Outspoken host of Parts Unknown Anthony Bourdain has died, his employer announced Friday. Bourdain was known for his love of travel, food — and his colorful commentary.
"His love of great adventure, new friends, fine food and drink and the remarkable stories of the world made him a unique storyteller," his employer CNN said in a statement. "His talents never ceased to amaze us and we will miss him very much."
Bourdain described himself as merely an "enthusiast" on social media, but fans know he was so much more. He was a favorite TV personality and a commentator on the world. He also became a vocal advocate for the Me Too movement last fall after his girlfriend Asia Argento accused Harvey Weinstein of rape.
Here are some memorable quotes from Bourdain on life, travel and food:
"I don't really care about what people say about me when I'm gone, I guess Jerry Stahl would make an entertaining — if not necessarily flattering — story of the gruesome details," Bourdain said in 2017 New York Times interview.
"As you move through this life and this world you change things slightly, you leave marks behind, however small. And in return, life — and travel — leaves marks on you. Most of the time, those marks — on your body or on your heart — are beautiful. Often, though, they hurt," he said on Parts Unknown, reported by Thrillist.
On retirement: "I gave up on that. I've tried. I just think I'm just too nervous, neurotic, driven," he told People earlier this year. " I'm quite sure I can't. I'm going to pretty much die in the saddle."
"Without experimentation, a willingness to ask questions and try new things, we shall surely become static, repetitive, and moribund." —Medium Raw: A Bloody Valentine to the World of Food and the People Who Cook
"Do we really want to travel in hermetically sealed popemobiles through the rural provinces of France, Mexico and the Far East, eating only in Hard Rock Cafes and McDonald's? Or do we want to eat without fear, tearing into the local stew, the humble taqueria's mystery meat, the sincerely offered gift of a lightly grilled fish head? I know what I want. I want it all. I want to try everything once." —Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly
On his favorite food: "Anytime I'm eating spicy noodles in a bowl, I'm happy," he told Bon Appétit Magazine in an interview published last year.
"I was an angry kid," he told NPR last year. "I was a happy dishwasher. I jokingly say that I learned every important lesson, all the most important lessons of my life as a dishwasher."
"I do not have a particularly prestigious or notable career," he said in the same interview. "And for much of the time as a chef, I was unemployable by respectable businesses."
"Do I wish sometimes that, in an alternative universe, I could be the patriarch, always there? Tons of kids? Grandkids running around? Yes," he told the New Yorker last year. "And it looks good to me. But I'm pretty sure I'm incapable of it."
Comments on the #MeToo movement:
"I stand unhesitatingly and unwaveringly with the women," he wrote in an article published on Medium last year. "Not out of virtue, or integrity, or high moral outrage — as much as I'd like to say so — but because late in life, I met one extraordinary woman with a particularly awful story to tell, who introduced me to other extraordinary women with equally awful stories."
On girlfriend Argento: "I'm inspired and honored and grateful to know somebody so courageous, and to stand up to these... what seemed like the most-powerful man in the universe, and in an environment where usually people who do that are crushed, and were crushed for decades," he told the USA TODAY Network in an April interview.
"I look back, like hopefully a lot of men in that industry and think — not necessarily 'what did I do or not do?' — but 'what did I see and what did I let slide? What did I not notice," he told The Daily Show's Trevor Noah in January.
“I’m pretty much Ming the Merciless on this issue right now," he said in the same interview. I’m not in a forgiving state of mind. I mean, that (expletive) ain’t OK.”
If you or someone you know may be struggling with suicidal thoughts you can call the U.S. National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-TALK (8255) any time of day or night or chat online.
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