Anne Burrell death investigation takes dramatic twist as chilling new information emerges
Anne Burrell's shock death investigation has taken another twist as chilling new information emerged about the scene where the chef was found dead on Tuesday.
The beloved Food Network star — who famously hosted Secrets of a Restaurant Chef and co-hosted Worst Cooks in America — died at age 55 at her Brooklyn, New York apartment.
Law enforcement sources told TMZ a large quantity of 'unknown pills' were found around where Burrell died.
Insiders had previously revealed Burrell was found unresponsive and lying on the shower floor by her husband Stuart Claxton early Tuesday morning.
Claxton reportedly last saw his wife alive at approximately 1AM the night prior before discovering her unconscious between six to seven hours later in their bathroom.
DailyMail.com has contacted representatives for Food Network and Burrell for comment but did not immediately hear back.
Claxton contacted 911 and was allegedly advised by the operator to perform CPR on Burrell.
However, her body was said to be cold and it is not known if he performed CPR.
A possible cause of death has now been indicated by the 911 call, with the New York Fire Department confirming to Daily Mail that they were responding to a report of a cardiac arrest at 7.50am on Tuesday.
She was found unresponsive in her Brooklyn, New York, home by police. In a statement to Daily Mail, the New York City Police Department confirmed that they were called to an address in Brooklyn in response to a report about an 'unconscious and unresponsive' 55-year-old female.
The woman was pronounced dead at the scene. The cause of death has not yet been reported by the Office of Chief Medical Examiner, with an investigation ongoing.
TMZ reports that EMS attempted CPR on Burrell but could not resuscitate her.
'Anne was a beloved wife, sister, daughter, stepmother, and friend — her smile lit up every room she entered,' her family said in a statement obtained by DailyMail.com Tuesday.
'Anne's light radiated far beyond those she knew, touching millions across the world. Though she is no longer with us, her warmth, spirit, and boundless love remain eternal,' they shared.
A Food Network spokesperson added, 'Anne was a remarkable person and culinary talent – teaching, competing and always sharing the importance of food in her life and the joy that a delicious meal can bring.
'Our thoughts are with Anne's family, friends and fans during this time of tremendous loss.'
The TV chef - who became synonymous with her trademark spiky platinum hair - is survived by husband Stuart Claxton, whom she wed in October 2021 in an autumn-themed ceremony and reception in her hometown of Cazenovia, New York.
She is also survived by her mother Marlene and sister Jane and her children Isabella, Amelia and Nicolas, and her brother Ben.
Anne developed a passion for cooking at a young age, inspired by her mother's home-cooked meals and by watching food icon Julia Child on television.
After earning a degree in English and Communications from Canisius College in Buffalo in 1991, she followed her culinary dreams and enrolled at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, graduating in 1996.
She worked at a whole host of New York City hotspots including Felidia and Savoy in Soho, where she honed her craft in Mediterranean cuisine.
She was later thrust into the spotlight and became best known as the longtime host of Worst Cooks in America.
The show, which ran for 28 seasons, saw celebrated chefs mentor amateur cooks in an attempt to transform them from rookies to kitchen experts.
Elsewhere, she appeared on Chef Wanted, Chopped, Food Network Star, and most recently, competition series House of Knives - which premiered in March this year.
She was later thrust into the spotlight and became best known as the longtime host of Worst Cooks in America, seen here with her friend Rachael Ray
The famed chef also penned two of her own cookbooks - Cook Like a Rock Star and Own Your Kitchen: Recipes to Inspire & Empower.
Heartbroken fans have flooded to leave comments on her most recent Instagram post that was shared just four days ago.
'This can't be true. Chef Anne you were vivacious, hilarious, full of life and reminded me of my Mom. I'm so, so sorry. Rest with the Angels in Heaven and cook up a storm for us,' one wrote.
'Prayers for your family. This feels so unexpected!
'You were always one of our all time favorite chefs and seemed like a great person! I'm sure you'll be missed by many!' someone else shared.
'RIP ANNE! I can't believe this! We lost a good one!' one wrote.
'I was such a fan of you. I had been watching Worst Cooks for YEARS and just recently started watching newer seasons.
'I am so sad. May you rest in peace,' another penned.
Gigi Hadid, who famously appeared on the cooking competition series Beat Bobby Flay with Burrell, led the celebrities expressing their heartbreak over Burrell's death.
'I am heartbroken to hear of the loss of the Great Anne Burrell,' the supermodel, 30, began.
Hadid included a photo of herself and Burrell from their time filming Beat Bobby Flay back in 2023.
'As a longtime fan, getting to share this day with her was a dream come true. Beat Bobby. Hang. Eat,' she recalled.
'I wish we could have done it again. She was awesome. Rest in Peace Legend.'
Chef Carla Hall, who previously appeared on Food Network's Top Chef, called Burrell an 'incredible cook and teacher.'
Queer Eye for the Straight Guy star Carson Kressley, who was a close friend of Burrell's, revealed that he spoke to her just days before her death.
He also shared a post to his own Instagram page which included a photo of him and Burrell.
'Rest easy, Chef Anne. I'm so blessed I was able to work with you, learn from you, laugh with you. So many memories - on screen and off - I cherish this photo of us living our best lives, as the kids say,' Kressley wrote.
'It's one of my favorite memories - just swimming in the ocean after a great lunch. Good food, good friends and lots of love and laughter all around.
'That's what I wish for you where you are now . I'll see you again someday, dear friend.'
To conclude the tribute, Kressley revealed that 'Anne loved this photo of us so I know she'd be happy I chose this one.'
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It earned rave reviews from critics and became the first movie to take more than $100m in theatrical rentals. The three men on a boat were Dreyfuss (Hooper), Roy Scheider (Brody) and Robert Shaw (Quint) and the dynamic between them is central to the film's appeal. Today only Dreyfuss is left. Now, 77, sitting in a library at his home in San Diego, California, his memories remain lucid. 'First of all, you have to remember this is not 50 years later,' he says via Zoom. 'This is yesterday.' At first Dreyfuss turned the part down. 'At this lunch meeting he [Spielberg] illustrated the story very well, very vividly, and he said, did you like it? I said, oh, yes. He said, do you want to do it? I said, no, and he said, why? I said, because it's going to be a bitch to shoot. I at that moment was not looking for difficulties. I turned him down in that meeting and then I turned him down again.' But then Dreyfuss saw a rough cut of a film he had just made and thought his performance looked so bad that it might end his career. So he called Spielberg and begged him for the role. Once shooting got under way, it did not go as Dreyfuss had prophesied at that lunch meeting. 'One of the many things that I learned was that it was not a bitch to shoot at all. I would say that there was one word that characterised the shoot and that was waiting. More waiting than anything.' Despite the difficulty and cost, Spielberg insisted on shooting in the open ocean off Martha's Vineyard for the sake of authenticity. The budget ballooned from $4m to $9m. Production went 100 days over schedule and was plagued by the malfunctions of the mechanical shark (nicknamed 'Bruce' after Spielberg's lawyer). At the mention of this, Dreyfuss puts his hands to his mouth to mimic a loudspeaker: ''The shark is not working. The shark is not working. Repeat. The shark is not working.' 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'He lost control of himself and he was terribly embarrassed and that only made him drink more and so that day was a terrible humiliation for him. Because I was sitting next to him and in the shot, it was painful. 'That night he called Steven at two or three in the morning and said, how badly did I humiliate myself? Steven said, not fatally. He came in the next morning and he did the scene in one take and he was brilliant.' For decades there have been stories that the palpable tension between Hooper and Quint was not based on acting alone but mirrored personal animosity between Dreyfuss and Shaw. The alleged feud was explored in the recent play The Shark is Broken co-written by and starring Shaw's son Ian. Dreyfuss, however, is adamant this is a myth and one that pains him to this day. 'If you are aware of the stories in and around the filming, you know the 'discovery' of the feud between Robert and myself didn't exist for 25 years,' he says firmly. 'It was not the truth. It was not the fact of our relationship at all. Twenty-five years after the film was over, I found that there was this 'feud' between us. 'What there had been was one day where I was angry at him for stuff. It was one day. To a great extent what happened was that in order to jack up the stories about the film, they re-emphasized the story of this feud, which wasn't real and the people who did it knew it. I resented that for a long time but Robert was already dead by 15 years and there was nothing I could do. 'I cherished his memory and what I was learning from him and I'm not kidding about that. Robert was an extraordinary actor and an extraordinary writer and I could tell you a great number of stories about all of that. But I won't allow anyone to walk away from an interview with Richard Dreyfuss and think that there was reality to the feud.' He and Shaw had even made plans for a future collaboration, Dreyfuss adds. 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'He was very much an isolated human at that point. He smoked; I hate cigarettes. He also spent a tremendous amount of time with one of those tin foil reflector pans, getting his tan. There was very little in common. Years later I was in New York and we ran into each other on Madison Avenue. We talked like real people at that point instead of actors on the set and it was fun – it was very professional.' Typically summer months were quiet for cinemas but Jaws was deliberately timed for when people were at beach resorts and accompanied by the tagline: 'See it before you go swimming!' The film opened on 464 screens in North America and was boosted by a major TV advertising campaign, still unusual at the time and marketing stunts such as themed ice-creams. Gottlieb once observed: 'That notion of selling a picture as an event, as a phenomenon, as a destination, was born with that release.' Did Gary have any sense that Jaws would be such a gamechanger? 'Absolutely not. No clue. It stunned me when it did, what it did and it stuns me now. Every day I get fan mail. I'm an 88-year-old woman. Come on, leave me alone! It's all very strange to me but luckily, it's fun.' Unlike Dreyfuss, the experience did not put her off swimming. Gary has gone scuba diving and come within five feet of a shark. 'I'm not scared of sharks,' she says. 'The only time I was scared by sharks was when I saw my sons and my grandchildren in the ocean and I thought, sooner or later there'll be payback, but there wasn't. I truly do not have a very strong feeling about hurting the reputation of sharks. They deserve to be known for who they are and what they do.' The film's impact on these ancient predators, which date back 450m years – longer than the dinosaurs – is complex and frequently debated. Its official trailer speaks of a 'mindless eating machine' that will 'attack and devour anything', adding: 'It is as if God created the devil and gave him jaws.' Small wonder Jaws instilled widespread fear of sharks, whose population has fallen dramatically since the early 1970s. Spielberg told BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs in 2022: 'I truly and to this day regret the decimation of the shark population because of the book and the film. I really, truly regret that.' But the film also sparked engagement in marine science and conservation, a legacy actively pursued by the author Benchley, who died in 2006, and his wife Wendy, who is executive producer of a Nat Geo documentary, Jaws@50: The Definitive Inside Story. In a phone interview, Wendy, 84, comments: 'Jaws tapped into an innate fear of being eaten by a monster. It was a scary book and a scary movie but 90% of the people who read the book or saw the movie got over their fear; 10% never went back in the water.' Benchley had worked as a speechwriter for President Lyndon Johnson over the last two years of his presidency then wanted to get back to freelance writing. The couple were living in Pennington, New Jersey, with two young children and financial pressures but Benchley decided to try writing a book. He had two ideas, Wendy says. 'One was about current day pirates; one about a great white shark that hangs around a town and causes some mischief. I said, oh, honey, I don't think either of these ideas are going to be that great. Thank heavens he didn't listen to me.' Benchley had spent childhood summers sailing, fishing or swimming at Nantucket Island, off the coast of Massachusetts, where the black dorsal fins of sharks could be seen above the surface. 'Now, he knew after he wrote the book, and after people started to do more and more research on sharks, that sharks do not hang around. They don't like human flesh: we're too bony, we don't have enough fat on us. Peter always said, 'I would never write Jaws again because I now know how important this animal is and how magnificent it is.'' Benchley was unsure what to call the book. 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Wendy says: 'We were horrified that people took this novel and this fictional movie as some kind of a licence to go out and kill sharks and to schedule more shark tournaments. We took this very seriously and began to work on conservation issues.' As awareness has grown, she adds, applications to study marine science have risen at universities around the country. 'That is an outcome of Jaws that people now understand. In fact the ocean community embraces Jaws as a positive for ocean science, ocean research and conservation. 'The other thing that surprised us and relieved us greatly was that Peter began to get thousands of letters from people all over the world who said it was a great book, scary movie, but it intrigued them and they want to know more about sharks. There were so many letters from people wanting to be Hooper, not in a white lab coat sitting doing research but out on the ocean and experiencing not only sharks but other ocean creatures. That was a wonderful feeling.'
Daily Mail
24 minutes ago
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R Kelly denied release from prison just days after overdose
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