"Heart Attack Grill" spokesman dies at 29

PHOENIX - A 575-pound man who gained a measure of fame as spokesman for the Heart Attack Grill — a Phoenix-area restaurant that unabashedly touts its unhealthy, high-calorie menu — has died.

Friends of 29-year-old Blair River say he died Tuesday, possibly from contracting pneumonia after a bout with the flu.

Restaurant founder Jon Basso tells The Arizona Republic that River was more than the larger-than-life caricature he portrayed in promoting the restaurant in Chandler, which includes huge hamburgers, milkshakes and fries cooked in lard on its menu.

Basso says River was a creative genius who had been planning to take part in the shooting of a promotional spot called, "Heart Attack Grill: The Musical."

The 6-foot-8 River was an Arizona state heavyweight wrestling champion in 1999.

As Basso told Bill Geist on CBS' "Sunday Morning" in 2008, "Our motto is simple: Taste worth dying for."

[Sandra_4677]

Everyone thinks "It won't happen to ME!"
Just sad :(

[jampalm]

Pneumonia ? ? You really think so ? come on. Speak the truth HE DIED FROM BEING CRAVEN. With your lard and your fries. You go take a look at his heart.

[pragmatist1]

Sad...so young and his obesity and early death both could have been avoided. The restaurant that used him as a spokesperson should be ashamed of themselves. This condition isn't anything to boast about.

[Janfebmarapr]

This story really makes Rush "The Fat One" Limbaugh look like the total idiot he is, with his attacks on Michele Obama's call for healthy eating.
I think Limbaugh could replace this guy, he's fat enough.

[Empire--George---]

hey fool, limbaugh slimed up years ago.

Michelle isn't just calling for healthy eating, she's dictating it and forcing her version of liberalism on America.....big difference

[jimbom121]

Get off it...no one is dictating what you can and can't eat. Prove that she is dictating it? Did Laura Bush dictate what we read?

[mollydtt]

Sarah Palin would be proud.

[northpark2]

I like that nurse lady sitting on the counter as a better spokesperson.

[jxknowles]

This story could easily be included in Aesop's Fables. The moral is so obvious and the truth is telling.

[MissMeYetAbdullah]

Let's not miss one important point. This individual, for whatever reason, ate himself to death, and if you don't think that morbid obesity cripples your body's ability to fight disease, ask your doctor.

That's one issue. But he also encouraged others to do the same, and made money off that. That's entirely another issue. For that, Mr. River is contemptible. He jumped into a shark tank, waved at people standing around the edge, smiled, and told 'em to come on in, the water's fine.

[rwsmith29456]

Not a good advertisement.

[jasperlily]

As Basso told Bill Geist on CBS' "Sunday Morning" in 2008, "Our motto is simple: Taste worth dying for." ..............
Easy for Basso to say - he's not the one who died.