A 1954 graduate of Texas Christian University, Ellis Amburn worked as a reporter for Newsweek before going into the book publishing industry where he rose to the position of editor, working for such well-known publishers as Delacorte Press, Coward-McCann, William Morrow.
He is noted for his exhaustive research, even going so far as to live for several weeks at the home of the parents of Orbison's first wife, Claudette Frady-Orbison.
His books have generated controversy at times (such as his biography of Janis Joplin[1]), and he is reviled by many Buddy Holly and Roy Orbison fans for presenting hearsay as fact.
[3] The Virginian-Pilot and the literary website Shelf Awareness reported that Amburn died on Saturday, August 18, 2018, after a long illness.
Maureen O'Brien, book editor, ghostwriter, and friend of Amburn's remembered him thus: "Always the chipper man about town and cheerleader to his multitude of friends all over the world, Ellis was writing and editing right up to the end, working on a memoir of his celebrity-filled life in the book biz, where he was considered one of the best pop culture chroniclers from New York City to Hollywood and all points in between.