Celebrity chef and CNN host Anthony Bourdain, 61, was found dead today, an apparent suicide, in a hotel room he was staying. He was in France filming yet another episode of his popular Parts Unknown.
I was not a big fan of his, and I don't follow gourmet cooking all that much, but Bourdain was popular.
I do not understand why people commit suicide, and it is less understandable when it appears at least on the surface the person has so much to live for. He had been divorced twice and had a daughter.
Details:
Viewers around the world felt connected to Bourdain through his fearless travels, his restless spirit and his magical way with words. Fans, fellow chefs, celebrities and friends reacted to his death with stunned sorrow.
"My heart breaks for Tony Bourdain," CNN's chief international correspondent, Christiane Amanpour, wrote on Twitter. "May he rest in peace now.
"He was a friend, a collaborator, and family. A huge personality, a giant talent, a unique voice, and deeply, deeply human. My heart goes out to his daughter and family, and his longtime partners and friends at (production company) ZPZ."
New York Times:
Anthony Michael Bourdain was born on June 25, 1956, in New York, and grew up in Leonia, N.J. His father, Pierre Bourdain, was an executive in the classical-music recording industry.
He first became conscious of food in fourth grade, he wrote in “Kitchen Confidential.” Aboard the Queen Mary on one of the family’s frequent vacations to France, he sat in the cabin-class dining room and ate a bowl of vichyssoise, a creamy mix of leek and potato. What surprised him was that the soup was cold. “It was the first food I enjoyed and, more important, remembered enjoying,” he wrote. He did not remember much else about the trip.
Ms. Bourdain said her son was always exceptionally bright, and was reading at a fifth-grade level by the second grade. Teachers at his public school suggested his parents send him to a private school, which they did for the rest of his education.
Edit June 14: Thought I'd add this interview he gave with the Emmys' Archive of American Television. I hope the link stays good. He talks about the story behind the memorable theme song for Parts Unknown and other musical scores on it:
The theme, for the record:
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