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

Bourdain, host of CNN’s

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.

Details below…

Bourdain was a master of his crafts — first in the kitchen and then in the media. Through his TV shows and books, he explored the human condition and helped audiences think differently about food, travel and themselves. He advocated for marginalized populations and campaigned for safer working conditions for restaurant staffs.

CNN reports that the chef, storyteller and Emmy-winning host is dead of suicide at age 61.

The well-known tv personality’s death came just days after fashion designer Kate Spade hanged herself in an apparent suicide Tuesday at her Manhattan apartment.

Oddly enough, media coverage of high-profile suicide has been known to creates an ‘unintentional’ snowball effect called ‘suicide contagion’ as many stories fixate on the gratuitous details of a person’s death.

[READ: Kate Spade’s Death and the Unintentional consequences of suicide coverage… ]

Suicide is a growing problem in the United States. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published a survey Thursday showing suicide rates increased by 25% across the United States over nearly two decades ending in 2016. Twenty-five states experienced a rise in suicides by more than 30%.

If you or anyone you know are having thoughts of suicide, please reach out to someone. Studies have shown that the risk of suicide declines sharply when people call the national suicide hotline: 1-800-273-TALK.

There is also a crisis text line. For crisis support in Spanish, call 1-888-628-9454.

The lines are open 24-hours and are staffed by a mix of paid professionals and unpaid volunteers trained in crisis and suicide intervention.

What are your thoughts about this disturbing news?