Herbert was best known to me as the somewhat dry, but still genial, "Mr. Wizard," host of a kiddie science show that ran on Nickelodeon when I was a little girl. His whole purpose was to explain science to kids in a way that made it fun and relatable.
He was the one who taught us how to make volcanoes out of ordinary household items. He taught us that science could be magical and fun. That's ironic, because Herbert himself was a pretty staid guy.
He didn't have the nuttiness of his successor, Bill Nye (as in "Bill Nye, the Science Guy). Herbert wasn't a friend to kids. He was more like a kindly uncle, or a really nice science teacher. He seemed quiet, nice and smart. But he knew his stuff.
I wasn't a huge Mr. Wizard fan, admittedly. I preferred kiddie shows with puppets and cartoons. Yet I did like the idea that science was everywhere, and not just something that you learned in school. Mr. Wizard turned everyday life into a learning experience, which was something even I could appreciate.
Though I remember Herbert from my childhood in the 1980s, his show was actually much older than that. "Watch Mr. Wizard" origianlly aired in the 1950s, even winning a Peabody award. It was revived in the 1970s, and again in the 80s for Nickelodeon.
In today's world of short attention spans, I'm not sure how well how Herbert's show would have fared. But I know those of my generation, and a few before it, remember him fondly.
He will be missed.