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{{Infobox Writer
| name = Hunter Stockton Thompson
| image = HunterSThompson mkd.jpg
| caption = Hunter S. Thompson
| birth_date = [[July 18]], [[1937]]
| birth_place = [[Louisville, Kentucky|Louisville]], [[Kentucky]], [[United States|USA]]
| death_date = {{death date and age|2005|2|20|1937|7|18}}
| death_place = [[Woody Creek, Colorado|Woody Creek]], [[Colorado]], [[United States|USA]]
| occupation = [[Journalist]], [[author]]
| genre = [[Gonzo journalism]]
| subject =
| movement = [[New Journalism]]
| magnum_opus = ''[[Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (novel)|Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas]]''
| influences = [[Joseph Conrad]], [[F. Scott Fitzgerald]], [[Ernest Hemingway]], [[William Faulkner]], [[Jack Kerouac]], [[William Burroughs]]
| influenced = [[P. J. O'Rourke]], [[Lester Bangs]], [[Cameron Crowe]], [[Matt Taibbi]], [[Tom Wolfe]]
| website =
| footnotes =
}}
'''Hunter Stockton Thompson''' ([[July 18]], [[1937]] – [[February 20]], [[2005]]) was an [[United States|American]] [[journalist]] and [[author]]. He is credited as the creator of [[Gonzo journalism]], a style of reporting in which the reporters involve themselves in the action to such a degree that they become the central figures of their stories.
==
===Early years===
A [[Louisville, Kentucky]] native, Thompson grew up in the [[Cherokee Triangle]] neighborhood of the [[The Highlands (Louisville)|Highlands]]. He was the first son of parents Jack Robert (1893 – [[July 3 ]], [[1952]]), an [[insurance]] adjuster and a [[U.S. Army]] [[veteran]] who served in [[France]] during [[World War II]], and Virginia Davidson Ray (1908 – 1999), a reference librarian and secretary who, while a student at the [[University of Michigan]], had joined the [[Alpha Delta Gamma]] [[sorority]]. Introduced by a mutual friend from Jack's fraternity in 1934, they had married in 1935.<ref name="whitmer">{{cite book | | last=Whitmer | first=Peter O.| authorlink=Peter O. Whitmer | | year=1993 | title= When The Going Gets Weird: The Twisted Life and Times of Hunter S. Thompson | edition=First Edition|publisher=[[Hyperion (publisher)|Hyperion]] | id=ISBN 1562828568 | pages = 23-27}}</ref>
Jack died of [[myasthenia gravis]], a [[neuromuscular disease]] on [[July 3]], [[1952]] when Hunter was 14 years old, leaving three sons — Hunter, Davison, and James (1949 – 1994) — to be brought up by their mother. Contemporaries described Virginia after Jack's death as a “heavy drinker.”<ref name="whitmer"/>
Interested in [[sports]] and athletically inclined from a young age, Thompson joined Louisville’s Castlewood Athletic Club, a sports club for teenagers that prepared them for high school sports, where he excelled in [[baseball]] though he never joined any sports teams in high school. He was constantly in trouble at school.<ref name="whitmer"/>
====Education====
Thompson attended first the I.N. Bloom Elementary School, then later [[Atherton High School]] before transferring to [[Louisville Male High School]] in 1952 following the death of his father. That same year he was accepted as a member of the Athenaeum Literary Association, a school-sponsored literary and social club that had been founded at Male High in 1862. Its members at the time were generally drawn from Louisville’s wealthy upper-class families, and included [[Porter Bibb]], who would later be the first publisher of [[Rolling Stone]] and biographer of broadcasting entrepreneur [[Ted Turner]]. As an Athenaeum member, Thompson contributed articles and helped edit the club’s yearbook ''The Spectator'', however the group ejected Thompson from its membership in 1955, citing his legal problems.<ref name="whitmer"/>
Charged as an accessory to robbery after having been in a car with the person who actually committed the robbery, Thompson was sentenced to serve 60 days in Kentucky’s [[Jefferson County]] Jail. He served 30 days of his sentence, and joined the [[U.S. Air Force]] a week after his release.<ref name="whitmer"/>
====Military career====
Thompson did his [[basic training]] at [[Randolph Air Force Base]] near [[San Antonio]], [[Texas]], and later transferred to [[Scott Air Force Base]] in [[Illinois]] to study [[electronics]]. He attempted to become a [[Aviator|pilot]] by applying to the Air Force's aviation cadet program, but was rejected. In 1956 he transferred to [[Eglin Air Force Base]], near [[Pensacola, Florida|Pensacola]], [[Florida]]. There he worked in the information services department and became the [[sports]] editor of the base's [[newspaper]], ''[[The Command Courier]].'' In this capacity, he covered the Eglin Eagles, a base [[American football]] team that included such future professional stars as [[Max McGee]], who would years later catch the first [[touchdown]] pass ever thrown in a [[Super Bowl]] while playing for the [[Green Bay Packers]], and [[Zeke Bratkowski]] who would later play for the Packers, [[Los Angeles Rams]] and [[Chicago Bears]]. Thompson traveled with the team covering its games around the U.S. In [[1957]], he also wrote a sports column for ''The Playground News,'' a local newspaper in [[Fort Walton Beach]], Florida, but wrote it anonymously as outside employment was against Air Force regulations.<ref name="whitmer"/>
Thompson left the Air Force in 1958 as an [[Airman Second Class]], having been recommended for an early [[honorable discharge]] by his commanding officer. ''In summary, this airman, although talented will not be guided by policy,'' Col. William S. Evans, chief of information services wrote to the Eglin personnel office. ''Sometimes his rebel and superior attitude seems to rub off on other airmen staff members.'' Thompson claimed in a mock press release he wrote about the end of his duty to have been issued a "totally unclassifiable" status.<ref name="aftimes">Rolfsen, Jeff (Feb. 21, 2005) [http://www.airforcetimes.com/legacy/new/1-292925-675022.php ''Writer Hunter S. Thompson commits suicide'']. Air Force Times. (Accessed 22 February 2007.)</ref>
====Early journalism career====
After the Air Force, he worked as sports editor for a newspaper in [[Jersey Shore, PA]]<ref name="songsdoomed">{{cite book | | last=Thompson | first=Hunter | authorlink=Hunter Thompson | | year=2002 | title= Songs of the Doomed | edition=Reprint Edition|publisher=[[Simon and Schuster]] | id=ISBN 0743240995 | pages = 29-32}}</ref> before moving to [[New York City]], where he attended [[Columbia University]]'s School of General Studies, on part-time basis, taking classes on short story writing on the [[GI Bill]].<ref name="proudway">{{cite book | | last=Thompson | first=Hunter | authorlink=Hunter Thompson | editor = Douglas Brinkley | year=1998 | title= The Proud Highway: Saga of a Desperate Southern Gentleman | edition=1st ed.|publisher=[[Ballantine Books]] | id=ISBN 0-345-37796-6 | pages = 139}}</ref>
During this time he worked briefly for [[Time Magazine]] as a copy boy for $51 a week. While working, he copied [[F. Scott Fitzgerald]]'s ''[[The Great Gatsby]]'' and [[Ernest Hemingway]]'s ''[[A Farewell to Arms]]'' using a [[typewriter]], saying that he wanted to learn about the writing styles of the authors. In 1959, Time fired him for insubordination.<ref name="proudway"/> Later that year, he worked as a reporter for ''[[Times Herald-Record|The Middletown Daily Record]]'' in Upstate [[New York]]. He was fired from this job after damaging an office candy machine and arguing with the owner of a local restaurant who happened to be an advertiser with the paper.<ref name="proudway"/>
[[Image:The Rum Diary.jpg|left|170px|thumb|''[[The Rum Diary (novel)|The Rum Diary]] cover contains a photograph of a young Thompson at the beach in [[San Juan, Puerto Rico|San Juan]], [[Puerto Rico]].]]
In 1960 Thompson moved to [[San Juan, Puerto Rico]], to take a job with the sporting magazine ''[[El Sportivo]]'' which soon folded. While in [[Puerto Rico]] he befriended the future novelist [[William Kennedy (author)|William Kennedy]], who was then the managing editor of the English-language daily, ''[[The San Juan Star]]''.<ref>New York State Writers Institute [http://www.albany.edu/writers-inst/wjkennedybio.html William Kennedy Biography]</ref> After returning to the States, Hunter lived and worked as a security guard and caretaker at [[Big Sur]] Hot Springs for an eight-month period in 1961, just before it became the [[Esalen Institute]]. While there, he was able to publish his first magazine feature in the nationally distributed ''[[Rogue (magazine)|Rogue]]'' magazine on the [[artisan]] and [[bohemian style|bohemian]] culture of Big Sur. The article would get him fired from his job as caretaker.
During this time period, Thompson wrote two novels, ''[[Prince Jellyfish]]'' and ''[[The Rum Diary (novel)|The Rum Diary]]'', and submitted many fictional [[short stories]] to publishers with little success. ''The Rum Diary'' was eventually published in [[1998 in literature|1998]], long after Thompson had become famous.
From May 1962 to May 1963, Thompson traveled to [[South America]] as a correspondent for a [[Dow Jones and Company|Dow Jones]]-owned weekly newspaper, the ''[[National Observer]]''. When Thompson returned to the United States he promptly married his longtime girlfriend Sandra Dawn Conklin (aka Sandy Conklin Thompson, now Sondi Wright) and the two moved to [[Aspen, Colorado]].
Thompson and Conklin were married on [[May 19]], [[1963]], and they had one son, Juan Fitzgerald Thompson, born [[March 23]], [[1964]]. The couple conceived five more times together. Three of the pregnancies were [[miscarriage]]s, and the other two died shortly after birth. After nineteen years together and seventeen years of marriage, Hunter and Sandy divorced in 1980; the two remained close friends until Thompson's death.
Thompson, while living in [[Glen Ellen, California]], continued to write for the ''[[National Observer]]'' on an array of domestic subjects, including a story about his 1964 visit to [[Ketchum, Idaho]] in order to investigate the reasons for [[Ernest Hemingway]]'s suicide.<ref>Brinkley, Douglas March (24th, 2005) [http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/7092353/the_final_days_at_owl_farm ''Last Days at Owl Farm'' ] ''Rolling Stone''</ref> While working on the story, Thompson symbolically stole a pair of [[elk]] antlers hanging above the front door of the Hemingway's cabin. Thompson and the editors at the ''Observer'' eventually had a falling out, and he moved to [[San Francisco, California]], immersing himself in the [[drug]] and [[hippie]] culture that was taking root in the area. About this time he began writing for the [[Berkeley, California]] underground paper ''The Spider.''<ref>Louison, Cole [http://www.ithaca.edu/buzzsaw/archive_skag.htm ''This is skag folks, pure skag: Hunter Thompson''] ''Buzzsaw Haircut'' Retrieved Oct. 12th, 2006.</ref>
====Hells Angels====
In 1965, [[Carey McWilliams (journalist)|Carey McWilliams]] editor of ''[[The Nation (U.S. periodical)|The Nation]],'' offered Thompson an opportunity to write a story based on his experience with the California-based [[Hells Angels]] motorcycle gang. After ''The Nation'' published the article ([[May 17]], [[1965]]), Thompson received several book offers and spent the next year living and riding with the Hell's Angels. The relationship broke down when the bikers suspected that Thompson would make money from his writing. The gang demanded a share of the profits and Thompson ended up with a savage beating, or 'stomping' as the Angels referred to it. [[Random House]] published the hard cover ''[[Hell's Angels: The Strange and Terrible Saga of the Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs]]'' in 1966. A reviewer for [[The New York Times]] praised it as an "angry, knowledgeable, fascinating and excitedly written book," that shows the Hell's Angels "not so much as dropouts from society but as total misfits, or unfits – emotionally, intellectually and educationally unfit to achieve the rewards, such as they are, that the contemporary social order offers." The reviewer also praised Thompson as a "spirited, witty, observant and original writer; his prose crackles like motorcycle exhaust."<ref name="nytimes">Fremont-Smith, Eliot (Feb. 23, 1967) ''Books of The Times; Motorcycle Misfits—Fiction and Fact''. The New York Times, P.33.</ref>
In late 1968, Thompson and his family moved into what Thompson described as his "fortified compound" in [[Woody Creek, Colorado]], a small mountain hamlet outlying Aspen where he would reside for the rest of his life.
Thompson's letters from 1968 indicate that he planned to write a book called ''The [[Joint Chiefs of Staff|Joint Chiefs]]'' about "the death of the [[American dream]]". This book was never finished, but the theme of the death of the American dream would be carried over into his later work.<ref>{{cite book | | last=Thompson | first=Hunter | authorlink=Hunter Thompson | editor = | year=2001 | title= Fear and Loathing in America | edition=2nd ed. | publisher=[[Simon & Schuster]] | id=ISBN 978-0684873169 | pages = 784}}</ref>. Thompson also signed a deal with [[Ballantine Books]] in 1968 to write a satirical book called ''The Johnson File'' about [[Lyndon Johnson]]. However, a few weeks after the contract was signed, Johnson announced that he would not stand for reelection in the [[United States presidential election, 1968|1968 election]], and the deal was cancelled.<ref>{{cite book | | last=Thompson | first=Hunter | authorlink=Hunter Thompson | editor = | year=2001 | title= Fear and Loathing in America | edition=2nd ed. | publisher=[[Simon & Schuster]] | id=ISBN 978-0684873169 | pages = 784}}</ref>.
In the late sixties, Thompson purchased his famous title of "[[Doctor (title)|Doctor]]" from the [[Universal Life Church]].<ref>http://www.gonzo.org/hst/hst.asp?ID=0</ref> He would later prefer to be called Dr. Thompson, and his "alter-ego" Raoul Duke called himself a "doctor of journalism".
===Middle years===
[[Image:Gonzo quote.PNG|left|170px|thumb|A modification of one of Thompson's original [[Gonzo]] flyers during his bid for [[sheriff]] of [[Aspen, Colorado]].]]
In 1970 Thompson ran for [[sheriff]] of [[Pitkin County, Colorado]], on the "Freak Power" ticket, promoting the decriminalization of drugs (for personal use only, not trafficking, as he disapproved of profiteering), tearing up the streets and turning them into grassy pedestrian malls, banning any building so tall as to obscure the view of the mountains, and renaming [[Aspen, Colorado]], "Fat City." Thompson, having shaved his head, referred to his opponent as "my long-haired opponent", as the incumbent [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] had a crew cut.
With polls actually showing him with a slight lead in the race, Thompson appeared at [[Rolling Stone]] magazine headquarters in San Francisco with a six-pack of beer in hand and declared to editor [[Jann Wenner]] that he was about to be elected the next sheriff of Aspen, Colorado, and wished to write about it.<ref>Anson, Robert Sam (Dec. 10th, 1976) [http://www.gonzo.org/hst/interviews.asp?ID=7 ''Rolling Stone Pt. 2: Hunter Thompson Meets Fear and Loathing Face to Face''] ''New Times''</ref> Thus, Thompson's first article in ''Rolling Stone'' was published as ''[[The Battle of Aspen]]'' with the byline "By: Dr. Hunter S. Thompson (Candidate for Sheriff)." Despite the publicity, Thompson ended up narrowly losing the election.
====Birth of Gonzo====
{{main|Gonzo journalism}}
Also in 1970, Thompson wrote an article entitled ''[[The Kentucky Derby Is Decadent and Depraved]]'' for the short-lived [[new journalism]] magazine ''[[Scanlan's Monthly]]''. Although it was not widely read at the time, the article is the first of Thompson's to use techniques of [[Gonzo journalism]], a style he would later employ in almost every literary endeavor. The manic, first-person subjectivity of the story was reportedly the result of Thompson's sheer desperation; he was facing a looming deadline and started sending the magazine pages ripped out of his notebook. [[Ralph Steadman]], who would later collaborate with Thompson on several projects, contributed [[expressionism|expressionist]] pen and ink illustrations.
The first use of the word ''Gonzo'' to describe Thompson's work is credited to the journalist [[Bill Cardoso]]. Cardoso had first met Thompson on a bus full of journalists covering the 1968 [[New Hampshire Primary]]. In 1970, Cardoso (who, by this time had become the editor of The [[Boston Globe]] Sunday Magazine) wrote to Thompson praising the "Kentucky Derby" piece in ''Scanlan's Monthly'' as a breakthrough: "This is it, this is pure Gonzo. If this is a start, keep rolling." Thompson took to the word right away, and according to illustrator Ralph Steadman said "Okay, that's what I do. Gonzo."<ref name="cardoso-obit">Martin, Douglas, (March 16, 2006) [http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/16/national/16cardoso.html?ei=5088&en=c7b5fe5f62a5d95e&ex=1300165200&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&pagewanted=print ''Bill Cardoso, 68, Editor Who Coined 'Gonzo', Is Dead'']. The New York Times.</ref>
Thompson's first published use of the word Gonzo appears in a passage in ''[[Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (novel)|Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: A Savage Journey to the Heart of the American Dream]]'' : "Free Enterprise. The American Dream. [[Horatio Alger]] gone mad on drugs in Las Vegas. Do it now: pure Gonzo journalism."
====''Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas''====
{{main|Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas}}
The book for which Thompson gained most of his fame had its genesis during the research for ''[[Strange Rumblings in Aztlan]]'', an [[exposé]] Thompson was writing for ''Rolling Stone'' on the [[1970]] killing of the [[Mexican-American]] television journalist [[Ruben Salazar]]. Salazar had been shot in the head at close range with a [[tear gas]] canister fired by officers of the [[Los Angeles Police Department]] during the [[Chicano Moratorium|National Chicano Moratorium March]] against the [[Vietnam War]]. One of Thompson's sources for the story was [[Oscar Zeta Acosta]], a prominent Mexican-American [[activist]] and attorney. Finding it difficult to talk in the racially tense atmosphere of [[Los Angeles]], Thompson and Acosta decided to travel to [[Las Vegas, Nevada]], and take advantage of an assignment by ''[[Sports Illustrated]]'' to write a 250-word photograph caption on the [[Mint 400]] [[motorcycle]] race held there.
What was to be a short caption quickly grew into something else entirely. Thompson first submitted to ''Sports Illustrated'' a manuscript of 2,500 words, which was, as he later wrote "aggressively rejected." ''Rolling Stone'' publisher Jann Wenner was said to have liked "the first 20 or so jangled pages enough to take it seriously on its own terms and tentatively scheduled it for publication — which gave me the push I needed to keep working on it," Thompson later wrote.<ref>{{cite book | last=Thompson | first=Hunter | authorlink=Hunter Thompson | year=1979 | title= The Great Shark Hunt: Strange Tales from a Strange Time | edition=1st ed. | publisher=[[Summit Books]] | id=ISBN 0-671-40046-0 | pages = 105-109}}</ref>
The result of the trip to Las Vegas became the 1972 book ''Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas'' which first appeared in the November 1971 issues of ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' as a two-part series. It is written as a first-person account by a journalist named [[Raoul Duke]] on a trip to Las Vegas with [[Dr. Gonzo]], his "300-pound [[Samoa]]n attorney," to cover a [[narcotics]] officers' convention and the "fabulous Mint 400". During the trip, Duke and his lawyer (always referred to as "my attorney") become sidetracked by a search for the [[American dream]], with "...two bags of [[cannabis (drug)|grass]], seventy-five pellets of [[mescaline]], five sheets of high-powered [[LSD|blotter acid]], a salt shaker half-full of [[cocaine]] and a whole galaxy of multi-colored [[Amphetamine|uppers]], [[Benzodiazepines|downers]], [[Methamphetamine|screamers]], [[nitrous oxide|laughers]]... also, a quart of [[tequila]], a quart of [[rum]], a case of [[Beer]], a pint of raw [[Diethyl ether|ether]], and two dozen [[amyl nitrite|amyls]]."
Coming to terms with the failure of the 1960s [[counterculture|countercultural movement]] is a major [[Theme (literature)|theme]] of the novel, and the book was greeted with considerable critical acclaim, including being heralded as "by far the best book yet written on the decade of dope" by the ''[[New York Times]]''<ref>Woods, Crawford (July 23, 1972) [http://www.nytimes.com/1972/07/23/books/thompson-1972-vegar.html] The New York Times Book Review</ref> and a "scorching epochal sensation" by author [[Tom Wolfe]] {{Fact|date=February 2007}}. "The Vegas Book", as Thompson referred to it, was a mainstream success and the first widely-read work of Thompson's that employed his gonzo journalism techniques, and the novel introduced his style to the masses.
====''Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail, 1972''====
{{main|Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail '72}}
Within the next year, Thompson wrote extensively for ''Rolling Stone'' while covering the [[U.S. presidential election, 1972|election campaigns]] of President [[Richard M. Nixon]] and his unsuccessful opponent, Senator [[George McGovern]]. The articles were soon combined and published as ''[[Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail '72]]''. As the title suggests, Thompson spent nearly all of his time traveling the "campaign trail" and his coverage focuses largely on the [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party]]'s primaries (Nixon, as an [[incumbent]], performed little campaign work) and its breakdown due to splits between the different candidates; McGovern was extolled throughout while fellow candidates [[Ed Muskie]] and [[Hubert Humphrey]] were ridiculed. As an early supporter of McGovern, it could be argued that his unflattering coverage of the rival campaigns along with the rapidly expanding circulation of ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' played a role in the senator's nomination.
Thompson would go on to become a fierce critic of Nixon, both during and after his presidency. After Nixon's death in 1994, Thompson famously described him in ''Rolling Stone'' as a man who "could shake your hand and stab you in the back at the same time" and said "his casket [should] have been launched into one of those open-sewage canals that empty into the ocean just south of Los Angeles. He was a swine of a man and a jabbering dupe of a president. [He] was an evil man—evil in a way that only those who believe in the physical reality of the [[Devil]] can understand it."<ref>Thompson, Hunter S. (June 15th, 1994) [http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=1507 ''He Was A Crook''] Rolling Stone</ref> The one passion they shared was a love of football, which is discussed in ''[[Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail '72]]''.
Thompson was to provide ''Rolling Stone'' similar coverage for the [[United States presidential election, 1976|1976 Presidential Campaign]] that would appear in a book published by the magazine. Reportedly, as Thompson was waiting for a $75,000 advance check to arrive, he learned that ''Rolling Stone'' publisher Jann Wenner had pulled the plug on the endeavor without telling Thompson.<ref>Anson, Robert Sam (Dec. 10th, 1976) [http://www.gonzo.org/hst/interviews.asp?ID=7 ''Rolling Stone Pt. 2: Hunter Thompson Meets Fear and Loathing Face to Face''] ''New Times''</ref>
Wenner then asked Thompson to travel to [[Vietnam]] to report on what appeared to be the closing of the [[Vietnam War]]. Thompson accepted, and left for [[Saigon]] immediately. He arrived with the country in chaos, just as the United States was [[Fall of Saigon|preparing to evacuate]] and other journalists were scrambling to find transportation out of the region. While there, Thompson learned that Wenner had pulled the plug on this excursion as well, and Thompson found himself in Vietnam without health insurance or additional financial support. Thompson's story about the fall of Saigon would not be published in ''Rolling Stone'' until ten years later.<ref>Anson, Robert Sam (Dec. 10th, 1976) [http://www.gonzo.org/hst/interviews.asp?ID=7 ''Rolling Stone Pt. 2: Hunter Thompson Meets Fear and Loathing Face to Face''] ''New Times''</ref>
These two incidents severely strained the relationship between the author and the magazine, and Thompson would contribute far less to the publication in future years.
===Later years===
1980 marked both his divorce from Sandra Conklin and the release of ''[[Where the Buffalo Roam]]'', a loose film adaptation of situations from Thompson's early 1970s work, with [[Bill Murray]] starring as the author. After the lukewarm reception of the film, Thompson temporarily relocated to Hawaii to work on a novel. ''[[The Curse of Lono]]'' was a gonzo-style account of a marathon in the state that was extensively illustrated by [[Ralph Steadman]], first appearing in [[Running magazine]] in [[1981]] as "The Charge of the Weird Brigade" and before being excerpted in ''[[Playboy]]'' in [[1983]].<ref> http://www.gonzo.org/books/cl/ </ref>
[[Image:Thecurseoflonocover.jpg|thumb|150px|left|[[The Curse of Lono]], with cover art by [[Ralph Steadman]]]]
On July 21, 1981, in Aspen, Colorado, Thompson ran a stop sign at 2 am and began to "rave" at a state trooper. He also refused to take alcohol tests. Because of his refusal he was detained, although during a trial the drunk-driving charges against the journalist were dropped because there was no basis for the charges.
In 1983, he covered the U.S. invasion of [[Grenada]] but would not discuss these experiences until the publication of ''[[Kingdom of Fear]]'' 20 years later. Later that year he 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 article contained dubious insinuations of [[bestiality]] (among other things) but was considered to be a return to proper form by many.
Shortly thereafter, Thompson accepted an advance to write about "couples pornography" for ''Playboy.'' As part of his research, he spent time at the [[Mitchell Brothers O'Farrell Theater|O'Farrell Theater]] [[strip club]] in San Francisco and his experience there eventually evolved into a full-length nonfiction novel tentatively titled ''The Night Manager.'' Neither the novel nor the article ever materialized, and San Francisco Chronicle columnist Herb Caen erroneously reported that Thompson was "working as the O'Farrell's night manager" {{Fact|date=February 2007}}. By the early 1990s Thompson was said to be working on a fictional novel called ''Polo Is My Life,'' which was briefly excerpted in ''Rolling Stone'' in 1994, and which Hunter himself described in 1996 as "...a sex book — you know, sex, drugs and rock and roll. It's about the manager of a sex theater who's forced to leave and flee to the mountains. He falls in love and gets in even more trouble than he was in the sex theater in San Francisco".<ref> Sara Nelson 1996 [http://www.fargonebooks.com/hunter.html ''Interview with Hunter S. Thompson''] ''The Book Report'' </ref> The novel was slated to be released by [[Random House]] in 1999, and was even assigned [[ISBN]] 0679406948, but was never actually published.
At the behest of old friend and editor Warren Hinckle, Thompson became a media critic for the ''[[San Francisco Examiner]]'' from the mid-1980s until the end of that decade.
Thompson continued to contribute irregularly to ''Rolling Stone.'' "Fear and Loathing in Elko," published in 1992, was a well received fictional rallying cry against [[Clarence Thomas]], while "Mr. Bill's Neighborhood" was a largely non-fictional account of an interview with [[Bill Clinton]] in an Arkansas diner. Rather than embarking on the campaign trail as he had done in previous presidential elections, Thompson monitored the proceedings from cable television; ''[[Better Than Sex (book)|Better Than Sex: Confessions of a Political Junkie]],'' his account of the 1992 campaign, is composed of reactionary faxes sent to ''Rolling Stone.'' A decade later, he contributed "Fear and Loathing, Campaign 2004" — an account of a road jaunt with [[John Kerry]] during his presidential campaign that would be Thompson's final magazine feature.
Thompson was named a [[Kentucky Colonel]] by the Governor of [[Kentucky]] in a December 1996 tribute ceremony where he also received keys to the city of Louisville.<ref>Whitehead, Ron. ''Hunter S. Thompson, Kentucky Colonel'' ''Reykjaviks Magazine'' March 11, 2005 http://www.grapevine.is/default.aspx?show=paper&part=fullstory&id=281 </ref>
====The Gonzo Papers====
Despite publishing a novel and numerous newspaper and magazine articles, the majority of Thompson's literary output after the late 1970s took the form of a 4-volume series of books called [[The Gonzo Papers]]. Beginning with ''[[The Great Shark Hunt]]'' in 1979 and ending with ''[[Better Than Sex (book)|Better Than Sex]]'' in 1994, the series is largely a collection of rare newspaper and magazine pieces from the pre-gonzo period, along with almost all of his ''Rolling Stone'' short pieces, excerpts from the ''Fear and Loathing...'' books, and so on.
By the late 1970s Thompson received complaints from critics, fans and friends that he was regurgitating his past glories without much new on his part;<ref>http://www.gonzo.org/hst/interviews.asp?ID=10</ref> these concerns are alluded to in the introduction of ''[[The Great Shark Hunt]],'' where Thompson eerily suggested that his "old self" committed suicide.
Perhaps in response to this, as well as the strained relationship with ''Rolling Stone,'' and the failure of his marriage, Thompson became more reclusive after 1980, often retreating to his compound in Woody Creek and rejecting and/or refusing to complete assignments. Despite the dearth of new material, Wenner kept Thompson on the ''Rolling Stone'' masthead as chief of the "National Affairs Desk," a position he would hold until his death.
====Fear and Loathing Redux====
However, Thompson's work was popularized again with the [[1998]] release of the film ''[[Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (film)|Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas]],'' which opened to considerable fanfare. The novel was reprinted to coincide with the film, and Thompson's work was introduced to a new generation of readers.
Soon thereafter, Thompson's "long lost" novel ''[[The Rum Diary (novel)|The Rum Diary]]'' was published, as were the first two volumes of his [[#letters|collected letters]], which were greeted with critical acclaim.
Thompson's next and penultimate collection, ''[[Kingdom of Fear]],'' was a combination of new material, selected newspaper clippings, and some older works. Released in 2003, it was perceived by critics to be an angry, vitriolic commentary on the passing of the [[American Century]] and the state of affairs after the September 2001 attacks.
Hunter married Anita Bejmuk, his long-time assistant, on [[April 24]], [[2003]].
Ultimately, Thompson ended his journalism career in the same way it had begun: writing about sports. Thompson penned a weekly column called "[[Hey, Rube]]" for [[ESPN]].com's "[[Page 2]]". The column ran from 2000 to shortly before his death in 2005. [[Simon & Schuster]] bundled many of the columns from the first few years and released it in mid-2004 as ''Hey Rube: Blood Sport, the Bush Doctrine, and the Downward Spiral of Dumbness - Modern History from the Sports Desk''.
====Lisl Auman====
Hunter also organized rallies and events to support the case of Lisl Auman, a woman who was inprisoned under felony-murder charges for the death of police officer Bruce VanderJagt. Auman was convicted after being taken into police custody.
On the evening of November 12, 1997, Auman and a group of friends, including known-skinhead Matthaus "Tao" Jaehnig, went to Auman's residence to help her move out; during that time, others in the group began to steal items from the room of Auman's boyfriend, Shawn Cheever. After a neighbor had phoned police, Auman and Jaehnig left the scene in Jaehnig's stolen vechicle and were soon pursued by patrol cars. Upon seeing the police, Jaehnig began to open fire on the pursuing officers. After finally reaching their destination at the residence of Demetria Soriano (a friend of Auman's who was trying to help her move) at Monaco Place, police officers Jason Brake and Marc Bennett detained Auman. Jaehnig fled to a nearby alcove. Soon, more than 100 police officers, some clad in riot gear, stormed the complex. VanderJagt was among the officers. Once officers had realized where the suspect was hiding, VanderJagt went to try and get a glimpse of Jaehnig, who then began to open fire. Officer VanderJagt was hit and a massive gun battle ensued. After the carnage had ended, VanderJagt was dead after being riddled with 10 gun shot wounds (3 of which came from behind him) and Jaehnig had taken his own life. An officer at the scene screamed at Auman: "You're going down for murder!" [Vanity Fair June 2004].
After inital statements from officers Brake and Bennett had been recorded, Auman was detained; a Denver district attorney said she was to be held but was not going to recieve a homicide charge. However, days later, officers Brake and Bennett would revise their statements, saying that Auman had not only provided Jachnig with a weapon during the standoff [they reported seeing Auman lean slightly to her right as she exited the alcove and appear to drop something] but that she was also hostile during her detainment in the squad car, which prosecutors contended was asssisting Jachnig [even though one officer reported that Auman, upon hearing of VanderJagt's death, said, "I'm really sorry for your friend. I didn't mean for this to happen." [''Vanity Fair'' June 2004]. Along with these new statements, the Denver prosecutor Tim Twining believed he had enough evidence to convict Auman of felony-murder: it was the prosecution's belief that Auman not only helped establish the inital crime (burglary) which led to the shooting, but also provided aid to the shooting directly or in flight with her alleged hostile detainment and supposed aiding of a weapon. Auman was later convicted of felony murder following a 10 day trial, which carried a sentence of life imprisonment without parole.
While in Denver County Jail, Auman was given a copy of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas; after reading the novel, Auman wrote Hunter a letter in January 2001. Upon reading the letter, Hunter was mystified by the grave injustice; he wrote her back saying that he would "sitr up some interest". Hunter would do more than that as he used his position as journalistic heavy-hitter to get many defense attorneys, actors, writers, musicians, and many others involved in the case. Hunter, along with writer Mark Seal, wrote an article entitled '''Prisoner of Denver''' in the June 2004 edition of ''Vanity Fair'', which told Auman's story; Hunter said "The case of Lisl Auman, who first wrote me from prison three years ago, is so rotten and wrong and shameful that I feel dirty just for knowing about it," [''Vanity Fair'' June 2004]. Following years of appeals, Auman was finally given a plea agreement which resulted in her release, following a stay at a halfway house and eight years of close monitoring. On lisl.com, a webpage devoted to Lisl's case, Matt Moosely wrote "I believe that getting Lisl Auman out of jail is the most substantative achievement of Hunter's life. This was real action that galvanized a national campaign to literally save an innocent woman's life. The Free Lisl campaign took his written words off the page and made them come alive with purpose and meaning. I think he is smiling somewhere about now, dragging on a Dunhill and thinking, 'Hot damm, I knew we would prevail.'" [citation needed]
===Death===
Thompson died at his self-described "fortified compound" known as "Owl Farm" in [[Woody Creek, Colorado|Woody Creek]], [[Colorado]], at 5:42 p.m. on [[February 20]], [[2005]], from a [[suicide|self-inflicted]] gunshot wound to the head.
Thompson's son (Juan), daughter-in-law (Jennifer Winkel Thompson) and grandson (Will Thompson) were visiting for the weekend at the time of his suicide. Will and Jennifer were in the adjacent room when they heard the gunshot, though the gunshot was mistaken for a book falling, and so they continued with their activities for a few minutes before checking on him: "Winkel Thompson continued playing 20 questions with Will, Juan Thompson continued taking a photo." Thompson was sitting at his typewriter with the word "counselor" written in the center of the page.<ref> Pitkin County Sheriff's Dept. (March 2, 2005) [http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/0307051thompson1.html Incident Report 4391] </ref>
They reported to the press that they do not believe his suicide was out of desperation, but was a well-thought out act resulting from Thompson's many painful medical conditions. Thompson's wife, Anita, who was at a gym at the time of her husband's death, was on the phone with Thompson when he ended his life.
What family and police describe as a suicide note was delivered to his wife 4 days before his death and later published by Rolling Stone Magazine. Entitled "Football Season Is Over",<ref>[http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/_/id/7605448/ "Football Season Is Over"], Rolling Stone Magazine.</ref> it read:
:"No More Games. No More Bombs. No More Walking. No More Fun. No More Swimming. 67. That is 17 years past 50. 17 more than I needed or wanted. Boring. I am always bitchy. No Fun — for anybody. 67. You are getting Greedy. Act your old age. Relax — This won't hurt"
Artist and friend [[Ralph Steadman]] wrote:
:"...He told me 25 years ago that he would feel real trapped if he didn't know that he could commit suicide at any moment. I don't know if that is brave or stupid or what, but it was inevitable. I think that the truth of what rings through all his writing is that he meant what he said. If that is entertainment to you, well, that's OK. If you think that it enlightened you, well, that's even better. If you wonder if 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 there. He could never stand being bored. But there must be Football too — and Peacocks..."<ref>Steadman, Ralph (Feb. 2005). [http://www.ralphsteadman.com "Hunter S. Thompson 1937-2005"]. Retrieved Mar. 19, 2005.</ref>
====Funeral====
On August 20, 2005, in a private ceremony, Thompson's ashes were fired from a cannon atop a 153-foot tower of his own design (in the shape of a double-thumbed fist clutching a [[peyote]] button) to the tune of [[Bob Dylan]]'s ''[[Mr. Tambourine Man]],'' known to be the song most respected by the late writer. Red, white, blue and green fireworks were launched along with his ashes. As the city of Aspen would not allow the cannon to remain for more than a month, the cannon has been dismantled and put into storage until a suitable permanent ___location can be found. According to widow Anita Thompson, the actor [[Johnny Depp]], a close friend of Thompson (and portrayer of [[Raoul Duke]] in [[Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (film)|the movie adaptation]] of ''[[Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (book)|Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas]]''), financed the funeral. Depp told the [[Associated Press]], "All I'm doing is trying to make sure his last wish comes true. I just want to send my pal out the way he wants to go out."<ref>[http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1001018730 Hunter Thompson Blown Sky High]</ref>
Other famous attendees at the funeral included U.S. [[Senator]] [[John Kerry]] and former U.S. Senator [[George McGovern]]; [[60 Minutes]] correspondent [[Ed Bradley]]; actors [[Bill Murray]] (who portrayed Hunter S. Thompson in the movie ''[[Where the Buffalo Roam]]''), [[Sean Penn]] and [[Josh Hartnett]]; singers [[Lyle Lovett]] and [[John Oates]], The Poet Trip Lucid; and numerous other friends. An estimated 280 people attended the funeral.
The plans for this impressive monument were initially drawn by Thompson and [[Ralph Steadman]] and were shown as part of an ''[[Omnibus (TV series)|Omnibus]]'' program on the [[BBC]] entitled ''Fear and Loathing in Gonzovision'' (1978). It is included as a special feature on the second disc of the 2003 [[Criterion Collection]] DVD release of ''Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas'' (labeled on the DVD as "''Fear and Loathing on the Road to Hollywood''"). The video footage of Steadman and Thompson drawing the plans and outdoor footage showing where he wanted the cannon constructed were played prior to the unveiling of his cannon at the funeral.
[[Douglas Brinkley]], a friend and now the family's spokesman, said of the ceremony: "If that's what he wanted, we'll see if we can pull it off."<ref>Elliott, Dan — Associated Press [http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/state/article/0,1299,DRMN_21_3572138,00.html "Thompson's send-off could fill skies"]</ref>
==Legacy==
===Writing style===
{{main|Gonzo}}
Thompson is often credited as the creator of [[Gonzo journalism]], a style of writing that blurs distinctions between fiction and nonfiction. His work and style are considered to be a major part of the [[New Journalism]] literary movement of the 1960s and 1970s, which attempted to break free from the purely objectivist style of mainstream reportage of the time. Thompson almost always wrote in the [[first person narrative|first person]], while extensively using his own experiences and emotions to color "the story" he was trying to follow. His writing aimed to be humorous, colorful, and bizarre, and he often exaggerated events to be more entertaining.
The term [[Gonzo]] has since been applied in kind to numerous other forms of highly subjective artistic expression.
Despite his having personally described his work as "Gonzo," it fell to later observers to describe more precisely what the phrase actually meant. While Thompson's approach clearly involved injecting himself as a participant in the events of the narrative, it also involved adding invented, metaphoric elements, thus creating, for the uninitiated reader, a seemingly confusing amalgam of facts and fiction notable for the deliberately blurred lines between one and the other. Thompson, in a 1974 Interview in [[Playboy Magazine]] addressed the issue himself, saying "Unlike Tom Wolfe or Gay Talese, I almost never try to reconstruct a story. They’re both much better reporters than I am, but then, I don’t think of myself as a reporter." [[Tom Wolfe]] would later describe Thompson's style as "...part journalism and part personal memoir admixed with powers of wild invention and wilder rhetoric." <ref>Wolfe, Tom (February 22, 2005) [http://www.opinionjournal.com/la/?id=110006325 ''As Gonzo in Life as in His Work '']</ref>
The majority of Thompson's most popular and acclaimed work appeared within the pages of ''Rolling Stone'' Magazine. Along with [[Joe Eszterhas]] and [[David Felton]], Thompson was instrumental in expanding the focus of the magazine past music criticism; indeed, Thompson was the only staff writer of the epoch never to contribute a music feature to the magazine. Nevertheless, his articles were always peppered with a wide array of pop music references ranging from [[Howlin' Wolf]] to [[Lou Reed]]. Armed with early [[fax]] machines wherever he went, he became notorious for haphazardly sending sometimes illegible material to the magazine's San Francisco offices immediately as an issue was about to go to press.
Robert Love, Thompson's editor at ''Rolling Stone'' of 23 years wrote that "the dividing line between fact and fancy rarely blurred, and we didn’t always use italics or some other typographical device to indicate the lurch into the fabulous. But if there were living, identifiable humans in a scene, we took certain steps....Hunter was close friends with many prominent Democrats, veterans of the ten or more presidential campaigns he covered, so when in doubt, we’d call the press secretary. 'People will believe almost any twisted kind of story about politicians or Washington,' he once said, and he was right."
Discerning the line between the fact and the fiction of Thompson's work presented a practical problem for editors and fact-checkers of his work. Love called fact-checking Thompson's work "one of the sketchiest occupations ever created in the publishing world," and '"for the first-timer ... a trip through a journalistic fun house, where you didn’t know what was real and what wasn’t. You knew you had better learn enough about the subject at hand to know when the riff began and reality ended. Hunter was a stickler for numbers, for details like gross weight and model numbers, for lyrics and caliber, and there was no faking it."<ref name="love-cjr">Love, Robert. (May-June 2005) [http://cjr.org/issues/2005/3/hst.asp ''A Technical Guide For Editing Gonzo'']. Columbia Journalism Review. Accessed 20 Feb. 2007.</ref>
===Persona===
{{main|Raoul Duke}}
Hunter often used a blend of fiction and fact when portraying himself in his writing as well, sometimes using the name [[Raoul Duke]] as an [[author surrogate]] whom he generally described as a callous, erratic, self-destructive journalist who constantly drank alcohol and took hallucinogenic drugs. Fantasizing about causing bodily harm to others was also a characteristic in his work and according to the book "Hunter" by E. Jean Carrol, he would often deliver anecdotes about threatening to rape prostitutes.
A number of critics have commented that as he grew older the line that distinguished Thompson from his literary self became increasingly blurred.<ref>Cohen, Rich [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9805E2DF173EF934A25757C0A9639C8B63&sec=&spon=&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink "Gonzo Nights''] ''The New York Times'' April 17, 2005 </ref><ref> Hart, Stephen [http://theopinionmill.wordpress.com/2006/12/26/hunter-s-thompson-22305/ ''Hunter S. Thompson''] The Opinion Mill Dec 26th, 2005. </ref><ref> Clifford, Peggy [http://www.smmirror.com/MainPages/DisplayArticleDetails.asp?eid=157 ''A love song for Hunter S. Thompson] ''Santa Monica Mirror'' Retrieved March 28th, 2007. </ref> Thompson himself admitted during a 1978 BBC interview that he sometimes felt pressured to live up to the fictional self that he had created, adding "I'm never sure which one people expect me to be. Very often, they conflict - most often, as a matter of fact. ...I'm leading a normal life and right along side me there is this myth, and it is growing and mushrooming and getting more and more warped. When I get invited to, say, speak at universities, I'm not sure if they are inviting Duke or Thompson. I'm not sure who to be." <ref> [[BBC]] 1978 [http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-1908315511631415863&hl=en-GB Fear and Loathing in Gonzovision]</ref>
Thompson's writing style and eccentric persona gave him a [[cult following]] in both literary and drug circles, and his cult status expanded into broader areas after being twice portrayed in major motion pictures. Hence, both his writing style and persona have been widely imitated, and his likeness has even become a popular costume choice for [[Halloween]].<ref>[http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&hs=293&safe=off&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&sa=N&resnum=0&q=hunter%20s%20thompson%20halloween&spell=1&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&tab=wi hunter s thompson halloween]</ref>
====Political beliefs====
Thompson's early letters to friends suggest an interest in [[Ayn Rand]]'s [[Objectivism (Ayn Rand)|Objectivism]], but he later moved radically away from Rand's version of politics and instead embraced a combination of [[libertarian]], [[anarchist]], and [[socialist]] views. In the documentary "[[Breakfast With Hunter]]," Thompson can be seen in several scenes wearing different [[Che Guevara]] t-shirts, while his son Juan Thompson acknowledges that his father had "''a perverse resistance to security and predictability, and a deliberate disregard for propriety.''" {{Fact|date=February 2007}}
Thompson's official biographer and longtime friend [[Douglas Brinkley]] said:
:"He's both a kind of old-fashioned believer in democratic virtues, but also an anarchist. There's always that unpredictable element with him. In any given situation, as soon as he feels there's a system closing in, he'll destroy it" {{Fact|date=February 2007}}.
Hunter Thompson was a passionate proponent of the [[Second Amendment to the United States Constitution|right to bear arms]] and [[Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution|private property rights]] <ref> Glassie, John [http://dir.salon.com/story/news/feature/2003/02/03/thompson/index.html?pn=2 ''Interview with Hunter S. Thompson''] Salon.com. Accessed Monday, Mar 5, 2007 </ref>. A member of the [[National Rifle Association]],<ref> Susman, Tina [http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/nation/ny-ushunt224153856feb22,0,4715271.story?coll=ny-nationalnews-headlines ''Writer's Death Shocks Friends''] ''Newsday'' Feb 22, 2005 </ref> Thompson was also co-creator of "The Fourth Amendment Foundation", an organization to assist victims in defending themselves against unwarranted search and seizure <ref> Higgins, Matt [http://www.hightimes.com/ht/entertainment/content.php?bid=228&aid=2. ''THE GONZO KING An interview with Hunter S. Thompson''] ''High Times'' Sept. 2nd, 2003. </ref>.
Thompson was a [[firearms]] and explosives enthusiast (in his writing and in real life) and owned a vast collection of handguns, rifles, shotguns, and various automatic and semi-automatic weapons, along with numerous forms of gaseous crowd control and many other homemade devices.
Thompson was also an ardent supporter of drug legalization and became known for his less-than-shy accounts of his own drug usage. He was an early supporter of the [[National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws]] and served on the group's advisory board for over 30 years until his death <ref> [http://www.norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=6823 NORML 2007 Aspen Legal Seminar Afternoon Cookout at Owl Farm] </ref>. He told an interviewer in 1997 that drugs should be legalized "Across the board. It might be a little rough on some people for a while, but I think it's the only way to deal with drugs. Look at Prohibition: all it did was make a lot of criminals rich".<ref> Far Gone Books [http://www.fargonebooks.com/hunter.html ''Transcript of Hunter S. Thompson Interview''] </ref>
After the [[September 11th, 2001 attacks]], Thompson voiced skepticism regarding the "official story" on who was responsible for the attacks, suggesting to several interviewers that it may have been conducted by the [[U.S. Government]] or with the government's assistance.<ref> Bulger, Adam (March, 9, 2004) [http://www.freezerbox.com/archive/article.php?id=287 Interview with Hunter S. Thompson] ''Freezer Box Magazine'' </ref><ref> O'Regan, Mike [http://www.libertythink.com/2005/02/hunter-s-thompson-thought-911-inside.html Interview with Hunter S. Thompson] August, 2002 </ref> In 2002, Thompson told a radio show host "...you sort of wonder when something like that happens, Well who stands to benefit? Who had the opportunity and the motive? You just kind of look at these basic things [...] I saw that the US government was going to benefit, and the White House people, the Republican administration to take the mind of the public off of the crashing economy. [...] And I have spent enough time on the inside of, well in the White House and you know, campaigns and I've known enough people who do these things, think this way, to know that the public version of the news or whatever event, is never really what happened."<ref> O'Regan, Mike [http://www.libertythink.com/2005/02/hunter-s-thompson-thought-911-inside.html Interview with Hunter S. Thompson] August, 2002 </ref>
In 2004 Thompson, regarding politics, wrote: "Nixon was a professional politician, and I despised everything he stood for — but if he were running for president this year against the evil [[George W. Bush|Bush]]-[[Dick Cheney|Cheney]] gang, I would happily vote for him."<ref>[http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/_/id/6562575 Fear and Loathing, Campaign 2004, ''Rolling Stone'']</ref>
====Popular slogans====
A slogan of Thompson's, "When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro," appears as a chapter heading in ''Kingdom of Fear.'' He was also quoted as saying, "I hate to advocate drugs, alcohol, violence or insanity to anyone, but they've always worked for me." Another one of his favorite sayings, "[[Buy the ticket, take the ride]]," is easily applied to virtually all of his exploits. "Too weird to live, too rare to die," a phrase applied to [[Oscar Zeta Acosta]] (Thompson's attorney from ''Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas''), has been widely used to characterize the "Good Doctor" posthumously. In ''Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas,'' he coined the term "bad craziness."
The Hawaiian word "[[mahalo]]" also frequently appears in Thompson's works and correspondence. Loosely translated, it means "may you be in divine breath" or "thank you." On more than one occasion, "mahalo" followed Thompson's usage of "[[buy the ticket, take the ride]]."
===Letters===
[[Image:Proudhighway.jpg|170px|thumb|''The Proud Highway...Fear and Loathing Letters Vol. 1'' ]]
Thompson wrote many letters and they were his primary means of personal conversation. Thompson made [[carbon copy|carbon copies]] of all his letters, usually typed, a habit that began in his teenage years. His letters were sent to friends, public officials and reporters.
Some of his letters have begun to be published in a series of books called ''The Fear and Loathing Letters.'' The first volume, ''The Proud Highway: Saga of a Desperate Southern Gentleman 1955 - 1967,'' is over 650 pages, while the second volume ''Fear and Loathing in America: The Brutal Odyssey of an Outlaw Journalist'' passed 700. [[Douglas Brinkley]], who edits the letter series, said that for every letter included, fifteen were cut. Brinkley estimated Thompson's own archive to contain over 20,000 letters. According to [[Amazon.com]], the last of the three planned volumes of Thompson's letters was allegedly to be published on January 1, 2007 as ''The Mutineer: Rants, Ravings, and Missives from the Mountaintop 1977-2005.'' Anita Thompson has said on her blog that the collection will be released sometime in February. Amazon.com recently updated the publication date on its site to February 1, 2008.
Many [[biography|biographies]] have been written about Thompson, although he did not write an [[autobiography]] himself. But his letters contained "asides" to "his biographers" that he assumed could be "reading in" on his collected letters. Some of these letters were already bundled into Thompson's ''Kingdom of Fear,'' though it is not considered an autobiography.
===Photography===
Thompson was an avid amateur [[photographer]] throughout his life and his photos have been exhibited since his death at art galleries in the United States and United Kingdom. In late 2006, AMMO Books published a limited-edition 224 page collection of Thompson photos called ''GONZO'', with an introduction by Johnny Depp. Thompson's snapshots were a combination of the subjects he was covering, stylized self-portraits, and artistic [[still life]] photos. The ''[[London Observer]]'' called the photos "astonishingly good" and that "Thompson's pictures remind us, brilliantly in every sense, of very real people, real colours".<ref> Ferguson, Euan [http://observer.guardian.co.uk/review/story/0,,2005176,00.html ''Hunter Gets Captured By The Frame''] ''London Observer'' February 4th, 2007</ref>
===Movies===
The film ''[[Where the Buffalo Roam]]'' (1980) depicts Thompson's attempts at writing stories for both the [[Super Bowl]] and the [[U.S. presidential election, 1972|1972 U.S. presidential election]]. It stars [[Bill Murray]] as Thompson and [[Peter Boyle]] as Thompson's attorney Oscar Acosta, referred to in the movie as Carl Lazlo, Esq. Murray spent considerable time with Thompson as part of his preparation prior to production of film and inevitably picked up many of the latter's mannerisms, much to the annoyance of Murray's ''[[Saturday Night Live]]'' coworkers.
[[Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (film)|The 1998 film adaptation]] of ''[[Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (book)|Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas]]'' was directed by [[Monty Python]] veteran [[Terry Gilliam]], and starred [[Johnny Depp]] (who moved into Hunter's basement to 'study' Thompson's persona before assuming his role in the film) as "Hunter Thompson/Raoul Duke" and [[Benicio Del Toro]] as "Dr. Gonzo". Thompson appeared in the scene at the club "The Matrix", sitting at a table. The film has achieved something of a [[cult film|cult following]].
A film is in production based upon Thompson's novel ''[[The Rum Diary (novel)|The Rum Diary]].'' It is scheduled for a 2008 release, starring [[Johnny Depp]]. [[Bruce Robinson (writer)|Bruce Robinson]] is directing.
====Documentaries====
The film ''[[Breakfast With Hunter]]'' (2003) was directed and edited by [[Wayne Ewing]]. It documents Thompson's work on the movie ''Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas,'' his arrest for [[drunk driving]], and his subsequent fight with the court system.
"''Come on Down: Searching for the American Dream''"<ref>[http://www.manifestation.tv Manifestation.tv]</ref> (2004) was directed and written by Adamm Liley and produced by Steven James May of Manifestation Television. Hunter gives Adamm valuable insight into the elusive American Dream over many drinks at the Woody Creek Tavern. Also features Bob Barker and Chris Gardner. Music by The Sadies.
"[[When I Die]]" (2005), also by [[Wayne Ewing]], is a video chronicle of making Thompson's final farewell wishes a reality and the great send-off itself.
''[[Buy The Ticket, Take The Ride]]: Hunter S. Thompson On Film'' (2006) was directed by [[Tom Thurman]], written by Tom Marksbury, and produced by the [[Starz Entertainment Group]]. The original documentary features interviews with Hunter’s inner circle of family and friends, but the thrust of the documentary is focused on the manner in which his life often overlapped with numerous Hollywood celebrities who became his close friends, such as [[Johnny Depp]], [[Benicio Del Toro]], [[Bill Murray]], [[Sean Penn]], [[John Cusack]], Hunter’s wife Anita, son Juan, former Senators [[George McGovern]] and [[Gary Hart]], [[Tom Wolfe]], [[William F. Buckley, Jr.|William F. Buckley]], [[Gary Busey]], [[Harry Dean Stanton]], [[Ralph Steadman]] and others.
===Accolades and tributes===
*Author [[Tom Wolfe]] has called Thompson the greatest American comic writer of the 20th century.<ref>[http://www.opinionjournal.com/la/?id=110006325 "As Gonzo in Life as in His Work: Hunter S. Thompson died as he lived."] Tuesday, February 22, 2005 - Wall Street Journal, Opinion Journal.</ref>
*The 2006 documentary film ''[[Fuck (film)|Fuck]]'', which features Hunter S Thompson commenting on the usage of that word, is dedicated to his memory.
*Thompson appeared on the cover of the 1000th ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' issue (May 18 - June 1, 2006). He appeared as a devil playing the guitar next to the two "L"'s in the word "Rolling Stone". [[Johnny Depp]], portraying Thompson, also appeared on the cover.
*[[Gonzo Imperial Porter]] is a beer produced by a Denver, Colorado brewery, [[Flying Dog Brewery]], in memory of Hunter S. Thompson. Flying Dog Brewery sponsored a contest to attend Thompson's funeral by placing a [[Golden Ticket]] inside one bottle of the beer.
[[Image:Uncleduke.jpg|right|170px|thumb|''[[Doonesbury]]'s'' [[Uncle Duke]].]]
*'''[[Doonesbury]]'''
**Hunter Thompson appears as [[Uncle Duke]] in ''[[Doonesbury]]'', the [[Garry Trudeau]] comic strip. (Raoul Duke was a [[pseudonym]] used by Thompson.) When the character was first introduced, Thompson protested, (he was once quoted in an interview saying that he would set Trudeau on fire if the two ever met)<ref>[http://www.cnn.com/2005/SHOWBIZ/books/02/21/thompson.obit/index.html Hunter S. Thompson dead at 67]</ref> although it was reported that he liked the character in later years.
**Between [[7 March]] [[2005]] (roughly two weeks after Thompson's suicide) and [[12 March]] [[2005]], ''Doonesbury'' ran a tribute to Hunter, with Uncle Duke lamenting the death of the man he called his "inspiration." The first of these strips featured a panel with artwork similar to that of [[Ralph Steadman]], and later strips featured various [[Non sequitur (absurdism)|non sequitur]]s (with Duke variously transforming into a monster, melting, shrinking to the size of an empty drinking glass, or people around him turning into animals) which seemed to mirror some of the effects of hallucinatory drugs described in ''Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas''.
*Besides Uncle Duke, Hunter was the direct inspiration of two other comic strip characters. [[Underground comix]] creator turned animation/cartooning historian [[Scott Shaw (artist)|Scott Shaw!]] used an anthropomorphic dog named "Pointer X. Toxin" in a number of his works. [[Matt Howarth]] has created a number of comic books in his "[[Bugtown]]" universe with a Thompson-inspired character named "Monseiuer Boche", as well as a musician named "Savage Henry", the name of a drug dealer (or "scag baron") mentioned in ''Fear and Loathing In Las Vegas''.
*In ''[[The Simpsons]]'' episode "[[Viva Ned Flanders]]" there was a scene when [[Ned Flanders]] and [[Homer Simpson]] drive down the road to Las Vegas. They pass two guys in a red convertible who bear a strong resemblance to Raoul Duke and Dr. Gonzo from ''Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas''.
*In ''[[The Simpsons]]'' episode "[[Million Dollar Abie]]" Thompson is portrayed as a former client of a ''[[Soylent Green]]''-esque [[euthanasia]] clinic. <!--can this really be considered a tribute? -->
*The [[Avenged Sevenfold]] song ''[[Bat Country]]'' is a tribute to Thompson.
*[[Spider Jerusalem]], the gonzo journalist [[protagonist]] of [[Warren Ellis]]'s ''[[Transmetropolitan]],'' is largely based on Thompson.
*[[Adult Swim]]'s animated series ''[[The Venture Bros.]]'' featured a character named [[List of characters from The Venture Bros.#Recurring and minor characters|Hunter Gathers]] (who looks and acts much like Thompson) employed by the fictional Office of Secret Intelligence as a trainer.
* In January 2007, the play ''[[Gonzo, a Brutal Chrysalis]]'' opens in San Francisco. The play, based on Thompson's letters and writing, presents Thompson's life from 1968 to 1971.
* In [[With Apologies to Jesse Jackson|an episode]] of the animated series ''[[South Park]]'', [[Stan Marsh|Stan Marsh's]] father performs a poetry reading with large photo of Thompson behind him.<ref>http://www.tv.com/south-park/with-apologies-to-jesse-jackson/episode/919534/summary.html</ref> <!--can this really be considered a tribute? -->
* [[Manchester]] group [[The Fall]] would include the Thompson-penned line "When the weird gets going, the weird turn pro" as a line in the lyrics of their single "Totally Wired" when performed live. In 2005, the group released ''[[Fall Heads Roll]]'' with a haunting, dream-like song, "Midnight in Aspen", about the death of Hunter Thompson. The song is interrupted by a raucous track called "Assume," then resumes as "Midnight Aspen Reprise."
*[[Paul Oakenfold]]'s album [[Bunkka]] features Thompson's voice in the song titled "Nixon's Spirit".
==Bibliography==
{{main|Bibliography of Hunter S. Thompson}}
==References==
{{reflist|2}}
==External links==
{{wikinewspar|Author Hunter S. Thompson found dead}}
{{wikiquote}}
*"BadCrazy.com," [http://www.badcrazy.com A Tribute Site]
*"Shotgun Golf With Bill Murray," [http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?id=1992213 Thompson's final column] for [[ESPN|ESPN.com's]]'s ''Page 2.''
*"Death Of A Comic," [http://www.nationalreview.com/script/printpage.p?ref=/buckley/wfb200503011513.asp An essay critical of Thompson] by [[William F. Buckley, Jr.]] in ''[[The National Review]]'', 1 March, 2005.
*[http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/artsentertainment/2002188205_thompson24.html "A Tribute to The Great Gonzo Gonzo," Seattle Times. ] by [[Michael A. Stusser]], 24 February, 2005.
*"Gonzo In His Life As In His Work," [http://www.opinionjournal.com/la/?id=110006325 A Tribute to Thompson] by [[Tom Wolfe]] in ''[[The Wall Street Journal]]'', 22 February 2005.
*"Gonzo Nights," [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9805E2DF173EF934A25757C0A9639C8B63&sec=&spon=&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink an essay by Rich Cohen], a contributing editor for ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' published in ''[[The New York Times]]'', 17 April, 2005.
*"Fear and Earning," [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E06E3D8173DF936A15751C0A9639C8B63&sec=health&spon=&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink a remembrance by screenwriter and novelist Lucian K. Truscott IV], published in ''[[The New York Times]]'', 25 February 2005.
*"Bedtime For Gonzo," [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9805E1DB143AF930A15751C0A9659C8B63&n=Top%2fReference%2fTimes%20Topics%2fPeople%2fT%2fThompson%2c%20Hunter%20S%2e A Review of Thompson's 2003 Autobiography ''Kingdom Of Fear,''] by Jack Schafer in [[The New York Times Book Review]], 23 February 2003.
*[http://www.owlfarmblog.com Owl Farm Blog]- Anita Thompson's blog dealing with her late husband's legacy
*[http://www.gonzostore.com Gonzo Store]- Operated by the family of Hunter Thompson; profits go to protect and preserve Thompson's home at Owl Farm.
*"Hunter Thompson: The Minuteman Of The Rockies," [http://www.slate.com/id/2113865/ Tribute to Thompson] by [[Christopher Hitchens]] in ''[[Slate]]'', 22 February 2005.
*"Hunter's Fear," [http://www.rawstory.com/exclusives/blyler/hunter_thompson_eulogy_22105.htm A Eulogy To Thompson] by [[D.A. Blyler]] from ''[[The Raw Story]]''.
*"Hunter S. Thompson's Counselor," [http://www.rawstory.com/exclusives/blyler/hst_counselor_081405.htm Thompson's Final "Counselor"] by [[D.A. Blyler]] in ''[[The Raw Story]]''.
*"Odi et Amo in Aspen," [http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A4177280| A Gonzo-style obituary] by Kit Boyes on the [[BBC]] Web site ''[[H2G2]]'', 10 June 2005.
*[http://hst.9pointzero.com The Doctor Hunter S. Thompson Bulletin Board & All-Nite Shooting Range] - The Doctor Hunter S. Thompson Bulletin Board & All-Nite Shooting Range"
*"All Aboard The Hell-Bound Train: An Interview With Hunter S. Thompson [http://www.collegecrier.com/interviews/int-0003.asp Claimed as Thompson's Final Interview]. By Jess Hopsicker, from ''The College Crier''.
*{{imdb|0860219|Hunter S. Thompson}}
*{{imdb title|id=0081748|title=Where the Buffalo Roam}}
*{{imdb title|id=0120669|title=Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas}}
*{{imdb title|id=0376136|title=The Rum Diary}}
*A collection of articles on Thompson [http://books.guardian.co.uk/news/page/0,8097,1419505,00.html from ''The Guardian'']
*Excerpt from [http://www.literati-magazine.com/magazine_features/spring05/commentary/caroll/huntesq.htm "Hunter: The Strange and Savage Live Of Hunter S. Thompson], by E. Jean Carroll, first published in [[Esquire Magazine]], February, 1993
*[http://www.spikemagazine.com/0305huntersthompson.php -Tribute: Spike Magazine]
*[http://media.www.dailylobo.com/media/paper344/news/2005/08/25/Culture/Impressions.Of.Dr.Gonzo-969927.shtml?sourcedomain=www.dailylobo.com&MIIHost=media.collegepublisher.com Article about the funeral with photo of memorial tower]
*"Going, Going, Gonzo" [http://arik.org/2006/04/oq-peice-on-hst.html A remembrance by journalist] [[Arik Hesseldahl]] from the Summer 2005 issue of ''Oregon Quarterly'' recalling a February, 1991 lecture by Thompson at the [[University of Oregon]].
*[http://www.exile.ru/2005-February-25/a_hero_of_our_time_hunter_s_thompson_1937-2005.html A Hero of Our Time: Hunter S. Thompson 1937-2005] Obituary from Moscow alternative newspaper ''[[The eXile]]'' written by [[John Dolan (writer)|John Dolan]]
*[http://www.starz.com/appmanager/seg/s?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=template&template_dir=/features/buytheticket/&template_file=content.html Promo site for Starz Documentary] Buy The Ticket, Take The Ride - Hunter S Thompson on Film
===Source material===
*[http://www.ncteamericancollection.org/litmap/thompson_hunter_s_ky.htm American Collection]
*[http://www.bookrags.com/biography-hunter-stockton-thompson/ BookRags]
*[http://www.mbfala.com/Thompson/Thompson_IG.html An Image Gallery of Thompson's photography]
<!-- Metadata: see [[Wikipedia:Persondata]] -->
{{Persondata
|NAME= Thompson, Hunter Stockton
|ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
|SHORT DESCRIPTION= American [[journalist]] and [[author]]
|DATE OF BIRTH= [[July 18]], [[1937]]
|PLACE OF BIRTH= [[Louisville, Kentucky|Louisville]], [[Kentucky]], [[United States|USA]]
|DATE OF DEATH= [[February 20]], [[2005]]
|PLACE OF DEATH= [[Woody Creek, Colorado|Woody Creek]], [[Colorado]], [[United States|USA]]
}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thompson, Hunter S.}}
[[Category:Hunter S. Thompson|*]]
[[Category:1937 births]]
[[Category:2005 deaths]]
[[Category:American journalists]]
[[Category:American novelists]]
[[Category:American sportswriters]]
[[Category:American tax resisters]]
[[Category:Columbia University alumni]]
[[Category:Journalists who committed suicide]]
[[Category:Colorado writers]]
[[Category:Kentucky writers]]
[[Category:People from Louisville, Kentucky]]
[[Category:Psychedelic advocates and proponents]]
[[Category:Suicides by firearm in the United States]]
[[Category:United States Air Force airmen]]
[[Category:Writers who committed suicide]]
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