Burns was a lifelong Texan (except for a couple of odd years in L.A.) and held a BFA from UT Austin. Before his film work, he had careers in commercial art, advertising and journalism. He was also a noted genealogist mostly due to his video "Out of Your Tree! Crazy About Genealogy." In May 2004, Bob was diagnosed with terminal cancer. Rather than go through a lengthy illness, he chose to take his own life. His remains were discovered at his home in Seguin, Texas on June 1, 2004. Official cause of death was carbon monoxide poisoning.