Hoite C. Caston

Hoite Cates Caston

November 7, 1941 - November 1, 2025

Hoite Cates Caston, 83, of Shawnee, Kansas, formerly of Independence, Kansas, and Hollywood, California, passed away in hospice on November 1, 2025, in Lenexa, Kansas, surrounded by his loving family. He faced a 22-year battle with prostate cancer linked to Agent Orange exposure from his service in Vietnam.

Hoite enjoyed an extraordinary career in the television and film industry that spanned seventy years. Beginning in his hometown of Independence, Kansas, and continuing through his time at the University of Kansas, Hoite’s journey took him to Hollywood, California, where he established himself as a respected director, writer, editor and producer. Throughout his lifetime, Hoite’s work extended to cities and towns across the United States, leaving a significant mark on the industry and inspiring countless others through his dedication and creative vision. Hoite was cherished by his family, and his absence will be deeply felt.

Hoite is survived by his wife, Patti McCormick of Lawrence, his daughter Aubree Ridley, his son-in-law Cole Ridley, and his grandchildren Hazel and Huck of Overland Park. He is also survived by his nephews, Mike Enders (Johnnie) of Lost Bridge Village, Arkansas, and Todd Enders (Demetri) of Wichita, along with great-nephews Jared (Jay) Enders, Todd Enders II, Dillon Enders, Noah Enders, and great-niece Jacklyn Maisch.

He was preceded in death by his father, William Lawrence Caston, his mother, Catherine Cates Caston, his sister, Etta Allen Enders (Jim), his grandparents Judge R.W. Cates and Edith Allen Cates, and his great-grandparents Edward Payson Allen and Mary Van Sant Allen of Independence, Kansas.

Hoite and his family extend their gratitude to all of his caregivers, nurses, doctors and specialists at KU Med and the VA for their dedicated support over the years.

Services

Cremation has taken place. Under the direction of Webb Rodrick Funeral Home, services will be held Friday, November 14, with church services from 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. at the Presbyterian Church with Pastor Amie Vanderford, 201 S. 5th Street, Independence, Kansas, and then a military honors burial immediately following at Mount Hope Cemetery. The family will greet visitors from 10:00 a.m. to 10:45 a.m. in the parlor prior to the service at the church.

To nurture and inspire the next generation of artists, memorial contributions in honor of

Hoite C. Caston may be made to:

Independence Children’s Summer Theatre

P.O. Box 1413 

Independence, KS 67301

Or checks may be dropped off at the Webb Rodrick Funeral Home. 

Or Venmo a donation to @Lisaloo63 for Independence Children’s Summer Theatre

Here is Hoite’s Story.

Early Life The son of William Lawrence and Catherine Cates Caston, Hoite was born November 7, 1941, in Bogalusa, Louisiana. At the age of five, his parents moved back to the family home in Independence, Kansas, which was built in 1881 by his great-grandfather and great-grandmother, E. P. Allen and Mary Van Sant Allen. Mr. Allen often said the home stood on "sanctified ground," using soil from the basement excavation of St. Andrew’s Catholic Church. The Allens were among the founding families of Independence and central to its early community. Hoite grew up at 301 South 4th Street with his sister, Etta Allen. The historical home remained in the family for 142 years until Hoite’s move in 2023.

Hoite graduated from Independence High School in 1959 as class president, a Danforth Leadership Award recipient, and received a scholarship to the Midwestern Music and Art Camp at KU, where he was selected as the camp’s most outstanding actor. During his childhood, he participated in Little League baseball and maintained enduring friendships with peers from his neighborhood.

University of Kansas Hoite attended the University of Kansas and earned a BA in Radio, Television, and Film. While there, he received the Outstanding Junior Award in his major, won the 1965 KU Film Production Award, served as a drama critic for the Lawrence Journal-World newspaper, worked as a radio disc jockey for KANU, and performed in multiple theatre productions, specializing in children’s theatre. Known for his wit and creativity in the Sigma Chi Fraternity, he wrote, directed, performed, and eventually became overall Producer of KU’s Rock Chalk Revue, leaving a legacy of production innovations still used today.

Hoite’s love for KU’s crimson and blue lasted long after graduation. A recipient of the KU Alumni Honor Citation, Hoite was a founding member and past president of the KU Theatre and Film Advisory Board. He was selected to be the first long-term guest artist to teach in the film program at KU during the 1998-99 academic year. Hoite was a resolute member of the University of Kansas Sigma Chi fraternity, continuing the legacy of his grandfather, R.W. Cates (00). In 1966, Hoite married fellow KU alum Nancy Marcy following a KU theatre romance. They were married for one year and had no children.

In late 1995’s, Hoite was appointed by Governor Bill Graves to serve as a member of the Kansas Film Commission helping to bring his Hollywood connections to Kansas to support the film industry within the state.

Military Service While working on his master’s in the mid ‘60’s, Hoite began his career as a director, writer, and editor for Centron Films, a Lawrence, Kansas, production company. It was the Vietnam era, and Hoite was set to be drafted into the Marines but hoped to pursue a commission through the Navy instead. At his farewell draft party for work in 1966, he received a call that changed everything: "Mr. Caston, or should I say Ensign Caston, you’ve been accepted to Officer’s Candidate School." Instead of leaving for the Marines, he left for the Navy and attended Officer’s Candidate School in Rhode Island, where he graduated with honors at the top of his class. He then served as a Public Affairs Officer at the Pentagon before spending a year and a half aboard the attack aircraft carrier USS Ticonderoga. While serving aboard the ship, he was deployed on classified missions to Saigon during the Tet Offensive and was awarded the Commander in Chief, U.S. Pacific Fleet Commendation for his service. Hoite completed his active-duty service in 1969 with the rank of Lieutenant.

Entertainment Career

After returning from Vietnam, Hoite was selected as a prestigious American Film Institute Directing Intern for Academy Award-winning director Mike Nichols, who quickly took him under his wing. Hoite became Nichols’ go-to person during the production of Carnal Knowledge, starring Jack Nicholson, Candice Bergen, Ann-Margret, and Art Garfunkel. He then followed Nichols to New York to assist with the Broadway opening of Neil Simon’s The Prisoner of Second Avenue. The production went on to win two Tony Awards and starred Peter Falk and Lee Grant.

Hoite continued his directing career with Jerry Smith Studios in Milwaukee, where he wrote, edited, and directed more than 100 local television commercials and news promotions for ABC, CBS and NBC, earning numerous local Emmy Awards and advertising honors nationwide.

In 1976, while on a business trip to an ABC television station in Cleveland, Ohio, Hoite met television producer Patti McCormick after a delayed flight led him back to a party where he asked her to dance. By 1977, Hoite and Patti quit their jobs and decided to pack everything they could carry into their tiny Datsun B210 and moved to Hollywood to pursue their dreams. Hoite and Patti married in 1980, and together they shared a creative partnership that spanned decades, working side by side on film, radio and television projects.

In 1983, Hoite became director for HBO’s Not Necessarily the News, earning him an ACE Award for Best Comedy Director as the show was named the best comedy on television three years in a row. In 1984, he directed the cult classic family comedy/adventure feature film, The Dirt Bike Kid, a Roger and Julie Corman production starring Peter Billingsley. The film was nominated for a Youth in Film Award, which was eventually picked up by Disney, and remains available on multiple streaming platforms.

He also directed the HBO special Earth to Kids, which was nominated for an Emmy and won an ACE Award for Best Children’s Special. Hoite co-wrote, directed, and co-produced “The Manners Monster” with his wife, Patti, earning the Film Advisory Board’s Award of Excellence and a feature in Entertainment Weekly.

Over his career, he worked with a remarkable roster of talent, including Clint Eastwood, Gregory Peck, Larry David, Robin Williams, Billy Crystal, Oprah Winfrey, Danny DeVito, David Letterman, Phil Hartman, Conan O’Brien, Howie Mandel, Candice Bergen, Ann-Margret, Jack Nicholson, Art Garfunkel, Peter Falk, Lee Grant, Mickey Mantle, Pelé, Ricardo Montalbán, Don Knotts, George Wendt, Stuart Pankin, Rich Hall, Loraine Newman, Danny Breen, Mitch Lawrence, Annie Bloom, Lucy Webb, and Peter Billingsley.

Hoite loved to tell the story of how their daughter, Aubree, was born in 1985 on the one day they were on an editing break for his movie, “The Dirt Bike Kid”. Perfect timing again!

Return to Kansas and KIND Radio

Hoite’s connection to radio began in the 1950s, as a junior at Independence High School, when he started at Nelson Rupard’s KIND radio alongside boyhood friends Bill Schmidt and legendary journalist Bill Kurtis. This early experience shaped his lifelong passion for media and storytelling.

In late 1995, after nearly two decades in Hollywood, Hoite, Patti, and their daughter Aubree returned to Independence. In 2000, Bill Kurtis, together with local investors and Hoite and Patti, purchased KIND radio. Drawing on decades of experience in film and television production, Hoite and Patti and their team helped build state-of-the-art AM and FM studios downtown, transforming KIND into the top-rated radio station in Southeast Kansas with total immersion into the community.

Hoite continued collaborating with Kurtis on numerous television productions, including A&E’s Investigating History specials: The Dalton Gang Raid and D-Day: The Secret Massacre, a World War II documentary filmed on location in France and New Orleans.

Love for Community Hoite remained deeply connected to his hometown of Independence. His roots in The Presbyterian Church ran deep. His parents were the first couple married in the current building, and as a youth, Hoite once considered becoming a Presbyterian minister. Later, he shared his talents with the church as a bell choir member, reader, sound technician, and videographer, producing numerous videos that promoted and preserved the church’s work.

Through his mother, Catherine, Hoite became family friends with Independence native and Academy Award winner William Inge, and as a young boy, Hoite appeared in a local production of PICNIC, one of Inge’s masterpieces. Hoite enjoyed supporting the William Inge Festival every year.

Hoite’s commitment to storytelling extended to both local and national projects while in Independence, often highlighting community, safety, and education. His work included Debate Watch Project ’96, a national commercial casting Independence leaders during the Presidential debates; a tornado safety video for Southeast Kansas; a statewide radio spot with Patti for Governor Kathleen Sebelius called “Cool to Be in School”, and productions for organizations and local businesses such as the Cessna, Kansas Bar Association, Independence Chamber of Commerce, First National and First Oaks Banks, Kansas Chautauqua, Funk Manufacturing, John Deere, Amazon, Mercy Hospital, ACC, ICC, Montgomery County Action Council, Kansas Sampler, Windsor Place, Cablevision, and Woods Lumber. Hoite also created political campaign videos for Val Defever of Independence, Jean Kurtis Schodorf of Wichita, and Charles Branson of Lawrence. One of Hoite’s favorite projects was collaborating with renowned Independence tennis teacher/coach Ken Brown to produce a documentary that earned Independence national recognition as one of the “Top Three Best Tennis Towns in America!”

He co-produced with Patti “One Step Ahead,” in Washington, D.C., a national TV pilot highlighting the lives of people with disabilities in collaboration with disability activist Evan Kemp; as well as, a video for the Washington, D.C., Episcopal Center for Children.

Beyond media work, Hoite’s civic engagement was extensive. He served on the Main Street Board, Chamber of Commerce and Downtown Streetscape Promotion Task Forces, USD 446 Community Facilities Committee, Washington School Site Council, and contributed as Master of Ceremonies for Queen Neelah and Technical Director for The Wizard of Oz. He also held leadership roles with the William Inge Festival Board, MAC Board, Independence Community College Board, and the board of deacons at First Presbyterian Church. His efforts to secure tax credits for Independence Memorial Hall brought in thousands of dollars to support its renovation. In later years, you could often see Hoite decorating lights on downtown trees for Christmas.

Awards, Citations, and Honors

Hoite’s work earned widespread recognition. He received the William Inge Festival Award for Excellence in Directing in 1988; Inge was a close friend of Hoite and his mother, Catherine. The University of Kansas honored him with the Alumni Honor Citation from the Division of Communication and Theatre. The International Monitor Award from New York City Theater at Lincoln Center recognized him as Best Director for the entertainment series Not Necessarily the News. The American Film Institute presented Hoite with a Certificate of Recognition, acknowledging his vital contributions to advancing the art and preserving the heritage of American film and television, personally presented by Charlton Heston.

Hoite’s creativity extended beyond film. As an avid tennis player and student of the game, he invented the sports flip book “Flipp Tipps,” endorsed by Mickey Mantle, Nolan Ryan, and Pelé. The invention was named ‘Best New Product’ at the Atlanta Sports Supper Show Convention and was hailed by The New York Times as the best new sports product of the year. Mantle remained a lifelong friend.

Family and Legacy

Hoite and his wife Patti collaborated on countless award-winning documentaries, videos, and projects, earning a reputation as a dynamic creative duo. But his proudest creation was his daughter, Aubree, now a successful mother and Marriage and Family Therapist in Overland Park, Kansas. He was overjoyed to see Aubree and her husband, Cole, give him his beloved grandchildren, Hazel and Huck, who continue his legacy in theatre, entertainment, and creativity. Papa Hoite loved taking his grandchildren to movies and musicals in Kansas City and enthusiastically supported their own theatre and dance performances.

In 2021, Hoite moved to Lawrence, then Overland Park, and finally Shawnee, Kansas, to be closer to his family and grandchildren and to access cancer care at KU Med.

In 2024, after a three-year wait, he was officially recognized by a military judge as 100% disabled due to presumed Agent Orange exposure by the Veterans Administration for his service in Vietnam. At the time of his passing, Hoite was in the process of writing a book about his experiences with Academy Award-winning director Mike Nichols, drawing from countless interviews he conducted during their time together.