STORYTELLER ANTHONY BOURDAIN HAS
DIED.
THE CREATIVE MIND BEHIND CNN'S
PARTS UNKNOWN WAS IN FRANCE
FILMING AN
UPCOMING EPISODE... WHEN HE TOOK
HIS OWN LIFE.
ALEX MARQUARDT LOOKS BACK ON
BOURDAIN'S INCREDIBLE JOURNEY
HERE ON EARTH.
"TO ME, ONE OF LIFE'S GREAT JOYS
IS CHEESE."
FOR ANTHONY BOURDAIN THE RECIPE
FOR UNDERSTANDING
PEOPLE, UNDERSTANDING CULTURES
AROUND THE WORLD, AND CREATING A
HIT TV SHOW COULDN'T BE MORE
STRAIGHTFORWARD.
"WE ASK VERY SIMPLE QUESTIONS,
'WHAT MAKES YOU HAPPY, WHAT DO
YOU
EAT, WHAT DO YOU LIKE TO COOK'
AND EVERYWHERE IN THE WORLD WE
GO AND
ASK THESE VERY SIMPLE QUESTIONS,
WE TEND TO GET SOME REALLY
ASTONISHING ANSWERS."
BOURDAIN WAS FOUND DEAD FRIDAY
MORNING BY A FRIEND IN A HOTEL
ROOM IN FRANCE WHERE HE WAS
FILMING FOR HIS AWARD-WINNING
CNN SHOW PARTS UNKNOWN.
THE CAUSE OF HIS DEATH WAS
SUICIDE. BOURDAIN STARTED
WORKING IN
KITCHENS AT A YOUNG AGE AND HAD
BECOME A CELEBRITY CHEF AND
AUTHOR
AS HE MADE HIS WAY INTO
TELEVISION.
THE SMITHSONIAN CALLED HIM THE
ORIGINAL ROCK STAR OF THE
CULINARY
WORLD; THE ELVIS OF BAD-BOY
CHEFS.
IT WAS HIS WAY WITH WORDS. HIS
IRREVERENCE CURIOSITY EASE AND
WARMTH THAT FUELED HIS MASSIVE
FOLLOWING.
BOURDAIN DIDN'T SHY AWAY FROM
TALKING ABOUT PAST DEMONS--
HEAVY DRUG USE THAT INCLUDED AN
ADDICTION TO HEROIN, AS WELL AS
COCAINE USE -- SO BAD HE SAID HE
SHOULD HAVE DIED IN HIS 20'S BUT
INSTEAD LIVED WHAT HE CALLED A
CHARMED LIFE.
"MASSACHUSETTS IS QUITE SMALL
TOWN AMERICA." HE ADDRESSED HIS
PAST HEAD ON WHILE HIGHLIGHTING
THE OPIOID EPIDEMIC IN
MASSACHUSETTS IN AN EPISODE OF
HIS SHOW.
"BUT I THOUGHT I'D START THE
SHOW BY RETURNING TO
PROVINCETOWN ALL
THE WAY OUT ON THE TIP OF CAPE
COD WHICH IS WHERE AT AGE 17 I
STARTED
WASHING DISHES AND STARTED
WORKING IN THE RESTAURANT
BUSINESS AND AS A SUMMER JOB AND
BEGAN MY SORT OF TRAJECTORY INTO
BOTH THE RESTAURANT BUSINESS AND
INTO DRUGS.
BOURDAIN CAME TO CNN IN 2013
BRINGING HIS SHOW TO A GLOBAL
AUDIENCE.
THROUGHOUT HIS TV CAREER, HE WON
AWARD AFTER AWARD. "FIRST ORDER
OF BUSINESS DINNER."
IT WAS THE FOOD THAT LURED
PEOPLE IN BUT VIEWERS KNEW IT
WAS ABOUT
SO MUCH MORE.
"INCREDIBLE!"
QUICKLY FINDING THEMSELVES
IMMERSED IN AN EXPERIENCE THAT
FOCUSED ON PEOPLE, EXOTIC
PLACES, AND FAITHS FROM AROUND
THE WORLD.
HE INSISTED HE WASN'T A
JOURNALIST, BUT OVER THE YEARS
FORGED A UNIQUE STYLE OF
STORYTELLING THAT WAS UNMATCHED.
BOURDAIN WAS 61.
IF YOU HAVE CONSIDERED SUICIDE,
THERE IS HELP, SUCH AS THE
SUICIDE PREVENTION HOTLINE. YOU
CAN FIND THAT NUMBER ON OUR
WEBSITE AT
WSAV-DOT COM SLASH CRISIS
HOTLINE. WE ALSO HAVE A LINK TO
THEIR WEBSITE AS WELL.
