No Public Memorial Service Planned for Anthony Bourdain

Anthony Bourdain’s family members will likely have a small, private ceremony for the author and TV host who died two weeks ago in France at age 61, but no public service is planned at this time. “He would want as little fuss as possible,” Bourdain’s mother, Gladys, tells the New York Times. The former newspaper editor also says that she plans to get the name “Tony” tattooed across the inside of her wrist as a tribute to her son. This will be her first tattoo, and she intends to ask one of her son’s favorite artists to add the ink.

Bourdain’s body was cremated shortly after French authorities ruled that his death was a suicide by hanging. The TV host’s remains were shipped to his brother and only sibling, Christopher. A French inspector told Times reporter Kim Severson that there were no narcotics in Bourdain’s system when he died.

Anthony Bourdain was in Kaysersberg, France, shooting an episode of Parts Unknown with his longtime pal Éric Ripert when the food-media star took his life in his hotel room. CNN released an hour-long tribute to Bourdain shortly after his death, and the network has continued to air the remaining episodes of Parts Unknown Season 11 during the show’s regular Sunday 9 p.m. time slot. The first episode to run after Bourdain’s death, focusing on a trip to Berlin, featured a touching introduction from Anderson Cooper, and this week’s season finale, covering a journey through Bhutan, will include a special message from CNN anchor Don Lemon. CNN has not announced what will happen to the episodes of Season 12 that were filmed in the months before Bourdain’s death.

Although no plans for a public memorial service have been announced yet, fans of the late food writer and TV star have been dropping off flowers, messages, and other tributes to Bourdain at Les Halles, the now-closed Manhattan bistro where Tony worked when he published Kitchen Confidential. And, in other Bourdain tribute news, an artist in Los Angeles recently painted an impressive 13-foot-tall tribute to the food-media titan on the side of the new Gramercy bar.
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If you or anyone you know is considering suicide or self-harm or is anxious, depressed, upset, or needs to talk, call the National Suicide Prevention Hotline at 1-800-273-8255 or text the Crisis Text Line at 741-741. For international resources, here is a good place to begin.