CHARLESTON, W.Va. — West Virginia native and award-winning filmmaker Morgan Spurlock has died.
Spurlock’s family announced he died Thursday from complications associated with his battle with cancer. He was 53.
“Morgan gave so much through his art, ideas, and generosity,” his brother, Craig Spurlock, said in a statement. “The world has lost a true creative genius and a special man.”
Spurlock was born in Parkersburg and grew up in Beckley. He earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in film from New York University. He rose to national acclaim with his award winning 2004 documentary “Super Size Me.” In the film, Spurlock ate nothing but McDonald’s fast food for 30 days. The film documented the dramatic negative impact the fast food diet had on his physical and mental health. The film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature Film.
He followed up the film in 2017 with a sequel called “Super Size Me 2: Holy Chicken.” This time he tackled the fast food industry’s marketing tactics in which they claimed to be serving healthier choices. He opened his own chicken restaurant imploring many of those same tactics as part off the project.
He is survived by two sons, Laken and Kallen; mom Phyllis Spurlock; dad Ben; brothers Craig and Barry; and ex-wives Alexandra Jamieson and Sara Bernstein, the mothers of his two children.