NEW YORK (1010 WINS/WCBS 880) – Filmmaker Morgan Spurlock, best known for his blockbuster documentary "Super Size Me," has died at 53, his family said Friday.
Spurlock died Thursday in New York City from complications of cancer.
He died peacefully surrounded by loved ones, his family said. They didn't specify the type of cancer he had.
Born in West Virginia, he lived and worked in SoHo and was a graduate of NYU's Tisch School of the Arts.
"It was a sad day, as we said goodbye to my brother Morgan," said Craig Spurlock, who worked with him on several projects. "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."
Documentary Filmmaker Morgan Spurlock of 'Super Size Me 2: Holy Chicken!' attends The IMDb Studio Hosted By The Visa Infinite Lounge at The 2017 Toronto International Film Festival at Bisha Hotel & Residences on September 8, 2017 in Toronto, Canada.Rich Polk/Getty Images for IMDb
Spurlock achieved worldwide fame for his 2004 documentary "Super Size Me," in which he documented eating only McDonald's for 30 days and the impacts a fast food diet had on his health.
The film, which is one of the highest-grossing documentaries of all time, got him an Oscar nomination for Best Documentary Feature.
Over the years, he produced and directed nearly 70 documentary films and TV series.
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 Associated Press in 2019.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
