Harlan suffered a stroke a few days ago. He’s recovering well – those who have visited are saying he’s running his own comedy show in the room. His right side is affected, but not his speech.
Lets hope the worst that happens is that he’ll have to hunt and peck with just his left hand. We don’t want to lose Ellison yet.
Patton Oswalt said when he visited Harlan was swearing up a storm about his physical therapy, so he’s well on the road to recovery.
I hope he recovers soon. He is the last of my big three, the other two being Asimov and Heinlein.
Here are some reports from people who have visited them. “Good spirits” doesn’t begin to cover it.
“Hello, Just This Side of Death, how can I help you?”
So he’s not working on the proofs of TLDV? Well, there’s a surprise.
It’s worth noting here that Harlan Ellison is both a very good writer, and, personally, an asshole.
Change the term “writer” and that can be said of any number of us, myself most definitely included! 
Harlan can be an asshole; he can also be extremely generous and kind. Those who know him well tend to say positive things about it.
I do know that Isaac Asimov had his heart attack, Harlan was one of the first persons to call the hospital and offer to do whatever was needed.
He does lash out at people who ask of him more than he thinks is proper, and is very good at invective. He also has a tendency to get carried away when he’s in front of an audience (he will announce projects that he really has no intention of carrying out just to get applause).
I never met him, but I did talk with him once. He had written an article for the SFWA Bulletin; I was business manager. We had paid him for 1000 words; he wrote 1500. I was trying to send him the extra payment; he refused it. It was a battle to see who would be the classiest about the money and Harlan won.
For Pete’s sake. Being in the hospital with a side paralyzed is scary, no matter how much you joke about it.
And an awful lot of people don’t think he’s an asshole.
I’m sure James Cameron will make a very similar but much more popular and better produced stroke 20 years from now.
I’ve met him multiple times, and every time he has been a total gentleman. Until he needs to be not a gentleman.
Perhaps they haven’t met him.
Actually, from all reports, the people who know him best are almost universally of the opinion that he is NOT the asshole that popular opinion paints. David Gerrold will actually cut you off on Facebook if you ever comment anything to that effect on any of his FB posts. I’ve never seen someone who claimed Harlan’s friendship post anything more than mildly critical of his sometimes behavior at cons. All the other rotgut is generally people who’ve deserved the sharp edge of his tongue justifying themselves to the world.
A speedy recovery is to be wished.
He can be… “difficult”. Bit full of himself at times. Rubs many people the wrong way.
But hey, he mostly *likes *the reputation. I suppose it minimizes the need for every day having to smack down one or more common putzes (which is frustrating) if the common putzes are too intimidated to annoy you because you’ve cultivated an image as the meanest putz of all. But all reports are that someone who is his actual friend will have none more loyal or generous and will know he’ll give them the straight tough answers when none other will.
Well apparently he still has a mouth, and probably can scream too.
The claims about him being an asshole are not usually about fans who meet him or his friends, but by people who have worked with him, especially on creative endeavors
Lots of people who we generally think of as assholes are decent people in many situations. And most of them have friends who think the world of them. It’s also possible that people become better over the years.
My point is not that he necessarily is an asshole, just that you need to look at the reasons people think he is, not just the reasons people think he isn’t. I would, myself, but I’ve never been that enamored by the guy, and find it hard to care.
People can be lovely in their personal life, and assholes at the office. Harlan has had many, many epic blowups with people screwing with/up stuff he’s written/is writing, and that’s probably where his rep comes from, not from being an asshole in private and off work. As above, many people say he’s great to be friends with, but who knows what it’s like to work with him? Two different things.
I worked with him on a very limited basis one weekend at a con. He was, for the most part, a really fun guy. I asked if there was anything he needed while he was signing books and he asked for ice cream. So I went and bought him some ice cream. I enjoyed listening to him talk about anything and everything. From the state of sci-fi as an industry (a few choice words about Spielberg/Lucas) to OJ Simpson, he always had an opinion ready. That said, he wouldn’t hesitate to get in your face if got on his nerves. He was King Nerd for that con but he never acted like he was anything more than one of us.
I hope the old coot gets better soon. 
Harlan Ellison can’t die yet, as he hasn’t released The Last Dangerous Visions.
At this point, that makes him effectively immortal…