Shannon Vickery interviews General Hugh Shelton for Sunday's installment of "Biographical Conversations" on UNC-TV.

Vickery talks to Shelton, a North Carolina native, about his life growing up on a family farm in Edgecombe County, his time at North Carolina State University, his distinguished military career and his long marriage to Carolyn Johnson Shelton.

Shelton led the ground campaign in the first Gulf War and was Chairman of the Joint Chiefs for two presidents. Shelton departed public service in late 2011 after a fall left him temporarily paralyzed.

The Shelton interviews will air in four parts beginning Sunday at 6 p.m. Subsequent episodes will air over the next four Sundays at the same hour: January 13, 20 and 27. This is only the second time "Biographical Conversations" has devoted four parts to a subject, the first being former Governor Jim Hunt.

UNC-TV will air a special block of "Biographical Conversations with Bill Friday" tonight from 7 to 10.

92-year-old Friday, in his 42nd season of the show, passed away today.

When the new season of his interview show debuted in August, Friday was excited about the work ahead, particularly about putting a focus on the issue of children in poverty in North Carolina. Friday had no plans to stop working.

“If I can do a little something by presenting people who really know what they’re talking about, that’s why I keep doing it,” he said.

Below is the statement issued this morning by Steve Volstad of UNC-TV:

North Carolina banking legend John Medlin will be the subject of a three-part biographical series airing on UNC-TV.

The first installment of "Biographical Conversations with John Medlin" will air Thursday night at 10, with the next two episodes airing over the next two Thursdays.

Medlin, who passed away suddenly on June 7 at the age of 78, worked for Wachovia Corporation for more than 30 years and was the company's CEO from 1977 to 1993. Medlin retired from Wachovia in 1993 but remained on the bank's board as chairman until 1998.

In the interviews with UNC-TV's Shannon Vickery, which took place in October 2011, Medlin discusses growing up on his family's Depression-era farm near Benson, attending business school at UNC-Chapel Hill, his family life, his service in a submarine squadron with the U.S. Navy, and of course, his time at Wachovia.

"Biographical Conversations With ..." is an ongoing original production of UNC-TV funded by a grant from the A.J. Fletcher Foundation. Earlier this year, the program featured a three-part series on NASCAR pioneer Junior Johnson.

Upon the passing of Duke family heiress Mary Duke Biddle Trent Semans, UNC-TV will rebroadcast an episode of "Biographical Conversations with Mary Semans" this weekend.

Semans, a philanthropist and strong advocate of the arts, education and human rights in North Carolina, was 91 when she died yesterday. 

UNC-TV will show three consecutive one-hour interviews on Sunday starting at 6 p.m. In the interviews, conducted by UNC-TV's Shannon Vickery, Semans tells her life story in our own words, from intimate family stories to personal discussions of her own public and philanthropic career.

Beginning tonight at 7pm, UNC-TV will air the first of three shows devoted to the life of renowned North Carolina statesman, Howard N. Lee.

"Biographical Conversations with Howard N. Lee" covers Lee's life from his election as mayor of Chapel Hill in 1969, making him the first African American mayor of a predominantly white southern city, to his service in the state legislature and to being the first African American to serve in the state cabinet.

Host Shannon Vickery's three 1-hour conversations with Lee cover his efforts to settle worker strife on the UNC-Chapel Hill campus, bringing public transportation to Chapel Hill, and much more.