Anthony Bourdain suicide

[LANDM]

Wow, bummer.
I always enjoyed his shows and books. He had a fascinating past and, obviously, had some remaining demons that he couldn’t handle.

[JLives]

Anthony Bourdain was one of the best humans on the planet. This is a great loss for humanity. That guy was a rock star.

[fvkasm2x]

Anthony Bourdain was one of the best humans on the planet. This is a great loss for humanity. That guy was a rock star.

I'm not trying to be rude at all... genuinely curious.

How so?

I've really only heard of him in passing and the searches I've done since reading this post only show a few snippets of charitable work. Nothing major or "significant" (I know all acts of kindness are significant, I just mean in a $$$ way).

What made him so good and why is it a great loss?

As an outsider, he just looks like a former chef and current TV host? Where would one look to find out how amazing he was? I've read a few articles, looked at his Wikipedia and watched some news coverage on his life and death.

[Glacier]

^^ My thoughts exactly. Like you, I know nothing about him other than what I've read today.

[jcow84]

The cool thing about Anthony Bourdain was that he made an incredible life for himself. He was pretty much just a hard working cook who went on to fame after writing an excellent book about life in the restaurant industry called Kitchen Confidential. From there he opened restaurants, wrote more books, and hosted different tv shows where he got to travel the world. He always marveled at his own luck and often remarked on his show that he couldn’t believe he was being paid for doing such fun things. I think people liked him because he was charismatic and very intelligent. I also found his rise to fame fascinating, and he was fun to watch. I learned a lot about the restaurant industry from his work. It’s a big loss for sure.

[Silverstarqueen]

Being famous and hard working, successful in endeavors, hardly makes someone "the best person on the planet".

I am sure he was a great guy. Leaving a young teenage daughter without a father (and leaving a mate?), well not so forgivable, but they will just have to deal with that, but it does seem somewhat selfish.

[jimmy4321]

Lotta people liked him, i enjoyed all the shows never read his books.
As far as whether he had been charitable or had pushed some big cause, maybe he gave locally to heart & stroke, cancer causes,maybe bought $10 chocolate bars from kids-I don't care.

Steve Jobs had a HUGE worldwide following and his death was a VERY BIG deal to many including the media, yet i don't think he was charitable at all, ironically Bill Gates a guy demonized when he was building and protecting his company ends up being probably the biggest philanthropist to date.

[Even Steven]

Apparently, he can cook a nice lasagna.

I guess that qualifies him as "one of the best humans on this planet".

Especially if you are Garfield or share Garfield's obsession with lasagna.

[fvkasm2x]

Being famous and hard working, successful in endeavors, hardly makes someone "the best person on the planet".

I am sure he was a great guy. Leaving a young teenage daughter without a father (and leaving a mate?), well not so forgivable, but they will just have to deal with that, but it does seem somewhat selfish.

Suicide is definitely selfish, but depression and other mental health issues don't leave people thinking rationally. It's hard to cry for help when there is so much stigma, as well as other issues (pride, confusion, embarassment, etc...). I've lost a coworker to suicide that had lots of friends and no outwardly indicators he was suffering.

I can't condone it, but I can't crucify someone for it either.

My question still stands though... as I've read lots about him recently and it's all fairly positive, but hardly "best human on the planet" worthy.

Was a pretty bold statement, so I was just curious if there were things about him I was missing or that I could learn about. Have yet to find something or hear from someone on the matter though.

[LANDM]

I have no insight on "best human on the planet" but, as I mentioned, he had a fascinating past and had great books and shows.

His battles with heroin use and addiction were well known and, for a "celebrity" it humanized him more than the usual types who try to emulate perfection. He seemed to be ok with his flaws and embraced them, thus becoming a bit more likeable rather than just another petulant celebrity. For example, watching him slowly get drunk on a show while eating interesting food in a foreign country was not the norm for tv.

Sucks for his 11 year old kid and the rest of his family and friends but therein lies the problem with mental issues.

[GordonH]

I've never heard of this person until reading this thread, key thing I get out of all this is.

Absolutely never judge a book (or person) by its cover, because no one really knows what is happening below the surface.

[Verum]

I've watched a few of his shows over the years and I consider him a significant loss as an educator, commentator and World guide. He was honest, not PC, and not squeamish, and most of all extremely human in his exploration of the World. Even when he visited places I know well, I almost always felt that he somewhat captured the spirit of the place, the food and the people and left me feeling more connected than I did before. It is this ability to reflect in a human way what makes every city, every country and every people on this planet both special and connected that taught me to respect him as I respect few others.

Did he say some stupid stuff? Certainly. Had he done some stupid stuff? Of course, and then some. But, he took the lessons he learned and through meeting such a wide variety of people and applied that understanding of people to entertain and educate us. I found in some of his most wonderful episodes, he helped others tell their own stories through that most human and connecting of things, sitting down for a meal. To be clear, some of his shows were little more than hedonistic stopovers in places dotted around the World, but as he progressed through the later shows, most became explorations of cultures, food and people.

I think that if you have any desire to learn about the World with an open mind and a love for humanity, one cannot but enjoy, or at least somewhat appreciate Anthony Bourdain and his contributions.

[burnedatstake]

in the end when people express their opinion - that they disagree that said person is meaningful to the world - does that make the person any less influential and meaningful? the fact that he has died will likely mean he will be more powerful. because as the band cinderlla sang in a ballad "you dont know what you got till its gone". what makes anthony such a rock star is that he listened to this song and may have even knew the band members. he was a guy people wanted to know and spend time with. just ask obama when he met with anthony in hanoi. while anthony was shooting his show in vietnam obama went out of his way to hang with anthony. someone who people (especially world leaders) want to hang with and spend time with has meaning.

[OKkayak]

The guy's first stop when he went to LA was In 'N' Out. He loved it for its simplicity. He was a great travel and food guide, a very down to earth charm. He will be missed by many.

[Glacier]

*Language warning!*