Morgan Spurlock, Super Size Me director dead at 53, from cancer. Filmmaker who challenged America’s conscience under the banner of his production company, Warrior Poets.
Morgan Spurlock, a documentary filmmaker best known for his 2004 seminal documentary, ‘Super Size Me,’ that challenged America’s eating habits after eating McDonald’s every day for a month, and documenting his own psychological and physical symptoms, died Thursday in upstate New York due to complications of cancer. He was 53.
Spurlock’s family announced the filmmaker’s death on Friday, May 24, a day after passing away, stating that he died peacefully, surrounded by family and friends.
His brother Craig said in a statement, ‘It was a sad day, as we said goodbye to my brother Morgan. Morgan gave so much through his art, ideas and generosity. The world has lost a true creative genius and a special man. I am so proud to have worked together with him.’
Striking a chord with America
Spurlock rose to prominence for ‘Super Size Me,’ in which he conducted an experiment involving consuming only food from McDonald’s for a 30-day stretch. The rules also included the stipulation that Spurlock could not refuse the ‘super-size’ menu option if prompted during the transaction. The filmmaker also exercised less to match the average American’s physical activity along with capturing his own psychological and physical symptoms over the course of the next 30 days.
By the end of the experiment, Spurlock claimed gaining 25 pounds and suffering from depression and liver dysfunction.
‘Super Size Me’ grossed $22 million at the global box office, with the film sparking a conversation about how the fast food industry encourage poor nutrition among the general public. McDonald’s would go on to discontinue its ‘super-size’ option following the film’s release along with soon after introducing healthier food options quickly on its menus.
The film led to Spurlock winning the Grand Jury Prize for directing and a subsequent Academy Award nomination.
JUST IN: ‘Super Size Me’ filmmaker Morgan Spurlock has died at the age of 53 from complications of cancer.
Spurlock released a documentary in 2004 where he ate McDonalds every day for 30 days.
At the end of the experiment, Spurlock’s cholesterol shot up 65 points and he gained… pic.twitter.com/Rv8ZqypMDV
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) May 24, 2024
Also part of the problem
Born Nov. 7, 1970, in Parkersburg, W. Va., Spurlock was raised under the Methodist faith, though he identified as agnostic later in life. He graduated with a BFA in film from New York University in 1993.
In the 13 years following “Super Size Me,” Spurlock gained additional success under his production company Warrior Poets, producing and directing nearly 70 documentary films and television series. Spurlock’s wide-ranging works were fueled by addressing controversial and topical subjects. His projects covered issues including the U.S. war in Afghanistan (“Where In the the World Is Osama Bin Laden”), minimum wage and immigrant labor (“30 Days”); consumer susceptibility to marketing (The Greatest Movie Ever Sold”); trophy hunting and body modification (“7 Deadly Sins”); elder care and gambling (“Morgan Spurlock Inside Man”) and corporate pressure on family farms (“Super Size Me 2: Holy Chicken!”).
In December 2017, as the #MeToo movement continued to gain traction, Spurlock wrote a lengthy social media post saying he was ‘part of the problem.’ In the post, he admitted to serial infidelities and said he had settled an allegation of sexual harassment from a former assistant. He also said he had been accused of rape in college.
‘Part of the reason I wrote that essay in the first place,’ he added at the time, ‘was to be on the right side of it. I’m hopeful that in time, with the work that I do and the changes that I continue to go through, that I can be there on the right side.’
The post effectively ended Spurlock’s documentary career, as Spurlock stepped down from Warrior Poets shortly after.
Spurlock is survived by his two children, Laken and Kallen; mother, Phyllis Spurlock; father Ben (Iris); brothers Craig (Carolyn) and Barry (Buffy); multiple nieces and nephews; and former spouses, Alexandra Jamieson and Sara Bernstein.
