New York's Most Famous Cannibal Dies at 83(ish)

Just last week Gothamist rented from the library the excellent 2000 documentary "Keep the River on the Right: A Modern Cannibal Tale," which chronicles the artist/anthropoligist/explorer/one-time cannibal and long-time resident of Greenwich Village Tobias Schneebaum on his not-so-triumphal return to the Amazon and to Indonesian New Guinea. He had worked and studied in both regions, getting heavily involved with the people he studied (at least compared to the average anthropologist who generally doesn't sleep with, or eat, his subjects). While the scientific and social importance of his work is questionable, the passion and vigor he put into it is not. And so it was with real sadness that we were informed that Mr. Schneebaum died on Tuesday from complications of Parkinson's disease. We think in honor of the man we'll go pick up his last book, "Secret Places: My life in New York and New Guinea" from the library this afternoon.

Photo by Iannis Delatolas from the NYTimes