MACHIAS, ME (CelebrityAccess) – Bill Kitchen, the town manager of Machias, passed away unexpectedly on Monday (September 9), as confirmed by town officials. In a heartfelt post on the town’s Facebook page, they stated, “He passed away on September 9 and will be deeply missed by all who knew and worked with him.” Further information about his death has not yet been released. He was 65.
Kitchen had a diverse career, serving as the town manager since the fall of 2021 after stepping in as interim manager earlier that year. He was hired for the position long term in October. He had previously been a Machias selectman and had a background in marketing. Known for his unique personality, former state representative Will Tuell described him as “zany, offbeat…but you wouldn’t want him any other way because he was a deeply caring, hardworking person who gave his all to Machias.”
Kitchen lived an incredibly eclectic life that spanned various industries, experiences, and even reality TV. Originally from Connecticut, Kitchen’s career took him down several fascinating paths before he settled in Maine in the early 2000s.
One of his more unique experiences came in 2015 when he was featured on a National Geographic show called The Watch. For the show, he lived alone for eight weeks in an abandoned amusement park in Princeton, West Virginia. The park, which closed in 1966, had a reputation for being haunted, and Kitchen’s job was to keep out trespassers. During his stay, he had no contact with the outside world, living in a motorhome on the property and handling tasks like mowing the grounds and fixing fences.
This TV gig wasn’t his first taste of living in isolation. Kitchen had spent 16 months living alone at the Little River Lighthouse on an island off Cutler, Maine, from the summer of 2011 through the fall of 2012.
Before his Maine adventures, Kitchen worked as an investment banker and owned a nightclub and restaurant in Virginia. He also had ties to the music and entertainment industries, working as a promoter for Cellar Door Concerts and Metropolitan Entertainment in Washington, D.C., and New York City. He spent nearly 4 years as the Director of Marketing for Sony Music International. His connections were impressive—he even helped produce President Bill Clinton’s inaugural balls in 1992 and 1996.
After moving to Maine, Kitchen founded KitchenSync Consulting, a marketing and public relations firm that served national and Maine-based clients. His deep commitment to the local community led him to serve on the Machias Select Board from June 2017 through September 2020. He also worked as a reporter and photographer for the Machias Valley News Observer from 2014 to 2019.
Kitchen’s leadership, along with his passion for Machias and Downeast Maine, earned him a place in the hearts of locals. Memorial arrangements are to be announced.
RIP.
