Author Charles Leerhsen has responded to criticism from the family of celebrated chef, writer and world traveler Anthony Bourdain condemning his unauthorized biography of the "No Reservations" star that includes some of the last text messages Bourdain sent before dying by suicide in 2018.
"I set out to write a full biography, from birth to death, of Tony Bourdain and along the way I obtained texts and emails," Leerhsen told the Los Angeles Times on Thursday. "I used these like biographers of a previous era used personal letters. I didn't steal them; they were given to me by a source or sources, the way letters have been given to biographers. I did not have to show my manuscript to anyone in return, hence it is unauthorized even though I received cooperation."
Bourdain, who died at 61 on location in France while filming his CNN travel and food show "Parts Unknown," reportedly texted estranged wife Ottavia Busia-Bourdain, to whom "he still confided his most intimate thoughts," that he hated his life and his fame, according to an advance copy of "Down and Out in Paradise: The Life of Anthony Bourdain" reviewed by the L.A. Times.
