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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Anthony Bourdain's suicide.

It is so hard to believe that a successful 61 year old who had surmounted so much in his life, would impulsively hang himself just before a planned dinner with a dear friend and his colleagues while in a hotel overseas.

More importantly, he had a minor daughter whom he loved dearly and a good coparenting relationship with her mother.

IMO, I think it was a case of autoerotic asphyxiation. I think his freewheeling and "open" relationship with Asia Argento may have had something to do with it. It seems he went off the rails a bit after he met her.

Perhaps he was introduced or encouraged to use asphyxiation and it went terribly wrong for him. He was always looking for new and exciting food experiences, why not sexual?

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From what I read about him, he was suicidal for a lot of his life. So it was amazing that he made it as long as he did. But yeah, Asia Argento was the catalyst, and she’s pretty terrible. I feel bad for his kid and ex-wife.[/quote]

It just seems like such an odd way/place to do it.  Especially if you want to be "successful."  Using a terry cloth bathrobe belt from a hotel's closet rod seems a bad choice for a guy who was pretty intelligent and street-smart. Knots loosen, fabric could rip, or rod could snap/bend under the weight. He would have certainly been taller than the clothes rod. Choosing to do it while being overseas in a hotel room seems off too.

He was expected for dinner and his absence meant there was a good likelihood he might have been either interrupted or found and resuscitated. It seems like an erudite guy like Bourdain might have considered those factors.  That's why I think it may have been an auto-erotic thing gone wrong, which is not unheard of for male celebrities.  [/quote]

Hey, I was just thinking about INXS singer Michael Hutchence, who I beleived had died in an act of autoerotic asphyxiation, but appears that is not true. I just read up on it. Hutchence was in a very dramatic relationship with Paula Yates and had drug abuse problems. Also he was distraught over child custody issues, and was upset that he wasn't going to get an expected visit with his daughter. He hung himself with a belt alone in his hotel room.

The autoerotic asphyxiation idea came from Paula, who was apparently in denial over the suicide. She died of a heroin overdose in 2000. Her ex Bob Geldof raised Hutchence and Paula's daughter Tiger alongside the 4 daughters he had with Paula.

Anyway, I was surprised by the parallels between Anthony and Michael. Both had struggled with drugs and depression. Both were in fairly new and very dramatic relationships. Both took their life in a hotel room by hanging. [/quote]

Yet without a note or other direct evidence of bona fide suicide there is still an element of doubt simply because there ARE cases of death by asphyxiation - and many families may not want that information exposed. That's why I think the Bourdain case fits the "Favorite Celebrity Mystery" title of this thread.

I would imagine Bourdain had a significant life insurance policy and wonder if the company flat-out refused payment under the suicide clause. However, if it was eventually ruled as accidental asphyxiation it might have bearing on the pay out.

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I have more thoughts about your last paragraph. I do believe that life insurance payouts become more relevant if the deceased is poorer. Let's say a father makes $100k and his family is dependent on that money, the life insurance is very important. Questions of suicide or accident are hot if the family needs the money badly.

[b]Bourdain died with just over $1 million. You would think it would be more.[/b] However. Dude only became a star in the last 20+/- years of his life, before that, he was a paycheck-to-paycheck kitchen cook. Then he wasn't used to having money, didn't necessarily respect the money. Maybe even disrespected the money. [b]Who knows of he even had life insurance. [/b]

He did however have a will that set up a trust for his daughter, and so she is set. [/quote]

I was shocked by his death, generally, but I was also really surprised by this. 61 years old and worth 1 million? A govt employee that age likely has that money. Why was it not a LOT more and what's the trust for his daughter and how is she "set"?[/quote]

I think he did. It is almost a certainty he had insurance as part of his contract with the network. He was technically "on the job" even though cause of death was questionable. Plus, I find it hard to believe that any financial advisor (or even his ex-wife as part of divorce/child maintenance) didn't have a conversation with him about insurance for his daughter.

Like I said, he was a pretty smart guy. He KNEW if he committed suicide that insurance wouldn't pay out, neither his employer's nor his own.  I could see him getting in a little sports car and "accidentally" hitting a tree at full speed.  But the method he used was so fraught with problems, the primary being no insurance pay out, that I still think his death is a mystery.

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I remember there was gossip that he committed suicide because his girlfriend blew all his money and then left him. [/quote]

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