology and English Literature from Ole Miss

He was the son of Theresa Jewel (Blackburn) and Rafael Antonio Herrera. His paternal grandparents were Puerto Rican and Spanish, respectively. His mother's ancestry included German and English.