Anthony Bourdain Found Dead After Commiting Suicide By Hanging

Just days after Kate Spade, 55, took her life in a tragic suicide by hanging herself in her apartment, moments ago CNN reported that Anthony Bourdain, award-winning celebrity chef, writer and CNN TV host who took viewers “around the world” has died at the age of 61, in an apparent suicide after hanging himself in Paris.

This is so awful.

Anthony Bourdain, 61, has died. He took his own life.

He was in France working on an upcoming episode of his award-winning CNN series. His close friend Eric Ripert, the French chef, found Bourdain unresponsive in his hotel room Friday morning.

— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) June 8, 2018

CNN just announced that celeb chef Anthony Bourdain has died; found dead in Paris hotel room. Reported as suicide by hanging.

— Eric Hegedüs (@erichegedus) June 8, 2018

“It is with extraordinary sadness we can confirm the death of our friend and colleague, Anthony Bourdain,” CNN 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.”

Anthony Bourdain is dead. The chef, storyteller and Emmy-winning host of CNN’s “Parts Unknown” is dead of suicide at age 61. https://t.co/AnLZWqT0DV pic.twitter.com/8puc6bRpIx

— CNN Breaking News (@cnnbrk) June 8, 2018

Bourdain was in France working on an upcoming episode of his award-winning CNN series. His close friend Eric Ripert, the French chef, found Bourdain unresponsive in his hotel room Friday morning.

According to the CDC, there has been a 25% increase in suicides in the US since 1999 with top three states ND; VT and NH, most of which is reportedly not unrelated to the opioid crisis.

Bourdain’s obituary from CNN below:

Bourdain was a master of his crafts — first in the kitchen and then in the media. Through his TV shows and books, he explored the human condition and helped audiences think differently about food, travel and themselves. He advocated for marginalized populations and campaigned for safer working conditions for restaurant staffs.

Along the way, he received practically every award the industry has to offer.

In 2013, Peabody Award judges honored Bourdain and “Parts Unknown” for “expanding our palates and horizons in equal measure.”

“He’s irreverent, honest, curious, never condescending, never obsequious,” the judges said. “People open up to him and, in doing so, often reveal more about their hometowns or homelands than a traditional reporter could hope to document.”

The Smithsonian once called him “the original rock star” of the culinary world, “the Elvis of bad boy chefs.”
In 1999 he wrote a New Yorker article, “Don’t Eat Before Reading This,” that became a best-selling book in 2000, “Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly.”

The book set him on a path to international stardom.

First he hosted “A Cook’s Tour” on the Food Network, then moved to “Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations” on the Travel Channel. “No Reservations” was a breakout hit, earning two Emmy Awards and more than a dozen nominations.
In 2013 both Bourdain and CNN took a risk by bringing him to the news network still best known for breaking news and headlines. Bourdain quickly became one of the principal faces of the network and one of the linchpins of the prime time schedule.

Season eleven of “Parts Unknown” premiered on CNN last month.

While accepting the Peabody award in 2013, Bourdain described how he approached his work.

“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,” he said, “we tend to get some really astonishing answers.”

Bourdain’s death happened after fashion designer Kate Spade hanged herself in an apparent suicide at her Manhattan apartment on Tuesday. Spade was found hanged by a scarf she allegedly tied to a doorknob, an NYPD source said.

Suicide is a growing problem in the United States. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published a survey Thursday showing suicide rates increased by 25% across the United States over nearly two decades ending in 2016. Twenty-five states experienced a rise in suicides by more than 30%, the government report finds.