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CNN's Anthony Bourdain dead at 61



New York (CNN)Anthony Bourdain, the chef and gifted storyteller who took TV viewers around the world to explore culture, cuisine and the human condition for nearly two decades, has died. He was 61.

CNN confirmed Bourdain's death on Friday and said the cause of death was suicide.

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

"It is with extraordinary sadness we can confirm the death of our friend and colleague, Anthony Bourdain," the network 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."

"Tony was an exceptional talent," CNN President Jeff Zucker said in an email to employees. "Tony will be greatly missed not only for his work but also for the passion with which he did it."

Fans, fellow chefs, celebrities and friends reacted with stunned sorrow.

"My heart breaks for Tony Bourdain," CNN's chief international correspondent Christiane Amanpour wrote on Twitter. "May he rest in peace now.

"He was a friend, a collaborator, and family. A huge personality, a giant talent, a unique voice, and deeply, deeply human. My heart goes out to his daughter and family, and his longtime partners and friends at (production company) ZPZ."

Author and humorist John Hodgman recalled eating with Bourdain some 14 years ago.

"He was big even then, but he took time to sit with me in Chinatown to talk 'weird' food for a magazine piece I was writing. He taught me that our 'weird' is the world's delicious," Hodgman wrote on Twitter. "We ate chicken feet. The afternoon vibrated with life. RIP."

"I am shocked and deeply saddened," chef and "Queer Eye" star Antoni Porowski wrote on Twitter. "RIP to a father, partner, chef, writer, and incredibly talented man. ... Prayers for his loved ones."

he was the kind of person you could imagine you'd just love to spend an evening with.

rubato wrote:Being diagnosed with and even being treated for depression does not stop people from committing suicide. Sometimes it promotes it.


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rubato