Anthony Bourdain, dead at 61
Chef, writer, travel show host and social activist Anthony Bourdain has died at 61. CNN is reporting cause of death as suicide. He was in France working on his CNN series, Parts Unknown, when friend and fellow chef Eric Ripert found him unresponsive in his hotel room. From CNN:
“It is with extraordinary sadness we can confirm the death of our friend and colleague, Anthony Bourdain,” the network said in a statement Friday morning. “His love of great adventure, new friends, fine food and drink and the remarkable stories of the world made him a unique storyteller. His talents never ceased to amaze us and we will miss him very much. Our thoughts and prayers are with his daughter and family at this incredibly difficult time.”
Bourdain was in France working on an upcoming episode of his award-winning CNN series “Parts Unknown.” His close friend Eric Ripert, the French chef, found Bourdain unresponsive in his hotel room Friday morning.
“Tony was an exceptional talent,” CNN President Jeff Zucker said in an email to employees. “Tony will be greatly missed not only for his work but also for the passion with which he did it.”
Anthony was about as un-vegan as they got — he railed against them in his breakout 2000 restaurant tell-all and memoir, Kitchen Confidential — but he was also pretty rock n’ roll and a straight-shooter. Also a big champion of music and. His original travel show, No Reservations, featured a theme by Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, and Parts Unknown‘s theme was by Mark Lanegan and Josh Homme. Josh’s band Queens of the Stone Age were regular guests on his shows, and he even once attended a BrooklynVegan SXSW day party (he was a fan of Austin band Ume). UPDATE: Tributes from the music world have been pouring in.
His final tweet was about music:
THIS song from the score from tonight’s HONG KONG @PartsUnknownCNN is gonna stay with me https://t.co/GgaSAndyXs
— Anthony Bourdain (@Bourdain) June 3, 2018
Check out this specially made version of “Rising Sun Blues (House of the Rising Sun)” that Parts Unknown Composer @mruffino created for the episode: https://t.co/oKJwHK7WTq #PartsUnknown
— Parts Unknown (@PartsUnknownCNN) June 4, 2018
Meanwhile, CNN will air a Remembering Anthony Bourdain special tonight, June 8, at 10 PM and again on Sunday (6/10) at 10 PM, and they’ll air episodes of Parts Unknown on Saturday, June 9.
Rest in peace, Anthony.
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In case you or someone you know needs support, here are some resources:
Suicide Prevention Lifeline 1-800-273-TALK
Crisis Text Line, the free, nationwide, 24/7 text message service for people in crisis, is here to support. For support in the United States, text HELLO to 741741 or message at facebook.com/CrisisTextLine.
For support outside the US, find resources at http://www.suicide.org/international-suicide-hotlines.html
