AMBURN, Ellis 1933-

PERSONAL: Born August 2, 1933, in Jermyn, TX; son of Edgar Douglas (a ranch foreman) and Belma Lucille (Zellner) Amburn. Education: Texas Christian University, B.A., 1954; graduate study at Columbia University, 1954-57. Politics: Democrat.

ADDRESSES: Home—15 SE 2nd Ave., High Springs, FL 32643. Agent—Al Lowman, 14 East Sixtieth St., New York, NY 10022.

CAREER: Coward McCann, New York, NY, executive editor and secretary of board of directors, 1960-71; Delacorte Press, New York, editor in chief, 1971-78; William Morrow & Co., Inc., New York, senior editor, 1978-80; G. P. Putnam's Sons, New York, editorial director, 1980-85; freelance writer, 1985—. Volunteer worker with recovering alcoholics and addicts. Military service: U.S. Army, 1957-64.

AWARDS, HONORS: An Ellis Amburn Collection has been established at Texas Christian University.

WRITINGS:

(With Tony Sanchez) Up and Down with the RollingStones, Morrow (New York, NY), 1979.

(With Shelley Winters) Shelley, Also Known as Shirley, Morrow (New York, NY), 1980.

(With Priscilla Presley) Elvis and Me, Putnam (New York, NY), 1985.

(With Michael Edwards) Priscilla, Elvis, and Me, St. Martin's Press (New York, NY), 1988.

(With Shelley Winters) Shelley II, Simon & Schuster (New York, NY), 1989.

Dark Star: The Roy Orbison Story, Carol Publishing Group (New York, NY), 1990.

Pearl: The Obsessions and Passions of Janis Joplin, Warner Books (New York, NY), 1992.

Buddy Holly: A Biography, St. Martin's Press (New York, NY), 1995.

Subterranean Kerouac: The Hidden Life of Jack Kerouac, St. Martin's Press (New York, NY), 1998.

The Most Beautiful Woman in the World: The Obsessions, Passions, and Courage of Elizabeth Taylor, Cliff Street Books (New York, NY), 2000.

The Sexiest Man Alive: A Biography of Warren Beatty, Harper Entertainment (New York, NY), 2002.

The Great Seducer: A Biography of Jack Nicholson, Harper Entertainment (New York, NY), 2002.

SIDELIGHTS: Over the course of his writing career, Ellis Amburn has written biographies of numerous pop culture figures, from the musicians Roy Orbison and Buddy Holly, to the writer Jack Kerouac, to actors Warren Beatty and Elizabeth Taylor. Reviewing The Most Beautiful Woman in the World: The Obsessions, Passions, and Courage of Elizabeth Taylor, Robert Plunket in Advocate praised "Amburn's mixture of solid research and National Enquirer attitude, plus a little 12-step scolding ....We read of her excesses, and not only do we forgive her, we are thrilled." Booklist reviewer Ilene Cooper also mentioned Amburn's copious research, noting that Amburn did interviews with some 500 figures, mostly people in Taylor's "outer orbit." Cooper called the book "a quick, dishy read."

Subterranean Kerouac: The Hidden Life of Jack Kerouac is an "often startling, unflinching biography," said a Publishers Weekly reviewer. "Totally convincing," wrote Herbert Gold in Los Angeles Times Book Review, "clear-eyed, moving, a long, passionate, detailed study." Amburn was uniquely positioned to write this book: he knew Kerouac personally, having served as his editor for his last two novels, and he was the first biographer to be granted access to Kerouac's archives. Although Amburn's revelations about Kerouac's sexual life, particularly his allegation that Kerouac was a repressed homosexual, mean that the book is "bound to be controversial," William Gargan wrote in Library Journal, "this thoroughly researched biography belongs in all literature collections."

Among Amburn's many works on rock music are biographies of three legendary figures from his home state. Amburn told CA: "As a native of Texas, I was intrigued that three great rock 'n' roll pioneers came from that state. My books on Roy Orbison, Janis Joplin, and Buddy Holly constitute my Texas trilogy. It has been fascinating and moving to go home again to research these books. I lived in remote Wink, Texas, to write about Roy Orbison; in hot, swampy Port Arthur for the Janis Joplin research; and in Lubbock, the 'buckle of the Bible belt,' for the book on Buddy Holly."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Advocate, September 1, 1998, review of SubterraneanKerouac: The Hidden Life of Jack Kerouac, p. 57; June 6, 2000, Robert Plunket, review of The Most Beautiful Woman in the World, p. 79.

Book, July/August, 2000, Jeff Ousborne, "American Beauties," pp. 71-72.

Booklist, October 1, 1995, review of Buddy Holly: ABiography, p. 256; August, 1998, review of Subterranean Kerouac, p. 1952.

Book World, August 16, 1998, review of SubterraneanKerouac, p. 8.

Library Journal, September 15, 1995, review of BuddyHolly: A Biography, p. 68; June 1, 1998, review of Subterranean Kerouac, p. 108.

Los Angeles Times Book Review, August 23, 1998, Herbert Gold, review of Subterranean Kerouac, p. 4.

New York Times Book Review, August 9, 1998, Morris Dickstein, "Beyond Beat," p. 8.

Observer (London, England), June 19, 1994, review of Pearl: The Obsessions and Passions of Janis Joplin, p. 20; January 3, 1999, review of Subterranean Kerouac, p. 13.

Publishers Weekly, June 8, 1998, review of Subterranean Kerouac, p. 53.