Herrera produced and directed a short documentary titled Mississippi Delta Blues, about the life of James "Son" Thomas.

In 1987, he wrote and directed an episode of American Playhouse titled "The Wide Net", starring Kyra Sedgwick.

He also appeared as Lee Falk's Mandrake the Magician, alongside Ji-Tu Cumbuka as Lothar, in a failed TV series pilot.

He went to Memorial Sloan-Kettering and underwent chemotherapy, total body irradiation, and an autologous stem cell transplant, but all these treatments were unsuccessful.

In October 2010, Herrera was the featured guest speaker at the Cardiology & Oncology International Symposium in Nashville, Tennessee.