ANTHONY Bourdain would have been 62 years old today.
Unfortunately, last June 8, he killed himself.
Bourdain has touched so many lives—as a chef, author, friend, kin, entertainer and more. This is evident in the many tributes honoring the famous host of “Parts Unknown” on CNN.
One of those who paid tribute to Bourdain is Jonas Never, a mural artist. Never painted a 13-foot mural on a side of Gramercy bar in Santa Monica in California. According to the Eater Los Angeles website, Never was originally hired by Gramercy owners Travis Clemens Santos and Troy Donnel to paint a sign for the bar. But then Never noticed a blank wall and asked if he could paint a tribute to Bourdain on it. The answer was, of course, yes.
This wasn’t the first tribute Never made. And because they are tributes, Never didn’t make money off them and even paid for his own materials.
Never also paid tribute to Linkin Park’s Chester Bennington, who committed suicide last year. The mural was on a wall at Rockin’ Pies in Sherman Oaks in California.
In New Jersey, eateries are also paying tribute to their favorite foodie.
The city is considering honoring the celebrity chef with a food trail.
The 61-year-old was born in New York, but grew up in the New Jersey suburb of Leonia.
Democratic New Jersey Assemblyman Paul Moriarty last week introduced a resolution that would require the Travel and Tourism Division to establish the “Anthony Bourdain Food Trail.” Bourdain visited 10 eateries in the state in a 2015 episode of CNN’s “Parts Unknown.” The CNN travel and food show ran for 11 seasons.
One of the stops was Donkey’s Place in Camden, which Bourdain said rivaled nearby Philadelphia for cheesesteaks.
“A designated trail of his favorite dining spots is a fitting way to honor the memory of one of New Jersey’s best-known chefs,” said Moriarty.
Then there’s girlfriend Asia Argento, who was Bourdain’s girlfriend at the time of his death.
“Life is a bitch and then you die,” Argento, 42, said on her Instagram story last Tuesday.
“Anthony gave all of himself in everything that he did. His brilliant, fearless spirit touched and inspired so many, and his generosity knew no bounds,” the Italian actress wrote on Instagram shortly after Bourdain’s death. “He was my love, my rock, my protector. I am beyond devastated. My thoughts are with his family. I would ask that you respect their privacy and mine.”
Last week, Argento went back to work. According to Page Six, the actress started filming for Italy’s “X Factor” last June 18.
Bourdain became one of the more outspoken male activists of the #MeToo movement as Argento was among the first to accuse disgraced media mogul Harvey Weinstein of sexual harassment.
“@AsiaArgento, I am proud and honored to know you. You just did the hardest thing in the world,” Bourdain tweeted in October shortly after a barrage of women accused Weinstein of sexual harassment.
Argento and Bourdain met in 2016 when the actress appeared on “Parts Unkown” while the show was filming in Rome.
“Parts Unknown” is one of the programs competing for best informational series in this year’s TCA Awards by the TV Critics Association. It will be competing against CBS’s “60 Minutes,” BBC America’s “Blue Planet 2,” MSNBC’s “The Rachel Maddow Show,” PBS’s”The Vietnam War” and Netflix’s “Wild Wild Country.” (with AP)