After Battling Pancreatic Cancer, Humorist Larry Himmel is Remembered by Family

Larry Himmel was about as big as they come as far as TV personalities are concerned. A multiple-Emmy-award-winning humorist and professional storyteller, Larry loved his San Diego neighborhoods and was often referred to as as the “resident rascal.”

He was fond of saying, “I’ve managed to live my entire life without having a real job!” With a zest for life like that, Himmel, at age 68, was gone too soon when he passed away on November 5, 2014 after battling pancreatic cancer.

In a recent interview, his son, Miles, talked about his dad, their relationship and how Larry is remembered in the community.

“You know, I always think of my dad as not a TV guy, I just think of him as my dad and my best friend,” said Miles. “So it was always so neat to see people who remember growing up with him and seeing his stories and saying, ‘Hey, there’s that guy from channel 8!’”

“Here’s a guy who had so much energy and wanted to go out every day and work and show this great community.” And then, too quickly, it was taken away from him. “He had been going in for tests because he was sick, and didn’t know why,” said Miles as he talked about the time when Larry was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. "Our life was thrown in chaos because of pancreatic cancer and that’s scary. Our first prognosis was one to two years. Somebody telling you ‘one to two years’ is scary.”

Unfortunately, Himmel passed away after only four months.

Miles shares his dad’s story to help raise awareness of pancreatic cancer and the hope that eventually a cure will be found.