Anthony Bourdain had a thing for Louise Brooks. Over the years, he evoked her name time and again.
In the introduction to My Last Supper: 50 Great Chefs and Their Final Meals (2007), Bourdain was asked who he wished his dining companions might be at his last meal. His answer was telling. "Given that I'm ostensibly facing imminent death, I'd probably prefer being alone. But assuming heroic sangfroid, an eclectic bunch of dinner companions from times present and past might keep the conversation interesting: Graham Greene, Kim Philby, Ava Gardner, Louise Brooks, Orson Welles, Iggy Pop, Martin Scorsese, Gabrielle Hamilton, Nick Tosches, Muhammad Ali, and Carole Lombard."
That mention caught my attention, and when I met Bourdain -- ever so briefly in 2008 -- I asked him about his interest in Brooks. He smiled, and asked "Wasn't she beautiful?"
The celebrated chef, author, television personality and travel documentarian -- who took his own life on June 8th -- was well known for his love of popular music. Less known was his love of world cinema and classic films, and Louise Brooks. In 2017, Bourdain was asked to name a few of his favorite films from the Criterion Collection. And among those he chose were works by John Huston, Orson Welles, and Stanley Kubrick. Another of Bourdain's picks was the only silent film to make his list, Pandora's Box (1929). Bourdain's brief comment on this pick amplifies his interest in the star of that classic silent film: "Two words. Louise Brooks. Never has a more beautiful, intelligent, quirky, sexy, uniquely commanding character graced the screen."
The "last supper" or "ideal dinner" question was one that Bourdain was asked with some regularity. And though his answer might vary, one name always was always present, Louise Brooks. Back in 2006, Washington Post readers put questions to the celebrated chef.
In 2013, Andrew Zimmern interviewed Bourdain for Delta Sky magazine. Bourdain named a few of his ideal dinner companions: "Orson Welles is there, for sure. Ava Gardner, Louise Brooks, Iggy, Marco Pierre White, my wife, she’s funny. Daniel Boulud, Éric Ripert, that would be fun. Nigella, Bill Murray, Christopher Walken and Lidia Bastianich, because they’re old friends. That would be a mother****ing dinner party right there. It would be an interesting and outrageous bunch."
In 2014, Modern Luxury magazine asked Bourdain which six iconic figures would be at his dream dinner party? His answer, "Orson Welles; actress Louise Brooks; British intelligence officer Kim Philby, who was actually a KGB spy; Ava Gardner; Iggy Pop; and movie director John Houston."
In 2016, Bourdain went on Reddit to answer questions, where he was asked if you could have dinner with any three people, alive or dead, who would they be? His answer, "Louise Brooks, Orson Welles, and James Angleton the former head of capital intelligence for the CIA. There's a couple of questions I'd like to ask him. They're all dead unfortunately. "
In 2015, Bourdain visited my former place of employ, the Arion Press. He was there to check out the press -- one of the last letterpress printers in the United States, but also to check out the Arion Press edition of the Lulu plays (the basis for Pandora's Box), as illustrated by artist William Kentridge. It was a book I suggested Arion publish, having known of the artist's interest in Louise Brooks as well as press' desire to work with Kentridge. It seemed a good fit. The result was one of the landmark letterpress editions of the early 21st century.
In a list of notable American memoirists, two names sit near one another under the letter B, Anthony Bourdain and Louise Brooks. Today, I think, they are likely sitting near one another in legend.
In the introduction to My Last Supper: 50 Great Chefs and Their Final Meals (2007), Bourdain was asked who he wished his dining companions might be at his last meal. His answer was telling. "Given that I'm ostensibly facing imminent death, I'd probably prefer being alone. But assuming heroic sangfroid, an eclectic bunch of dinner companions from times present and past might keep the conversation interesting: Graham Greene, Kim Philby, Ava Gardner, Louise Brooks, Orson Welles, Iggy Pop, Martin Scorsese, Gabrielle Hamilton, Nick Tosches, Muhammad Ali, and Carole Lombard."
The celebrated chef, author, television personality and travel documentarian -- who took his own life on June 8th -- was well known for his love of popular music. Less known was his love of world cinema and classic films, and Louise Brooks. In 2017, Bourdain was asked to name a few of his favorite films from the Criterion Collection. And among those he chose were works by John Huston, Orson Welles, and Stanley Kubrick. Another of Bourdain's picks was the only silent film to make his list, Pandora's Box (1929). Bourdain's brief comment on this pick amplifies his interest in the star of that classic silent film: "Two words. Louise Brooks. Never has a more beautiful, intelligent, quirky, sexy, uniquely commanding character graced the screen."
The "last supper" or "ideal dinner" question was one that Bourdain was asked with some regularity. And though his answer might vary, one name always was always present, Louise Brooks. Back in 2006, Washington Post readers put questions to the celebrated chef.
Rockville, Md.: Looking back at all the places you've traveled and meals you've had, what would be your dream menu and who would you invite?In 2008, www.seriouseats.com wrote. "When asked by the New York Post's Page Six this weekend what his food fantasy would be, Anthony Bourdain replied: 'Chef Marco Pierre White and Keith Richards would be throwing something on the barbie in a backyard in Red Hook.' Attendees would include, among others, silent film actress Louise Brooks (allowed to speak, presumably) along with Orson Welles and the "CIA director of counterintelligence."
Anthony Bourdain: I would eat at the St. John restaurant in London. An all offal meal prepared by Fergus Henderson. Attending would be a young Ava Gardner, Louise Brooks, Kim Philby, Orson Welles, Richard Helms, Iggy Pop, Graham Greene and Martin Scorsese.
In 2014, Modern Luxury magazine asked Bourdain which six iconic figures would be at his dream dinner party? His answer, "Orson Welles; actress Louise Brooks; British intelligence officer Kim Philby, who was actually a KGB spy; Ava Gardner; Iggy Pop; and movie director John Houston."
In 2016, Bourdain went on Reddit to answer questions, where he was asked if you could have dinner with any three people, alive or dead, who would they be? His answer, "Louise Brooks, Orson Welles, and James Angleton the former head of capital intelligence for the CIA. There's a couple of questions I'd like to ask him. They're all dead unfortunately. "
In 2015, Bourdain visited my former place of employ, the Arion Press. He was there to check out the press -- one of the last letterpress printers in the United States, but also to check out the Arion Press edition of the Lulu plays (the basis for Pandora's Box), as illustrated by artist William Kentridge. It was a book I suggested Arion publish, having known of the artist's interest in Louise Brooks as well as press' desire to work with Kentridge. It seemed a good fit. The result was one of the landmark letterpress editions of the early 21st century.
In a list of notable American memoirists, two names sit near one another under the letter B, Anthony Bourdain and Louise Brooks. Today, I think, they are likely sitting near one another in legend.
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