Hunter Stockton Thompson (July 18, 1937 – February 20, 2005) was a journalist and author who pioneered the gonzo journalism trend. He rose to popularity after the release of Hell’s Angels (1967), a book in which he spent a year living and riding with the Hells Angels motorcycle club to publish a first-hand account of their lives and experiences.
In 1970, he authored a strange magazine story for Scanlan’s Monthly titled “The Kentucky Derby Is Decadent and Depraved,” which enhanced his fame and established his counterculture legitimacy. It also paved the way for him to create his subgenre of New Journalism, which he dubbed “Gonzo,” a journalistic style in which the writer becomes a central player and participant in the events of the narrative.
Thompson is best known for Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1972), a novel first serialized in Rolling Stone in which he grapples with the consequences of the 1960s counterculture movement’s failure. It was adapted for cinema twice: once loosely in Where the Buffalo Roam, starring Bill Murray as Thompson in 1980, and once explicitly in the namesake film starring Johnny Depp and Benicio del Toro in 1998.
Thompson ran unsuccessfully for Pitkin County Sheriff on the Freak Power ticket in 1970. Freak Power: The Ballot or the Bomb, a documentary film, documented his campaign. He became well-known for his disdain for Richard Nixon, whom he felt embodied “the dark, venal, and incurably aggressive aspect of the American spirit.” He covered Nixon’s reelection campaign for Rolling Stone, and the pieces were ultimately published in Fear and Loathing: On the Campaign Trail ’72.
When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro. pic.twitter.com/YwhBXlGOo1
— Dr. Hunter S. Thompson (@GonzoVice) August 20, 2022
Thompson’s output began to drop in the mid-1970s as he grappled with the effects of fame, complaining that he could no longer report on events because he was too easily recognized. After Rolling Stone’s top management blocked many high-profile pieces, he found it increasingly difficult to have his work published in mainstream channels. He did continue to write for alternative newspapers, and for most of the late 1980s and early 1990s, he worked as a critic for the mainstream San Francisco Examiner. The Gonzo Papers collects the majority of his work from 1979 to 1994. He continued to write for numerous news venues in various formats, including sporadic tales published in Rolling Stone and a weekly column named “Hey, Rube” that appeared on ESPN.com’s Page 2 in 2000.
He was noted for his lifetime use of alcohol and illegal substances, his passion for weaponry, and his rebellious attitude toward authorities. “I hate encouraging drugs, drink, violence, or insanity to anyone, but they’ve always worked for me,” Thompson often said. Thompson died by suicide at age 67 after a succession of health difficulties. His ashes were shot out of a cannon in a ceremony paid for by his buddy Johnny Depp and attended by pals, including then-Senator John Kerry and Jack Nicholson, as per his wishes. “The genuine voice of Thompson is revealed to be that of an American moralist. one who frequently makes himself ugly to show the ugliness he finds around him,” Hari Kunzru remarked.
How Was Hunter Thompson’s Early Life?
Thompson was the first of three sons born into a middle-class family in Louisville, Kentucky, to Virginia Davison Ray (1908, Springfield, Kentucky – March 20, 1998, Louisville), the head librarian at the Louisville Free Public Library, and Jack Robert Thompson (September 4, 1893, Horse Cave, Kentucky – July 3, 1952, Louisville), a public insurance adjuster and World War I veteran.
In September 1934, his parents were introduced by a buddy from Jack’s fraternity at the University of Kentucky, and they married on November 2, 1935. Thompson’s first name, Hunter, was derived from a Scottish surgeon in his mother’s family, according to Guardian journalist Nicholas Lezard. Thompson’s initial and middle names, Hunter Stockton, is derived from his maternal grandparents, Prestly Stockton Ray and Lucille Hunter.
Thompson’s family moved to The Highlands’ upscale Cherokee Triangle area in December 1943, when he was six. Thompson’s father died of myasthenia gravis on July 3, 1952, when he was 14. Hunter’s mother reared him and his brothers. Virginia supported her children by working as a librarian and was described as a “strong drinker” after her husband died.
How Did Hunter Thompson Commit Suicide?
Hunter Thompson died on February 20, 2005, at 5:42 p.m., following a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head at Owl Farm, his “fortified compound” in Woody Creek, Colorado. His son Juan, daughter-in-law Jennifer, and grandchild were visiting for the weekend. His wife Anita, who was at the Aspen Club, was on the phone with him when he cocked the revolver. According to the Aspen Daily News, Thompson asked her to come home to help him write his ESPN piece, then set the receiver on the counter.
Anita claimed she had mistaken the gun’s cocking for the sound of his typewriter keys and hung up as he shot. Will and Jennifer were in the adjacent room when they heard the gunshot, but they mistook the sound for a book falling and did not immediately check on Thompson. Juan Thompson discovered his father’s body. According to the police report and Anita’s cell phone records, he called the sheriff’s office half an hour later, then walked outside and fired three shotgun blasts into the air to “mark the passing of his father.” The police report also stated that in Thompson’s typewriter was a piece of paper with the date “February 22, ’05” and a single word, “counselor.”
Years of alcohol and cocaine abuse exacerbated his despair. Thompson’s inner circle told the press that he was despondent and thought February to be a “gloomy” month, with football season over and the severe Colorado winter weather. He was particularly concerned about his rising age and persistent medical issues, including a hip replacement; he constantly said, “This kid is becoming old.”
When Was Hunter Thompson’s Funeral Held?
Thompson’s ashes were launched from a cannon during a private funeral on August 20, 2005. This was accompanied by red, white, blue, and green fireworks to the tunes of Norman Greenbaum’s “Spirit in the Sky” and Bob Dylan’s “Mr. Tambourine Man.” The cannon was mounted on a 153-foot (47-meter) tower shaped like a double-thumbed fist gripping a peyote button, a symbol he first employed in his 1970 campaign for Pitkin County sheriff in Colorado.
Thompson and Steadman drew the first drawings for the monument, which were displayed as part of a BBC Omnibus program titled Fear and Loathing in Gonzovision (1978). Fear and Loathing on the Road to Hollywood is an additional feature on the second disc of the 2004 Criterion Collection DVD version of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. According to Thompson’s widow, Anita, the $3 million burial was paid for by actor Johnny Depp, a close friend of his. “All I’m doing is trying to make sure his dying dream comes true,” Depp told the Associated Press. “I simply want to send my guy out the way he wants to go.”
An estimated 280 individuals attended, including U.S. Senators John Kerry and George McGovern; 60 Minutes correspondents Ed Bradley and Charlie Rose; actors Jack Nicholson, John Cusack, Bill Murray, Benicio del Toro, Sean Penn, and Josh Hartnett; musicians Lyle Lovett, John Oates, and David Amram; and artist and long-time friend Ralph Steadman are among those honored. If you think this is interesting, please share it with your friends. For more updates and the latest news regarding celebrities, Visit Newswatchlist.com.