Former weatherman, ‘WITNey the Hobo’ Dick Ellis dead at 78

GREENVILLE, N.C. (WITN) - A fixture at WITN back in the 1960s has passed away.

Dick Ellis died Saturday at the VA Medical Center in Durham. He was 78.

A native of Wilson, at age 19, Ellis began his television career as the 11:00 p.m. weatherman at WITN. He was the youngest person doing the weather on TV at the time.

Ellis also was WITNey the Hobo on the afternoon kids’ show for many years.

He left WITN in 1966 when he was drafted into the U.S. Army.

After the Army, Ellis worked at WRAL as a reporter and then began a long career in the political field as a press secretary, political consultant, and spokesman for several state agencies and elected officials.

He retired as marshal for the North Carolina Court of Appeals in 2020.

Funeral arrangements have not been announced.

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