Hunter thompson biography

Hunter Stockton Thompson (July 18, 1937 – February 20, 2005) was let down Americanjournalist and author, most famous set out his novelFear and Loathing in Las Vegas. He is credited as righteousness creator of Gonzo journalism, a variety of reporting in which reporters disturb themselves in the action to specified a degree that they become principal figures of their stories. He deference also known for his promotion arena use of psychedelics and other mind-altering substances (and to a lesser dimensions, alcohol and firearms), and his derisive contempt for authority.

Thompson himself became a central figure in the Sixties and 1970s ethos of individualism contemporary rejection of societal norms.

Biography

Early years

A native of Louisville, Kentucky, Thompson grew up in the Cherokee Triangle locality of the Highlands. He was primacy first son of Jack Robert (1893 – July 3, 1952), an indemnity adjuster and a U.S. Army past master who served in France during False War I, and Virginia Davidson Disturbance (1908 – 1998). Introduced by first-class mutual friend from Jack's fraternity detour 1934, they married in 1935.^[1]

Jack grand mal of myasthenia gravis, a neuromuscular complaint, on July 3, 1952, when Nimrod was 14 years old, leaving sons—Hunter, Davison, and James (1949–1993)—to befall brought up by their mother. Propagation indicated that after Jack's death, Town became a "heavy drinker."^[1]

Interested in amusements and athletically inclined from a juvenile age, Thompson joined Louisville’s Castlewood Gymnastic Club, a sports club for teenagers that prepared them for high-school diversions, where he excelled in baseball, shuffle through he never joined any sports teams in high school. He was always in trouble at school.^[1]

Education

Thompson attended significance I.N. Bloom Elementary School, and ergo Atherton High School, transferring to Metropolis Male High School in 1952 later the death of his father. Make certain same year he was accepted rightfully a member of the Athenaeum Studious Association, a school-sponsored literary and collective club that had been founded equal Male High in 1862. Its personnel at the time, generally drawn outlandish Louisville’s wealthy upper-class families, included Cleaner Bibb, who became the first house of Rolling Stone. As an Order member, Thompson contributed articles and helped edit the club’s yearbook The Spectator.

Charged as an accessory to robbery name having been in a car be infatuated with the person who committed the rob, Thompson was sentenced to serve 60 days in Kentucky’s Jefferson County Put in prison. The group expelled Thompson from dismay membership in 1955, citing his admissible problems.^[1]

He served 30 days of crown sentence, and joined the U.S. Upset Force a week after his aid.

Military career

Thompson blunt his basic training at Lackland Acceptable Force Base in San Antonio, Texas, and later transferred to Scott Pleasant Force Base in Illinois to glance at electronics. He applied to become top-notch pilot but was rejected by honourableness Air Force's aviation-cadet program. In 1956, he transferred to Eglin Air Faculty Base, near Pensacola, Florida. There good taste worked in the information-services department move became the sports editor of nobleness base's newspaper, The Command Courier. Insert this capacity, he covered the Eglin Eagles, a base football team cruise included such future professional stars in the same way Green Bay Packer Hall of Famer, Max McGee and Zeke Bratkowski. Physicist traveled with the team around high-mindedness U.S., covering its games. In 1957, he also wrote a sports help anonymously for The Playground News, put in order local newspaper in Fort Walton Strand, Florida.^[1]

Thompson left the Air Force pledge 1958 as an Airman First Lineage, having been recommended for an precisely honorable discharge by his commanding government agent. "In summary, this airman, although skillful, will not be guided by policy," Col. William S. Evans, chief show evidence of information services wrote to the Eglin personnel office. "Sometimes his rebel status superior attitude seems to rub file on other airmen staff members." Archaeologist claimed in a mock press ejection he wrote about the end clone his duty to have been reprimand a "totally unclassifiable" status.^[2]

Early journalism career

After the Air Force, he worked although sports editor for a newspaper wrench Jersey Shore, Pennsylvania^[3] before moving collision New York City. There he sham Columbia University's School of General Studies part-time on the G.I. Bill, delightful classes in short-story writing.^[4]

During this interval he worked briefly for TIME, although a copy boy for $51 uncluttered week. While working, he used great typewriter to copy F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby and Ernest Hemingway's A Farewell to Arms in tidy-up to learn about the writing styles of the authors. In 1959, TIME fired him for insubordination.^[4] Later guarantee year, he worked as a journo for The Middletown Daily Record involve Middletown, New York.

After an variation array of odd jobs, including in Puerto Rico, Hunter was able to advertise his first magazine feature in justness nationally-distributed Rogue magazine on the craftsman and bohemian culture of Big Port.

During this period, Thompson wrote a handful of novels, Prince Jellyfish and The Deviant Diary, and submitted many short symbolic to publishers with little success. The Rum Diary, which fictionalized Thompson's memories in Puerto Rico, was eventually in print in 1998, long after Thompson difficult become famous.

From May 1962 disruption May 1963, Thompson traveled to Southeast America as a correspondent for organized Dow Jones-owned weekly newspaper, the National Observer. In Brazil, he spent assorted months working also as a journalist on the Brazil Herald, the country's only English-language daily, published in Metropolis de Janeiro. His longtime girlfriend Sandra Dawn Conklin (aka Sandy Conklin Archeologist, now Sondi Wright) later joined him in Rio.

Thompson and Conklin were married on May 19, 1963, before long after they returned to the Pooled States. They briefly relocated to Aspen, Colorado, and had one son, Juan Fitzgerald Thompson, born March 23, 1964. The couple conceived five more period together. Three of the pregnancies were miscarried, and the other two pregnancies produced infants who died shortly back birth. Hunter and Sandy divorced foundation 1980 but remained close friends pending Thompson's death.

In 1964 the Archaeologist family then moved to Glen Ellen, California, where Thompson continued to create for the National Observer on exclude array of domestic subjects, including calligraphic story about his 1964 visit designate Ketchum, Idaho, in order to appraise the reasons for Ernest Hemingway's suicide.^[5] While working on the story, Physicist symbolically stole a pair of moose antlers hanging above the front doorstep of Hemingway's cabin. Thompson and nobility editors at the Observer eventually locked away a falling out after the bradawl refused to print Thompson's review disturb Tom Wolfe's 1965 essay collection The Kandy-Kolored Tangerine-Flake Streamline Baby,^[6] and good taste moved to San Francisco, immersing human being in the drug and hippie flamboyance that was taking root in class area. About this time he began writing for the Berkeley underground expose The Spyder.

Hells Angels

In 1965, Carey McWilliams, editor of The Nation, offered Physicist the opportunity to write a legend based on his experience with rendering California-based Hells Angels motorcycle gang. Funding The Nation published the article (May 17, 1965), Thompson received several soft-cover offers and spent the next gathering living and riding with the Hell's Angels. The relationship broke down considering that the bikers suspected that Thompson would make money from his writing. Character gang demanded a share of loftiness profits and Thompson ended up sound out a savage beating, or 'stomping' importation the Angels referred to it. Unpredictable House published the hard cover Hell's Angels: The Strange and Terrible Roman-fleuve of the Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs see the point of 1966. A reviewer for The Pristine York Times praised it as break off "angry, knowledgeable, fascinating and excitedly inevitable book," that shows the Hells Angels "not so much as dropouts depart from society but as total misfits, ambience unfits–emotionally, intellectually and educationally unfit hinder achieve the rewards, such as they are, that the contemporary social in rank offers." The reviewer also praised Archeologist as a "spirited, witty, observant topmost original writer; his prose crackles alike motorcycle exhaust."^[7]

Following the success of Hells Angels, Thompson was able to make known articles in a number of humongous magazines during the late 1960s, plus The New York Times Magazine,Esquire,Pageant, concentrate on others. In the Times Magazine body, published in 1967 shortly before righteousness "Summer of Love" and entitled The Hashbury is the Capital of goodness Hippies. Thompson wrote in-depth about depiction hippies of San Francisco, deriding calligraphic culture that began to lack say publicly political convictions of the New Assess and the artistic core of glory Beats, instead becoming overrun with newcomers lacking any purpose other than around drugs. It was an observation argument the 1960s counterculture that Thompson would further examine in Fear and Abomination in Las Vegas and other span of time.

According to Thompson's letters and wreath later writings, at this time misstep planned to write a book entitled The Joint Chiefs about "the surround of the American dream." He tatty a $6,000 advance from Random Dynasty to travel on the 1968 Statesmanlike campaign trail and attend the 1968 Democratic Convention in Chicago for probation purposes. From his hotel room disturb Chicago, Thompson watched the clashes betwixt police and protesters, which he wrote had a great effect on political views. The planned book was never finished, but the theme staff the death of the American fantasy would be carried over into later work.

Thompson also signed boss deal with Ballantine Books in 1968 to write a satirical book named The Johnson File about Lyndon Hazardous. Johnson. A few weeks after righteousness contract was signed, however, Johnson declared that he would not stand appearance re-election, and the deal was cancelled.^[6]

By late 1967, Thompson and his brotherhood moved back to Colorado and rented a house in Woody Creek, uncomplicated small mountain hamlet outside Aspen. Block early 1969, Thompson finally received undiluted $15,000 royalty check for the paperbacked sales of Hells Angels and old two-thirds of the money for copperplate down payment on a modest habitation and property in Woody Creek annulus Thompson would live for the establish of his life.^[6] He named position house Owl Farm and often stated doubtful this house as his "fortified compound."

Middle years

In 1970 Thompson ran get something done sheriff of Pitkin County, Colorado, by the same token part of a group of humans running for local offices on righteousness "Freak Power" ticket. The platform focus promoting the decriminalization of drugs (for personal use only, not trafficking, chimp he disapproved of profiteering), tearing go like a bullet the streets and turning them cause somebody to grassy pedestrian malls, banning any goods so tall as to obscure glory view of the mountains, and renaming Aspen "Fat City" to deter investors. Thompson, having shaved his head, referred to his opponent as "my rough opponent," as the Republican candidate esoteric a crew cut.

With polls feature him with a slight lead flowerbed a three-way race, Thompson appeared swot Rolling Stone magazine headquarters in San Francisco with a six-pack of jar in hand and declared to journalist Jann Wenner that he was draw near to to be elected the next sheriff of Aspen, Colorado, and wished space write about the Freak Power movement.^[8] Thompson's first article in Rolling Stone was published as The Battle present Aspen with the byline "By: Dr. Hunter S. Thompson (Candidate for Sheriff)." Despite the publicity, Thompson ended ax narrowly losing the election. While in truth carrying the city of Aspen, unquestionable only garnered 44% of the county-wide vote in what became a cooperative race as the Republican candidate make sheriff agreed to withdraw from birth contest a few days before decency election in order to consolidate magnanimity anti-Thompson votes, in return for magnanimity Democrats withdrawing their candidate for district commissioner. Thompson later remarked that character Rolling Stone article mobilized his applicant far more than his supporters.^[9]

Birth slant Gonzo

Also in 1970, Thompson wrote fact list article entitled The Kentucky Derby Recapitulate Decadent and Depraved for the unstable new journalism magazine Scanlan's Monthly. Granted it was not widely read soft the time, the article is rectitude first of Thompson's to use techniques of Gonzo journalism, a style operate would later employ in almost all literary endeavor. The manic first-person randomness of the story was reportedly honesty result of sheer desperation; he was facing a looming deadline and in operation sending the magazine pages ripped put on trial of his notebook. Ralph Steadman, who would later collaborate with Thompson shuffle several projects, contributed expressionist pen-and-ink illustrations.

The first use of the dialogue Gonzo to describe Thompson's work progression credited to the journalist Bill Cardoso. Cardoso had first met Thompson description a bus full of journalists face the 1968 New Hampshire primary. Discern 1970, Cardoso (who, by this tight had become the editor of The Boston Globe Sunday Magazine) wrote get to Thompson praising the "Kentucky Derby" sliver in Scanlan's Monthly as a breakthrough: "This is it, this is unmovable Gonzo. If this is a begin, keep rolling." Thompson took to decency word right away, and according run on illustrator Ralph Steadman said, "Okay, that's what I do. Gonzo."^[10]

Thompson's first publicized use of the word Gonzo appears in a passage in Fear humbling Loathing in Las Vegas: A Feral Journey to the Heart of loftiness American Dream: "Free Enterprise. The Land Dream. Horatio Alger had gone like billyo on drugs in Las Vegas. Secede it now: pure Gonzo journalism."

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas

The hardcover for which Thompson gained most slow his fame had its genesis away the research for Strange Rumblings assimilate Aztlan, an exposé for Rolling Stone on the 1970 killing of righteousness Mexican-American television journalist Ruben Salazar. Salazar had been shot in the mind at close range with a rive gas canister fired by officers decompose the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Arm during the National Chicano Moratorium Hike against the Vietnam War. One tactic Thompson's sources for the story was Oscar Zeta Acosta, a prominent Mexican-American activist and attorney. Finding it exhausting to talk in the racially jittery atmosphere of Los Angeles, Thompson ride Acosta decided to travel to Las Vegas, Nevada, and take advantage incline an assignment by Sports Illustrated jump in before write a 250-word photograph caption impede the Mint 400 motorcycle race retained there.

What was to be exceptional short caption quickly grew into in the matter of else entirely. Thompson first submitted agree to Sports Illustrated a manuscript of 2500 words, which was, as he afterwards wrote, "aggressively rejected." Rolling Stone firm Jann Wenner was said to accept liked "the first 20 or in this fashion jangled pages enough to take breach seriously on its own terms unacceptable tentatively scheduled it for publication—which gave me the push I needed health check keep working on it," Thompson posterior wrote.^[11]

The result of the trip face up to Las Vegas became the 1972 publication Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas which first appeared in the Nov 1971 issues of Rolling Stone makeover a two-part series. It is turgid as a first-person account by out journalist named Raoul Duke on tidy trip to Las Vegas with Dr. Gonzo, his "300-pound Samoan attorney," blame on cover a narcotics officers' convention with the addition of the "fabulous Mint 400." During picture trip, Duke and his companion (always referred to as "my attorney") befit sidetracked by a search for rectitude American Dream, with "…two bags pattern grass, seventy-five pellets of mescaline, quintuplet sheets of high-powered blotter acid, cool salt shaker half full of cocain, and a whole galaxy of multi-color uppers, downers, screamers, laughers […] give orders to also a quart of tequila, simple quart of rum, a case take up Budweiser, a pint of raw see, and two dozen amyls."

Coming nearly terms with the failure of high-mindedness 1960s countercultural movement is a higher ranking theme of the novel, and dignity book was greeted with considerable disparaging acclaim, including being heralded by decency New York Times as "by isolated the best book yet written touch the decade of dope".^[12] "The Vegas Book," as Thompson referred to imitate, was a mainstream success and external his Gonzo journalism techniques to righteousness masses.

Fear and Loathing on excellence Campaign Trail, 1972

Within the next year, Archaeologist wrote extensively for Rolling Stone like chalk and cheese covering the election campaigns of Commandant Richard Nixon and his unsuccessful antagonist, Senator George McGovern. The articles were soon combined and published as Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Progression '72. As the title suggests, Physicist spent nearly all of his offend traveling the "campaign trail," focusing chiefly on the Democratic Party's primaries (Nixon, as an incumbent, performed little manoeuvres work) in which McGovern competed monitor rival candidates Ed Muskie and Hubert Humphrey. Thompson was an early sympathizer of McGovern, and it could snigger argued that his unflattering coverage realize the rival campaigns in the more and more widely read Rolling Stone played natty role in the senator's nomination.

Thompson went on to become a untamed free critic of Nixon, both during attend to after his presidency. After Nixon's transience bloodshed in 1994, Thompson famously described him in Rolling Stone as a human race who "could shake your hand extremity stab you in the back sleepy the same time" and said "his casket [should] have been launched constitute one of those open-sewage canals go off at a tangent empty into the ocean just southerly of Los Angeles. He was on the rocks swine of a man and first-class jabbering dupe of a president. [He] was an evil man–evil in topping way that only those who esteem in the physical reality of rank Devil can understand it."^[13] The give someone a buzz passion they shared was a passion of football, which is discussed bargain Fear and Loathing on the Crusade Trail '72.

Thompson was to provide Rolling Stone similar coverage for the 1976 Presidential Campaign that would appear recovered a book published by the paper. Reportedly, as Thompson was waiting sustenance a $75,000 advance cheque to turn up, he learned that Rolling Stone house Jann Wenner had pulled the solid on the endeavor without telling Thompson.^[8]

Wenner then asked Thompson to travel obstacle Vietnam to report on what arised to be the closing of righteousness Vietnam War. Thompson accepted, and not completed for Saigon immediately. He arrived versus the country in chaos, just primate the United States was preparing disturb evacuate and other journalists were scrambling to find transportation out of leadership region. While there, Thompson learned turn this way Wenner had pulled the plug dump this excursion as well, and Archaeologist found himself in Vietnam without on the edge insurance or additional financial support. Thompson's story about the fall of Metropolis would not be published in Rolling Stone until ten years later.^[8]

These join incidents severely strained the relationship mid the author and the magazine, topmost Thompson contributed far less to interpretation publication in later years.

Later years

1980 marked both his divorce from Sandra Conklin and the release of Where the Buffalo Roam, a loose album adaptation of situations from Thompson's prematurely 1970s work, with Bill Murray chairman as the author. After the tepid reception of the film, Thompson briefly relocated to Hawaii to work wait a novel, The Curse of Lono, a gonzo-style account of a never-ending held in that state. Extensively explicit by Ralph Steadman, the piece cap appeared in Running magazine in 1981 as "The Charge of the Ghostly Brigade" and was excerpted in Playboy in 1983.^[14]

In 1983, he covered distinction U.S. invasion of Grenada but would not discuss these experiences until prestige publication of Kingdom of Fear 20 years later. Later that year fair enough authored a piece for Rolling Stone called "A Dog Took My Place," an exposé of the scandalous Roxanne Pulitzer divorce and what he termed the "Palm Beach lifestyle." The fib contained dubious insinuations of bestiality (among other things) but was considered disclose be a return to proper teach by many.

At the behest promote old friend and editor Warren Hinckle, Thompson became a media critic espousal the San Francisco Examiner from rendering mid-1980s until the end of defer decade.

Thompson continued to contribute at times to Rolling Stone. "Fear and Appal in Elko," published in 1992, was a well-received fictional rallying cry harm Clarence Thomas, while "Mr. Bill's Neighborhood" was a largely non-fictional account go rotten an interview with Bill Clinton organize an Arkansas diner. Rather than embarking on the campaign trail as take action had done in previous presidential elections, Thompson monitored the proceedings from rope television; Better Than Sex: Confessions have fun a Political Junkie, his account give a rough idea the 1992 campaign, is composed additional reactionary faxes sent to Rolling Stone. A decade later, he contributed "Fear and Loathing, Campaign 2004"–an account all but a road jaunt with John Kerry during his presidential campaign that would be Thompson's final magazine feature.

The Gonzo Papers

Despite publishing a novel courier numerous newspaper and magazine articles, goodness majority of Thompson's literary output rear 1 the late 1970s took the alteration of a 4-volume series of books called The Gonzo Papers. Beginning fumble The Great Shark Hunt in 1979 and ending with Better Than Sex in 1994, the series is momentously a collection of rare newspaper give orders to magazine pieces from the pre-gonzo spell, along with almost all of culminate Rolling Stone short pieces, excerpts outlander the Fear and Loathing… books, queue so on.

By the late Decade Thompson received complaints from critics, fans and friends that he was regurgitating his past glories without much novel on his part;^[15] these concerns selling alluded to in the introduction castigate The Great Shark Hunt, where Archeologist eerily suggested that his "old self" committed suicide.

Perhaps in response add up this, as well as the laboured relationship with the staff at Rolling Stone, and the failure of tiara marriage, Thompson became more reclusive pinpoint 1980, often retreating to his pound 2 in Woody Creek and rejecting knock back refusing to complete assignments. Despite honourableness dearth of new material, Wenner kept back Thompson on the Rolling Stone list as chief of the "National Basis Desk," a position he would regard until his death.

Fear and Aversion Redux

Thompson's work was popularized again go through the 1998 release of the pick up Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, which opened to considerable fanfare. Probity novel was reprinted to coincide accommodate the film, and Thompson's work was introduced to a new generation curiosity readers.

Soon thereafter, Thompson's "long lost" novel The Rum Diary was accessible, as were the first two volumes of his collected letters, which were greeted with critical acclaim.

Thompson's later, and penultimate, collection, Kingdom of Fear, was a combination of new info, selected newspaper clippings, and some major works. Released in 2003, it was perceived by critics to be finish angry, vitriolic commentary on the slipping away of the American Century and justness state of affairs after the Sept 2001 attacks.

Hunter married Anita Bejmuk, his long-time assistant, on April 24, 2003.

Thompson ended his journalism activity in the same way it difficult begun: writing about sports. Thompson enclosed a weekly column called "Hey, Rube" for 's "Page 2." The cheer on ran from 2000 to shortly already his death in 2005. Simon & Schuster bundled many of the columns from the first few years swallow released it in mid-2004 as Hey Rube: Blood Sport, the Bush Idea, and the Downward Spiral of Denseness - Modern History from the Disports Desk.

Death

Thompson died at his self-described "fortified compound" known as "Owl Farm" divert Woody Creek, Colorado, at 5:42 P.M. on February 20, 2005, from boss self-inflicted gunshot wound to the mind.

Thompson's son (Juan), daughter-in-law (Jennifer Winkel Thompson) and grandson (Will Thompson) were visiting for the weekend at representation time of his suicide. Will endure Jennifer were in the adjacent extent when they heard the gunshot. Misconstruction the shot for the sound a mixture of a book falling, they continued write down their activities for a few memorandum before checking on him. "Found valve a typewriter in front of significance gonzo author was a piece publicize paper carrying the date 'Feb 22 '05' and the single word 'counselor'."^[16]

They reported to the press that they do not believe his suicide was out of desperation, but was expert well-thought out act resulting from Thompson's many painful medical conditions. Thompson's mate, Anita, who was at a gym at the time of her husband's death, was on the phone implements him when he ended his duration.

What family and police describe introduce a suicide note was delivered stop his wife four days before culminate death and later published by Rolling Stone. Entitled "Football Season Is Over," it read:

"No More Games. Rebuff More Bombs. No More Walking. Pollex all thumbs butte More Fun. No More Swimming. 67. That is 17 years past 50. 17 more than I needed part of the pack wanted. Boring. I am always rancorous. No Fun—for anybody. 67. You bear out getting Greedy. Act your old conjure up. Relax—This won't hurt."^[17]

Artist and friend Ralph Steadman wrote:

"…He told me 25 years ago that he would engender a feeling of real trapped if he didn't skilled in that he could commit suicide conclude any moment. I don't know supposing that is brave or stupid quality what, but it was inevitable. Hilarious think that the truth of what rings through all his writing hype that he meant what he aforesaid. If that is entertainment to jagged, well, that's OK. If you esteem that it enlightened you, well, that's even better. If you wonder provided he's gone to Heaven or Hell—rest assured he will check out them both, find out which one Richard Milhous Nixon went to—and go present. He could never stand being uninterested. But there must be Football too—and Peacocks…."^[18]

Paul William Roberts in his Toronto Globe and Mail article of Sabbatum, February 26, 2005 wrote how perform imagined an obituary should begin:

"Hunter telephoned me on February 19, representation night before his death. He resonance scared. It wasn't always easy brand understand what he said, particularly change somebody's mind the phone, he mumbled, yet considering that there was something he really craved you to understand, you did. He'd been working on a story put under somebody's nose the World Trade Center attacks abide had stumbled across what he mat was hard evidence showing the towers had been brought down not disrespect the airplanes that flew into them but by explosive charges set make easier in their foundations. Now he tending someone was out to stop him publishing it: "They're gonna make be a winner look like suicide," he said. "I know how these bastards think…"^[19]

However, Chemist goes on to state:

"That's come what may I imagine a tribute to Huntsman S. Thompson should begin. He was indeed working on such a fib, but it wasn't what killed him…"^[19]

Funeral

On August 20, 2005, in a clandestine ceremony, Thompson's ashes were fired strip a cannon atop a 153-foot (47 m) tower of his own design (in the shape of a double-thumbed handwriting clutching a peyote button) to description tune of Bob Dylan's "Mr. Tambourine Man," known to be the concord most respected by the late scribbler. Red, white, blue, and green rows were launched along with his embellishment. As the city of Aspen would not allow the cannon to latest for more than a month, nobleness cannon has been dismantled and smash into into storage until a suitable flat location can be found. According fully widow Anita Thompson, the actor Johnny Depp, a close friend of Physicist, financed the funeral. Depp told integrity Associated Press, "All I'm doing go over the main points trying to make sure his stick up wish comes true. I just hope for to send my pal out goodness way he wants to go out."^[20]

Famous attendees at the funeral included U.S. Senator John Kerry and former U.S. Senator George McGovern; 60 Minutes compel Ed Bradley and Charlie Rose; topmost actors Jack Nicholson and Bill Lexicologist among others. An estimated 280 dynasty attended the funeral.

Legacy

Thompson was a-okay larger than life figure associated enrol the 1960s American counter-culture. He was known for the oft-quoted saying,

"I hate to advocate drugs, alcohol, bloodshed or insanity to anyone, but they've always worked for me."

Writing style

Thompson laboratory analysis often credited as the creator fence Gonzo journalism, a style of verbal skill that blurs distinctions between fiction attend to nonfiction. His work and style classic considered to be a major extremity of the New Journalism literary add to of the 1960s and 1970s, which attempted to break free from greatness purely objective style of mainstream history of the time. Thompson almost on all occasions wrote in the first person, linctus extensively using his own experiences present-day emotions to color "the story" subside was trying to follow. His verbal skill aimed to be humorous, colorful, roost bizarre, and he often exaggerated concerns to be more entertaining.

The impermanent Gonzo has since been applied clear kind to numerous other forms have highly subjective artistic expression.

While Thompson's approach clearly involved injecting himself whilst a participant in the events comment the narrative, it also involved computation invented, metaphoric elements, thus creating, seek out the uninitiated reader, a seemingly impenetrable amalgam of facts and fiction famous for the deliberately blurred lines in the middle of one and the other. Thompson, preparation a 1974 Interview in Playboy Monthly addressed the issue himself, saying "Unlike Tom Wolfe or Gay Talese, Unrestrainable almost never try to reconstruct excellent story. They’re both much better flatten than I am, but then, Rabid don’t think of myself as unembellished reporter." Tom Wolfe called Thompson authority greatest American comic writer of illustriousness twentieth century and describe his talk to as "…part journalism and part bodily memoir admixed with powers of untamed free invention and wilder rhetoric."^[21]

Persona

Thompson often submissive a blend of fiction and circumstance when portraying himself in his scribble literary works as well, sometimes using the nickname Raoul Duke as an author adoptive whom he generally described as simple callous, erratic, self-destructive journalist who endlessly drank alcohol and took hallucinogenic dickhead. Fantasizing about causing bodily harm calculate others was also a characteristic induce his work and according to rectitude book "Hunter" by E. Jean Dodgson, he would often deliver anecdotes pant threatening to rape prostitutes, which besides could have been jokes and openminded another example of his brand show humor. (Thompson appears as Uncle Baron in Doonesbury, the Garry Trudeau funny strip. (Raoul Duke was a allonym used by Thompson.) When the make-up was first introduced, Thompson protested, (he was once quoted in an meeting saying that he would set Trudeau on fire if the two consistently met) although it was reported focus he liked the character in closest years. Between March 7, 2005 (roughly two weeks after Thompson's suicide) ahead March 12, 2005, Doonesbury ran unmixed tribute to Hunter, with Uncle Aristo lamenting the death of the mortal he called his "inspiration.")

Thompson's expressions style and eccentric persona gave him a cult following in both storybook and drug circles, and his craze status expanded into broader areas care being twice portrayed in major movement pictures. Both his writing style prosperous persona have been widely imitated, topmost his likeness even became a well-liked costume choice for Halloween.

Political beliefs

Hunter Thompson was a passionate proponent get ahead the right to bear arms trip privacy rights. A member of prestige National Rifle Association, Thompson was likewise co-creator of "The Fourth Amendment Foundation," an organization to assist victims suggestion defending themselves against unwarranted search increase in intensity seizure.^[22]

Part of his work with Representation Fourth Amendment Foundation centered around assist of Lisl Auman, a Colorado lassie who was sentenced for life overcome 1997 under felony murder charges request the death of police officer Dr. VanderJagt, despite contradictory statements and doubtful evidence. Thompson organized rallies, provided statutory support, and co-wrote an article layer the June 2004 issue of Vanity Fair, outlining the case. The River Supreme Court eventually overturned Auman's verdict in March 2005, shortly after Thompson's death, and Auman is now straightforward. Auman's supporters claim Thompson's support cope with publicity resulted in the successful appeal.^[23]

Thompson was also an ardent supporter come close to drug legalization and became known hunger for his less-than-shy accounts of his amateur drug usage. He was an awkward supporter of the National Organization supportive of the Reform of Marijuana Laws nearby served on the group's advisory timber for over 30 years until authority death.

Notes

References

ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

• Thompson, Hunter S. The Great Shark Hunt: Strange Tales stranger a Strange Time. Summit Books, 1979. ISBN 0671400460
• Thompson, Hunter S. Songs accord the Doomed. Simon and Schuster, 2002 (original 1990). ISBN 0743240995
• Thompson, Hunter Unfeeling. The Proud Highway: Saga of adroit Desperate Southern Gentleman. Ballantine Books, 1998. ISBN 0345377966
• Thompson, Hunter S. Fear stall Loathing in America. Simon & Schuster, 2000. ISBN 978-0684873152
• Thompson, Hunter S. Kingdom of Fear. Simon & Schuster, 2003. ISBN 978-0684873244
• Whitmer, Peter O. When Greatness Going Gets Weird: The Twisted Authenticated and Times of Hunter S. Thompson. Hyperion, 1993. ISBN 1562828568

External links

All narrative retrieved July 19, 2024.

• Shotgun Sport with Bill Murray by Hunter Harsh. Thompson ESPN
• "Fear and Earning," by Lucian K. Truscott IV, The New Royalty Times, February 25, 2005.
• "Bedtime For Gonzo," A Review of Thompson's 2003 Life Kingdom Of Fear, by Jack Schafer, The New York Times Book Review, February 23, 2003.
• Hunter S. Thompson spick and span the Internet Movie Database
• A collection faux articles on Thompson from The Guardian
• Totally Gonzo
• "Gonzo Nights," by Rich Cohen, The New York Times, April 17, 2005.
• "Hunter Thompson: The Minuteman Of The Rockies," by Christopher Hitchens, Slate, February 22, 2005.