100 Things author dies

2008-08-26 17:34

Los Angeles - Dave Freeman, co-author of 100 Things to Do Before You Die, a travel guide and ode to odd adventures that inspired readers and imitators, has died. He was 47.

Freeman died on August 17 after falling at his Venice home and hitting his head, his father, Roy Freeman, told the Los Angeles Times on Monday.

An advertising agency executive, Freeman co-wrote the 1999 book, which was subtitled Travel Events You Just Can't Miss, with Neil Teplica.

It was based on the website whatsgoingon.com, which the pair ran together from 1996 to 2001.

"This life is a short journey," the book says. "How can you make sure you fill it with the most fun and that you visit all the coolest places on earth before you pack those bags for the very last time?"

The book's success inspired spin-offs

Freeman's relatives said he visited about half the places on his list before he died, and either he or Teplica had been to nearly all of them.

"He didn't have enough days, but he lived them like he should have," Teplica said of his partner.

The book's recommendations ranged from the obvious - attending the Academy Awards ceremony and running with the bulls in Pamplona, Spain - to the more obscure - taking a voodoo pilgrimage in Haiti and "land diving" on the Island of Vanuatu, which Freeman once called "the original bungee jumping".

It included goofy graphics with each entry, indicating that some activities were "down and dirty," and others "grandma friendly".

The success of 100 Things inspired dozens of like-minded books, with titles such as 100 Things Project Managers Should Do Before They Die and 100 Things Cowboys Fans Should Know and Do Before They Die.

Freeman was born in Whittier on February 21 1961, and graduated from the University of Southern California in 1983, briefly working for an ad agency in Newport Beach before moving to New York to work for Grey Advertising.

- AP