Celebrity chef, author and TV personality
Anthony Bourdain has died at the age of
61 by an apparent suicide. You're
watching What Trending, I'm Shira Lazar.
Bourdain was found in his room in the
luxury hotel
Le Chambard in France, where he was
shooting his CNN show Parts Unknown. He
was found by his friend, chef Eric Ripert,
who described Bourdain as an "exceptional
human being" and his best friend. A local
prosecutor said the cause of death was
hanging. Bourdain started in the
restaurant business at the age of 17 as
a dishwasher.
Throughout the 1980s he worked long days
as a line cook in New York City and
Massachusetts. Then in the 90s, he became
the executive chef at the lower
Manhattan eatery Brasserie Les Halles. But
Bourdain didn't become a celebrity chef
until 1999 when he submitted an article
to The New Yorker with the headline
"Don't Eat Before Reading This: A New York
chef spills some trade secrets." The
article revealed some of the dark
peculiarities of the restaurant business -
the "dope-dealing busboy" and the "four-
day-old fish." The article was so popular
that it got him a book deal, and in 2000,
Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the
Culinary Underbelly made him a household
name. As the "bad boy" of the culinary
world, he then moved on to TV.
He hosted "No Reservations" on the Travel
Channel for eight years, before jumping
to CNN and the show "Parts Unknown." The
shows were not just about the food, but
the people, places and cultures he'd
experienced on the way. Ultimately,
Bourdain had a way of making you feel
connected to these people in the culture
even though you were thousands of miles
away. He was vulnerable and open about
his past including his heroin addiction,
and considered himself lucky to being
alive after kicking the habit in the
1980s. In 2016, Bourdain ate Bun Cha, a pork
and noodle soup, with President Obama in
Vietnam.
As news of his tragic and sudden
death has spread online we've seen some
incredible memorials and tributes.
Including from Obama himself who wrote:
"Low plastic stool, cheap but delicious
noodles, cold Hanoi beer." This is how I'll
remember Tony. He taught us about food -- but more importantly about its ability
to bring us together. To make us a little
less afraid of the unknown. We'll miss
him."
His girlfriend, actress Asia Argento,
wrote: "Anthony gave all of himself in
everything that he did. His brilliant,
fearless spirit touched and inspired so
many, and his generosity knew no bounds.
He was my love, my rock, my protector. I am
beyond devastated. My thoughts are with
his family. I would ask that you respect
their privacy and mine." A few hours
before Bourdain's death,
Argento posted a since deleted Instagram
story wearing a shirt that says "F*ck Everyone"
with the caption, "You know who you are."
It's unclear at the connection, if any,
that had to Bourdain. In a video posted
to Twitter, that she has since deleted,
actress and activist Rose McGowan made
an emotional plea for those considering
suicide to seek help.
She has since written: "Through space and
time, Anthony. Your love will find you
again." Gordon Ramsay wrote: "Stunned and
saddened by the loss of Anthony Bourdain.
He brought the world into our homes and
inspired so many people to explore
cultures and cities through their food.
Remember that help is a phone call away."
Bourdain's friend and fellow TV host
Andrew Zimmern tweeted: "A piece of my
heart is truly broken this morning. And
the irony, the sad cruel irony is that
the last year he'd never been happier.
The rest of my heart aches for the three amazing women he left
behind. Tony was a symphony. I wish
everyone could have seen all of him. A
true friend."
The pain seems especially felt on
Bourdain's network, CNN, where anchors
have understandably had a difficult time
reporting on their lost colleague and
friend.
I have always been
a huge fan of Anthony and I was
completely shocked by his passing and I
shared on my social media this quote
from him, ehich I've always really loved.
"If I'm an advocate for anything, it's to
move. As far as you can, as much as you
can. Across the ocean, or simply across
the river. The extent to which you can
walk in someone else's shoes or at least
eat their food, it's a plus for everybody.
Open your mind, get up off the couch,
move." Just a reminder to live your life
outside the box and keep connecting with
the world and through connecting with
the world you grow and that's really I
think what he taught everyone through his
work. This has been an especially tough
week considering just a few days earlier,
designer Kate Spade took her own life on
June 5th. And it may be forcing all of us,
especially America, to look at mental
health in a different light. Many online
are pointing out how depression and
suicidal ideation can affect anyone. Even
the rich and famous who seemingly have
everything to live for. A new CDC report
shows just how widespread the problem is.
Suicide rates have climbed dramatically
in the U.S. over the last two decades.
45,000 Americans commit suicide every
year. That's a 123
people every single day. And according to
the report, 54% of suicide
victims did not have a previously
reported mental illness. According to
Robert Gebbia, the head of the American
Foundation for Suicide Prevention, one of
the keys is convincing people in the
moment to take a deep breath and step
back before making an unchangeable
decision. He said: "You may be thinking
about over time, but
at that moment when you actually make an
attempt is a very short window. If you
can make it harder to make that attempt
by not having access to the means, often
what happens is the feelings will pass,
it gives people time for someone to
intervene and get them help, so that is a
really important preventive step that
can be done. And there's good research to
support that." If you're having thoughts
of suicide, the National Suicide
Prevention lifeline is available 24
hours a day 1-800-273-8255. We know
it can be hard to reach out and talk to
someone, so you can also go to speaking
ofsuicide.com/resources for immediate
crisis help, online chat and other
services that may help. And even if
you're not the person dealing with this,
if you're a peer, if you're a friend and
you know your friend is hurting, I think
it's important not just to expect them
to reach out, but we all need to be more
aware of when there are issues that come
up and if you see that someone is in
need to reach out ourselves. So how did
Bourdain touch your life? Let us know in
the comments below and for more stories
go to whatstrending.com.
