TV Chef Anthony Bourdain Dead at 61; CDC Report Reveals Rising Suicide Rates in Almost Every State
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: People around the world are sharing their memories of famed chef, Anthony Bourdain, a gifted storyteller and writer, who died at the age of 61 after taking his own life. He traveled the world for us in his CNN series "PARTS UNKNOWN," bridging cultural divides through food. I had the opportunity to talk with him about his experiences back in 2010.</s>ANTHONY BOURDAIN, FORMER CNN HOST, "PARTS UNKNOWN": I sort of overnight -- had an overnight success with an over-testosteroned, obnoxious memoir about a not-very-distinguished career in the restaurant business. One day, I was standing next to a deep fryer, and the next, I had this gig where I'm traveling around the world making television any way I want, anywhere I want, living the dream.</s>WHITFIELD: So that was before "PARTS UNKNOWN" and he became part of the CNN family. At the time, he was promoting his book, "Medium Raw," and was also on the Travel Channel. But since he's been in the family, we have all felt like we have lost a very deep, close friend. CNN correspondent, Alex Marquardt, looks at how, in both life and death, Bourdain continues to bring us all closer together.</s>BOUDAIN: For me, one of life's great joys is cheese.</s>ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For Anthony Bourdain, the recipe for understanding people, understanding cultures around the world, and creating a hit TV show couldn't be more straight forward.</s>BOURDAIN: 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. We tend to get some really astonishing answers.</s>MARQUARDT: Bourdain was found dead Friday morning by a friend in a hotel room in France where he was filming for his award-winning CNN show, "PARTS UNKNOWN." The cause of his death was suicide. Bourdain started working in kitchens at a young age and would become a celebrity chef and author as he made his way into television. The Smithsonian called him the "original rock star of the culinary world," the "Elvis of bad-boy chefs." It was his way with words, "his irreverence, curiosity, ease and warmth" that fueled his massive following. Bourdain didn't shy away from talking about past demons. Heavy drug use that included an addiction to heroin as well as cocaine use. So bad, he said, he should have die in the his 20s but instead lived what he called a charmed life.</s>BOURDAIN (voice-over): Massachusetts is quite small-town America.</s>MARQUARDT: He addressed his past head-on while highlighting the opioid epidemic in Massachusetts in an episode of his show.</s>BOURDAIN (on camera): But I thought I'd start the show by returning to Provincetown, all the way out on the tip of Cape Cod, which is where, at age 17, I started washing dishes and started working in the restaurant business as a summer job and began my sort of trajectory in the restaurant business and into drugs. Somebody who wakes up in the morning and their first order of business is, get heroin, I know what that's like.</s>MARQUARDT: Bourdain came to CNN in 2013, bringing his show to a global audience. Throughout his TV career, he won award after award.</s>BOURDAIN: First order of business, dinner.</s>MARQUARDT: It was the food that lured people in. But viewers knew it was about so much more.</s>BOURDAIN: Incredible.</s>MARQUARDT: Quickly finding themselves immersed in an experience that focused on people, exotic places. and faiths from around the world. He insisted he wasn't a journalist. But over the years, forged a unique style of storytelling that was unmatched.</s>WHITFIELD: Alex, thank you so much. Bourdain's passing comes just days after the suicide of famed fashion designer, Kate Spade. And now a new troubling CDC report reveals suicide rates are on the rise in almost every state. From 1999 to 2016, 25 states had increases of more than 30 percent. And in more than half of those deaths, the person did not have a diagnosed medical condition. Joining us now, CNN senior medical correspondent, Elizabeth Cohen. Elizabeth, what are the factors that seem to be contributing to this spike?</s>DR. ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, the spike, I think, was really shocking to so many people. And really we don't know exactly why it went up so much. However, there are a couple of theories. One of them is when you look at 1999 to 2016, that encompasses the economic downturn of 2008 and that certainly was so hard on so many people. It also encompasses, and we were just talking about this with Anthony Bourdain, the opioid epidemic. So that's when it really was on the rise. And so that might have something to do with it, too. But in general, we're not entirely clear on what all the factors might be.</s>WHITFIELD: Elizabeth, you know, what are the signs to look for. You know, if someone is concerned about someone very close to them or perhaps someone personally watching this, is, you know, a feeling, a very troubled. What are the signs? That should people do?</s>COHEN: Right. It's so important, Fredricka, to know the signs and to not be afraid to talk about it with that person. For example, increasing isolation, increasing feeling of despair, sleep patterns change, and a change in social media behavior. If you can look on their social media pages and see, wow, they used to be very connected and now they're not or any other abrupt change could be a sign that something's going on. Mental health experts will say, don't be afraid to say to that person, if you're really concerned, are you thinking about suicide? I think people are afraid they will put the idea in their head, which is not the case. If they're thinking about it, they're thinking about it. Also, always when we're talking about this, Fred, I want to note that sometimes you don't see those signs. Sometimes people do things very unexpectedly. Even mental health experts, psychiatrists and psychologists, will miss these signs in their own patients and they will go on to take their own lives. So people, survivors should not feel guilty if they were not expecting a suicide.</s>WHITFIELD: Elizabeth Cohen, thank you so much.</s>COHEN: Thank you.</s>WHITFIELD: Really important information. Here's the number for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. It is 1-800-273-8255. That's 1-800-273-TALK. People are there 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. And later, CNN will pay tribute to Anthony Bourdain with a special night of episodes of "PARTS UNKNOWN." It begins tonight, 8:00 p.m. Eastern, only on CNN.