Anthony Bourdain dead at 61

[Robin Garr]

This is tragic. CNN is reporting that he apparently took his own life.

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/08/busi ... f=headline

https://www.npr.org/2018/06/08/61818538 ... 1-cnn-says

If you or someone you know may be considering suicide, contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 (En Español: 1-888-628-9454; Deaf and Hard of Hearing: 1-800-799-4889) or the Crisis Text Line by texting 741741.

[David M. Bueker]

Just shocked and gutted by this news.

I presume we will eventually hear about a bad medical diagnosis.

[Jenise]

Jeff, you could be right, that crossed my mind too. But it's possibly even more likely that the opioids got to him after all. I saw some footage of him--just four years ago!--talking to a support group about how the birth of his daughter was what gave him the courage to quit--he became a heroin addict back in his 20's. I've seen him smoking on a ecent episode--another thing he quit when his daughter was born--and it made me wonder about him backsliding on the rest.

I’m with you, Jennie’s. I noticed a change in his appearance from just a year ago that had me wonder if something was different in his personal life. I’m betting on drugs. Hate to think so.

I so did not see this coming. He had what sounded like a good relationship with his partner and a daughter he doted on. He seemed to get a lot of joy and satisfaction out of his travels for his TV shows. He seemed to understand that he was doing good work that went far beyond the "someone goes somewhere and eats something" stupidity that dominates food-related programming. It's just terribly sad that a guy who had so much going for him would end his life so prematurely. And if I'm having a hard time with this, I can't imagine what his daughter is and will be dealing with.

I do hope some sort of reason for this is determined, whether it's backsliding on the drugs or an illness or whatever. Maybe that will help others who are dealing with whatever it was that drove him to such despair. That's probably the best we can hope for.

What a tragic loss. The ‘black dog’ seems to have taken another fine person.

I first heard Tony in 2001 when he was on a book promoting tour for Cooks Tour although the radio interview we heard focussed more on Kitchen Confidental. We heard him on day 2 of our RV trip around Australia and as we had to stop in Adelaide to pick up a new AMEX. Card we checked out the nearest bookshop and purchased them both. Then we had to draw straws as to who got first dibs on KC as we felt they should be read in order. They still sit on our bookshelf, despite severe boook culling when we retired and moved.

The TV shows we’ve been able to catch up with over recent years with the advent of a local free to air food channel.
His Joie de Vivre, fully embracing diverse cultures, r cognising the intrinsic connections between people and food, always prepared to have a go, raised him above the run of the mill food and travel presenters.
Perhaps his propensity for risk taking and addictive substances was part of a deeper, sadder story.

Rest In Peace Tony

[David M. Bueker]

Bourdain's NYC "hawker center" project recently collapsed. I have to wonder if that was a factor. Financial mess?

[Jenise]

I do hope some sort of reason for this is determined, whether it's backsliding on the drugs or an illness or whatever. Maybe that will help others who are dealing with whatever it was that drove him to such despair. That's probably the best we can hope for.

Eric and his crew will be the key. What did he talk about the night before?

[Jenise]

Bourdain's NYC "hawker center" project recently collapsed. I have to wonder if that was a factor. Financial mess?

I didn't know that. Could be...but he had so many other projects to occupy him. His production company and book projects were full time jobs almost by themselves, by all reports.

It's sad to read about Bourdain's death. I enjoyed his books and tv shows. I loved his swashbuckling approach to food. Whatever it was that took him down to such a dark place that he had to end it all, the world is poorer for the loss.

I had thought he was doing pretty well - how wrong can you be.

Good times:

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017 ... op_VigLink

[Jenise]

I just read a bunch of tweets. He and Anthony Zimmern were pretty good friends. In trying to reconcile this, Zimmern notes that "in the last year Anthony was the happiest he's ever been." Elsewhere, after reading through Anthony's last month of tweets (something he apparently did a lot of, multiple times a day most days), someone noted that he made a comment about auto-erotic asphyxiation just two weeks before and mentioned the possibility that this might have been involved, a la David Carradine. Evidence: soft bathrobe belt, no note, and past drug use.

God knows what in the heck happened.

Auto-erotic asphyxiation? Seems a bit far-fetched but he was a thrill-seeker type so maybe.

I think another possibility is that when he (famously) stopped treating his depression with heroin he did not find an effective substitute.

[Jenise]

He certainly spoke often about dealing with episodes of depression. At the same time, during a shoot (that which he loved doing most of all) with his best friend in the next room seems like an unlikely time for it to happen. However it's worth noting that Eric tweeted something about hoping Tony finally found peace--he was right there, and he's not wondering whether or not it was intentional.