Morgan Spurlock, ‘Super Size Me’ Star and Director, Dead at 53
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Morgan Spurlock, the independent filmmaker who playfully critiqued consumerism and capitalism in documentaries like Super Size Me and The Greatest Movie Ever Sold, has died at the age of 53.
Spurlock’s family confirmed the director’s death, adding that Spurlock died Thursday surrounded by friends and family in New York. The cause of death was complications from cancer.
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“It was a sad day, as we said goodbye to my brother Morgan,” his brother and frequent collaborator Craig Spurlock said in a statement. “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.”
Spurlock exploded onto the filmmaking scene in 2004 with his debut feature Super Size Me, which he also starred in/subjected himself to. In the film, Spurlock underwent a culinary experiment where he consumed only McDonald’s meals (occasionally Super-Sized) three times a day for a month to measure the impact that diet would have on his mental and physical health.
While the science and the practice of Spurlock’s stunt have been debated, by the end of his experiment, the director had gained over 24 pounds and saw unhealthy increases in his cholesterol and body mass. For his funny-yet-evincing look at the fast food industry, Spurlock landed an Academy Award nomination for Best Documentary.
“Spurlock’s little movie that could is more than a documentary about the dangers of obesity. It’s one of the blackest comedies to hit the screen since Dr. Strangelove,” Rolling Stone‘s Peter Travers wrote in his review of Super Size Me in 2004. “Spurlock proves himself a supersize talent; he makes you choke on every laugh.”
The film also grossed over $20 million at the box office — it only cost over $60,000 to make, plus the cost of the McDonald’s food — and, perhaps its biggest impact, ultimately led to the fast food giant discontinuing its extra-large “Super Sized” items soon after the documentary’s release.
The month-long McDonald’s experiment would next inspire Spurlock’s 2005 docuseries 30 Days, where people spent 30 days adhering to a new lifestyle; in the pilot episode, Spurlock himself attempted to get by while working a minimum wage job for a month.
Spurlock’s lens would later focus on the search for Osama bin Laden (Where in the World is Osama bin Laden?), capitalism (a segment in 2010’s Freakonomics), “manscaping” (Mansome), unbridled fandom (Comic-Con Episode IV: A Fan’s Hope), rodent infestations in urban areas (Rats) and the commercialization of Hollywood (The Greatest Movie Ever Sold). Spurlock also served as director on the One Direction concert film One Direction: This Is Us.
His family added in a statement Friday, “Over thirteen years, through his production company Warrior Poets, Spurlock found additional success producing and directing nearly 70 documentary films and television series. Spurlock fearlessly challenged modern conventions utilizing humor and wit to shed light on societal issues. His films inspired critical thinking and encouraged viewers to question the status quo.”
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