Herschel Henry Conner, III

Gainesville - Herschel Henry Conner, III, well-known Gainesville WUFT radio and television personality and actor, known to many as Hank, passed away at 1:15 AM on August 14th, following over a year of hospice care at the Oak Hammock retirement community, where he lived the last eight of his eighty-six years.

Hank was born in Eufaula, Alabama, in 1939, and spent four of his first six years apart from his father, who was serving in the South Pacific during World War II. His love for broadcasting began in high school, where he announced high school football games and was a DJ at the local radio station. He graduated from Eufaula High School in 1958 and attended Auburn University for several years before marrying Birmingham's Jerre Carlisle in 1961. Their daughter, now Laura Conner Byres, was born in 1962. Hank served for two years in the Armed Forces Radio and Television service. He was primarily stationed in Thule, Greenland, where he became one of the best-known radio voices in the country. It was there that he announced to the Arctic the tragic news of President Kennedy's assassination.

After his service, Hank returned to Auburn and graduated in 1966 with a B.A. in Theater. That same year he began teaching at the University of Florida, where he worked until 2015. In 1969, Hank and Jerre welcomed the birth of their son, Jeremy Conner. Over nearly five decades, Hank produced, directed, and hosted hundreds of WUFT programs, while also teaching classes in video production. "At one time, I was producing over half of the TV shows that WUFT did," he once said. He earned his MFA in Theater during his early years at UF.

His long-running interview program, Conner Calling, became a staple of WUFT radio. Among the many shows he hosted or co-hosted were Florida Weekend Gardener and Conner Calling. He also collaborated with his wife Jerre on two documentaries-El Tajin: Art and Death in Mesoamerica and Walk A Crooked Mile. As an actor, he appeared in the television dramas Catherine's Story (1999) and Santa Rules (2007), both directed by his friend James Babanikos. His Gainesville theatrical performances included leading roles in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, A Man for All Seasons, and The Fantasticks. He directed To Kill a Mockingbird at the Community Playhouse.

His friends and acquaintances, sometimes his interviewees, included Serge Kovaleski of the New York Times, Gov. Lawton Chiles, Wolf Blitzer, and popular prize-winning novelist Carl Hiaasen. Having interviewed many of the UF faculty, he knew most of them well and was loved by them, often playing a pivotal role in faculty affairs and serving as a vital presence on-air. Even after retiring from teaching and production, Hank continued hosting Conner Calling until his final broadcast in 2015. In retirement, he loved watching CNN and celebrating the success of former students who worked there.

Above all, he loved his wife Jerre, whose death preceded his, and his family. He is survived by his daughter Laura and her husband David Byres, and their children Sarah and Alec; his son Jeremy and his wife Mendi, and their sons Drew and Max; and his brother Ed. His family will deeply miss him. The family will hold a memorial event at a later date yet to be determined. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that you use this link to give in memory of Hank Conner: www.wuft.org/conner. As WUFT explains, "through this page, friends and colleagues can choose a station to support, and we'll be able to see how many gifts are made in his memory. Friends can also leave comments, and we encourage them to share their stories and memories of Hank."