From Bill's local paper.

Newsman covered life, career of Elvis
Columnist wrote books on Presley, published magazine
By Amos Maki (Contact)
Saturday, April 26, 2008

Bill E. Burk was a newspaperman with a front row seat for the life and career of Elvis Presley who later kept the King alive in books and a magazine.

Mr. Burk, 75, died Thursday following a heart attack


During the last 20 years of Presley's life, Mr. Burk, a columnist for the Memphis Press-Scimitar until it closed in 1983, wrote roughly 400 stories and columns about the King's life.

And over the last 20 years he published 13 Elvis books and the quarterly Elvis World magazine.

The latest issue of the magazine was published in February and Mr. Burk's wife, Connie, said it would likely be the last.

"He's such a gifted writer it wouldn't be the same without him," she said.

Mr. Burk lived one minute from Graceland and at times visited the entertainer there. Every so often Presley would return the gesture with a visit to Mr. Burk's home.

Mr. Burk, a native Memphian who was also a international pilot and standout athlete in three sports, uncovered plenty of Elvis photos and stories, particularly from his early days.


"The Elvis I have come to know in talking to scores of his friends, classmates, teachers and neighbors since 1985 have greatly deepened my knowledge of Elvis and today I find I admire the man much more than I did during those 20 years we were neighbors," Mr. Burk said in a recent column on the Elvis Information Network.

Mr. Burk, nicknamed "007" because of the way he signed his last name, said he always enjoyed the thrill of the investigation, unearthing those personal moments with greatness that so many Memphians shared.

"He enjoyed the hunt," said Mrs. Burk.

Mr. Burk was given the Memphis Convention & Visitors Bureau Tourism Award in 1980. He was the first journalist to win the award that honors supporters of the tourism industry in Memphis.

He was also twice named United Press International Columnist of the Year in Tennessee.

"He was a great friend to Elvis fans and a respected journalist who covered Elvis for a number of years," said Kevin Kern, spokesman for Elvis Presley Enterprises.

Burk is also survived by two sons, Gary and Randy, and his daughter, Jennifer.

Services will be at 1 p.m. Monday at Memphis Funeral Home Poplar Avenue, with burial later in the week at West Tennessee Veterans Cemetery.

The family asks that any memorials be donated to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, stjude.org.

Contact reporter Amos Maki at 529-2351.