Documentary Filmmaker Spurlock Dies at 53

Documentary filmmaker Morgan Spurlock, an Oscar-nominee who made food and American diets his life's work—famously eating only at McDonald's for a month to illustrate the dangers of a fast-food diet—has died at age 53. Spurlock died Thursday in New York from complications of cancer, according to a statement issued by his family, per the AP. "It was a sad day, as we said goodbye to my brother Morgan," said Craig Spurlock, who worked with him on several projects, in the statement. "Morgan gave so much through his art, ideas, and generosity."

• Spurlock made a splash in 2004 with his groundbreaking Super Size Me, and returned in 2019 with Super Size Me 2: Holy Chicken!—a sober look at an industry that processes 9 billion animals a year in America.

• Spurlock was a gonzo-like filmmaker who leaned into the bizarre and ridiculous. His stylistic touches included zippy graphics and amusing music, blending a Michael Moore-ish camera-in-your-face style with his own sense of humor and pathos.
• Since he exposed the fast-food and chicken industries, there was an explosion in restaurants stressing freshness, artisanal methods, farm-to-table goodness, and ethically sourced ingredients. But nutritionally not much has changed. "There has been this massive shift and people say to me, 'So has the food gotten healthier?' And I say, 'Well, the marketing sure has,'" he told the AP in 2019.

(More Morgan Spurlock stories.)