175 Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas

[JHunter]

The Drudge Report has the headline "SON: AUTHOR HUNTER S. THOMPSON KILLS SELF" up. There are no details yet, but I'm sure it will be coming soon.

ETA: More details: "Troy Hooper, of the ASPEN DAILY NEWS, confirms that 'Gonzo' journalist Hunter S. Thompson shot himself to death Sunday at his Aspen, CO home... Developing... "

[denti alligator]

ASPEN, Colo. - Hunter S. Thompson, the acerbic counterculture writer who popularized a new form of journalism in books like "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas," fatally shot himself Sunday night at his Aspen-area home, his son said. He was 67.

"Hunter prized his privacy and we ask that his friends and admirers respect that privacy as well as that of his family," Juan Thompson said in a statement released to the Aspen Daily News.

Pitkin County Sheriff Bob Braudis, a personal friend of Thompson, confirmed the death to the News. Sheriff's officials did not return calls to The Associated Press late Sunday.

[Mr Pixies]

Really sad, I wonder if it was an accident?

Did he ever get that monument built, that big six-fingered hand? On the BCC doc on the dvd he talks about it, if it hasn't materialized yet, I wonder if it's going up, I thought he said he wanted it to be hid tomb,

[exte]

This is so sad and unexpected. Not too long ago, my friend and I were very fond of impersonating Hunter after listening to his commentary on Fear and Loathing. It was beautiful, but I think the loss will be greater for that friend who is such a fan of him, and has been reading all of his books...

[THX1378]

This is something that is so unexpected that I'm at a lose of words. I've been a big fan of Hunter's work ever since I was in high school and first read his book about the Hell's Angels. I remember being one of a handful of people seeing Fear and Loathing when it first came out in theaters. It was very funny because 2 of them were teenagers whom when they walked out said that they didn't get it at all what the film was supost to be about. I still laugh about it cause I think that there are a lot of us out there whom got what Hunter was getting at with his writing and what he was doing. Very sad news

[Martha]

Really sad, I wonder if it was an accident.

Doesn't sound like it.

I'm interested that everyone is so surprised; perhaps my own lack of surprise is due only to a lack of in-depth knowledge about Thompson. When I heard the news this morning, my response was something along the lines of "Huh. Yeah, sort of makes sense." My general, totally-created-by-his-public-persona impression of Thompson is that he was frequently disgusted by and at war with modern America-- thus, the fact that he finally just had enough (apparently) doesn't exactly shock me. I'd love to hear a bit about him from those of you who are fans and find this end so surprising (and I'll split stuff off into a new thread if it starts to take this one over)....

[THX1378]

I'd love to hear a bit about him from those of you who are fans and find this end so surprising (and I'll split stuff off into a new thread if it starts to take this one over)....

When my brother woke and I told him he was like WHAT THE? The thing is that yeah he was disgusted by and at war with modern America like you said. But here was a brave and fearless man, someone that was at war with the way that modern America has turned out, but still loved life in his own weird way. To me he took the cowards way out. I always thought that Hunter would go out with a hail of gunfire by the aspen police, while taken some massive hits of LSD. Something crazy like that to make one last great headline. But thats maybe the myth that Hunter created and wanted us all to belive that he would go that way. My brother said he was suprised that he never went of a drug overdose or something along that line many years ago. Whats sad is that now people because of Hunter's death are going to become curious not only about his books and writing, but there going to rent or buy Fear and Loathing to see what all the fuss about Hunter was all about.

[mbalson]

"Huh. Yeah, sort of makes sense."

I thought the exact same thing and actually said so to my partner this morning. I would have been more surprised to hear that he died of natural causes.

[cdnchris]

A link to some of Hunter's articles on ESPN.

The most recent was the 15th, about shotgun golf, which sounds like a lot of fun, scary enough.

I always thought he hated Murray because of his "Thompson performance" in Where the Buffalo Roam...

[Nihonophile]

Bear in mind that Hunter had various health mishaps recently. He talks about a brain hemorrhage(or at least something cranial) that he had in one of his ESPN articles less than 2 years ago. I think some complications set in and he decided to die in his cherished home instead of an operating table.

[exte]

Whats sad is that now people because of Hunter's death are going to become curious not only about his books and writing, but there going to rent or buy Fear and Loathing to see what all the fuss about Hunter was all about.

And how is this sad? I think it's a wonderful thing for people to take another look at all of his works if they haven't done so already. There's nothing wrong with that, and I don't think that's why Hunter killed himself, if that's what you're suggesting...

[Mr Sausage]

"Huh. Yeah, sort of makes sense."

I thought the exact same thing and actually said so to my partner this morning. I would have been more surprised to hear that he died of natural causes.

I agree about the last sentence, but I'm completely shocked none the less because it came unexpectedly, and also I never once figured Hunter would kill himself. If he was anything it was a stubborn fighter, and I never pictured him to go like this. But he suffered through some severe depression in the eighties and perhaps it resurged. Or maybe it did have something to do with that brain hemorrhage, and he decided to take the Hemingway route (which he incidently did an article on sometime in the sixties).

No one else has given such a cheerful salute to excess, and I'll damn well miss it.

[Theodore R. Stockton]

Whats sad is that now people because of Hunter's death are going to become curious not only about his books and writing, but there going to rent or buy Fear and Loathing to see what all the fuss about Hunter was all about.

Think of how many people have read The Bell Jar just because Plaith killed herself. That doesn't make that any less of an achievement.

[Fletch F. Fletch]

One recent article pointed out that one of Hunter's literary heroes was Hemingway who happened to kill himself in similar fashion.

I remember first reading Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and it was one of those seminal books of my formative youth, along with Catcher in the Rye and On the Road. F&L (and all of Hunter's output) conveys such a unique perspective and view of the world. I always enjoyed reading his writing with Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail '72 being one of my faves (right up there with F&L). He had the ability to be pithy yet degenerate in the same sentence.

He really was a true original and will be sorely missed.

If anyone's interested, here is a really good HST site with tons of links to online tributes to the man: http://www.gonzo.org/

[Jun-Dai]

Perhaps he found what he came here for, but the odds are huge that he didn't. He was an old, sick, and very troubled man, and the illusion of peace and contentment was not enough for him-- not even when his friends came up from Cuba and played bullfight with him in the Tram. And finally, and for what he must have thought the best of reasons, he ended it with a shotgun.

[Mr Sausage]

Perhaps he found what he came here for, but the odds are huge that he didn't. He was an old, sick, and very troubled man, and the illusion of peace and contentment was not enough for him-- not even when his friends came up from Cuba and played bullfight with him in the Tram. And finally, and for what he must have thought the best of reasons, he ended it with a shotgun.

I reread Hunter's Hemingway article yesterday--it's eerie how prescient it is forty years later. But he did outlive his own expected life span. I think he gave himself until the mid-sixties. In any case, I was also reminded of this passage written in the introduction for The Great Shark Hunt, which isn't as prophetic as the first, but gains a kind of new perspective:

I feel like I might as well be sitting up here carving the words for my own tombstone...and when I finish, the only fitting exit will be straight off this fucking terrace and into The Fountain, 28 stories below and at least 200 yards out in the air and across Fifth Avenue.

Nobody could follow that act. Not even me...and in fact the only way I can deal with this eerie situation at all is to make a conscious decision that I have already lived and finished the life I planned to live--(13 years longer, in fact)--and everything from now on will be A New Life, a different thing, a gig that ends tonight and starts tomorrow morning.

So if I decide to leap for The Fountain when I finish this memo, I want to make one thing perfectly clear--I would genuinely love to make that leap, and if I don't I will always consider it a mistake and a failed opportunity, one of the very few serious mistakes of my First Life that is now ending.

He always was an original.

[neuro]

As an perfect companion to Sausage's findings...

From yahoo.com:

Late Hunter S. Thompson wanted ashes to be fired from a cannon : friend

LOS ANGELES (AFP) - US author Hunter S. Thompson, who committed suicide last weekend, wanted to exit this world in a style befitting his extraordinary life: being fired from a cannon, a friend revealed.

The larger-than-life writer of "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" stated in his will that he wanted his ashes to be fired out of a cannon following his funeral, plans for which have yet to be announced.

"I believe he wanted to be shot out of a cannon," friend Troy Hooper told AFP.

"I understand it's in his will," said Hooper, associate editor of the Aspen Daily News, based near the Colorado home where Thompson, 67, apparently shot himself on Sunday.

"That's Hunter's style. That's how he would want it. He was a big fan of bonfires and explosions and anything that went bang and I'm sure he'd like to go bang as well," he said.

[skuhn8]

Seems he was coming undone physically. I suppose we can't control how we come into the world, but can have some say on how we leave it. God bless him. He'll be missed.

[Nihonophile]

thanks for the link, I'm glad someone finally reported the obvious

[chaddoli]

Don't know if anyone caught it last night, but on The Daily Show's "Moment of Zen," they showed the clip from Fear and Loathing in Gonzovision showing Thompson talking about adding chlorophyll to his drinks (which was weird because, like a few others here, I had just finishing watching the doc in memory). They then froze the clip and said "Hunter S. Thompson 1937 - 2005." I thought it was cool.

On a side note, I got pretty emotional watching the doc again, especially the end with him walking through the field with "Mr. Tambourine Man" playing. I hope they play that at his funeral, along with his other requests.

[THX1378]

And how is this sad? I think it's a wonderful thing for people to take another look at all of his works if they haven't done so already. There's nothing wrong with that, and I don't think that's why Hunter killed himself, if that's what you're suggesting...

No no, thats not what I was getting at. What I was getting at was that many people after they die, their work gets really popuar because of their death. This has happened with Tupac, Kurt Cobain, and many others. I don't think that in any way was why Hunter did what he did.

If people flock to his material now due only to his departure, well... at least his ideas will still be read.

Yeah that is a good thing but will they read then for the right reasons or not. In away I'm glad that if more people read Hunter's work and do get him. Maybe that it will open them up to a ton of other great works by the likes of Tom Wolfe and other writers of the time. And that is a good thing.

[Fletch F. Fletch]

Yeah that is a good thing but will they read then for the right reasons or not. In away I'm glad that if more people read Hunter's work and do get him. Maybe that it will open them up to a ton of other great works by the likes of Tom Wolfe and other writers of the time. And that is a good thing.

And it's already happening, check this out:

Sales soar for Hunter Thompson books
Wednesday, February 23, 2005. CNN.com

LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- Sales of "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" and other favorites by Hunter S. Thompson have soared since the "gonzo" journalist killed himself Sunday.

"Fear and Loathing" was No. 15 on Amazon.com as of Wednesday and publisher Vintage Books has ordered a "significant" reprinting.

"We usually sell about 60,000-70,000 copies a year of that book and our next printing will be close to that total," Vintage spokesman Russell Perreault said.

Other Thompson books selling well include "Hell's Angels," "Fear and Loathing: On the Campaign Trail '72" and "Hey Rube."

[exte]

Let's set the record straight. Despite prior reports, he did NOT use a shotgun, and he did NOT kill himself while on the phone. He was merely heard loading the gun. She hung up before she heard anything.

Here's the article from the LA Times:

Sat Feb 26, 7:55 AM ET Top Stories - Los Angeles Times

By David Kelly Times Staff Writer

DENVER — On the last day of his life, Hunter S. Thompson woke with his usual breakfast of fresh fruit inside a thin layer of jello with gin and Grand Marnier drizzled on top.

His wife, Anita, carefully put a lemon on the side and hovered near his chair. It was 5 p.m., the time the writer normally began his day.

"Suddenly he began talking about something weird, I can't remember exactly what," she recalled in an interview Friday. "He began to get angry with me. He had a strange look on his face. He told me to get out of the room. I was like: 'What do you mean?' He had never kicked me out of a room before."

The final countdown had begun.

Angry and hurt, Anita grabbed her bag and stomped out.

"When I got to the gym in Aspen, I called because I felt bad," said the 32-year-old, who lived with Thompson for five years before marrying him in 2003. "He was so sweet. I asked if he wanted me to come back, and he said he did. He said we could work on a column. We usually made up when he wrote."

Then Thompson did something strange. He took her off speakerphone — his preferred method of talking to people — and picked up his headset and continued talking.

"Then I heard a lot of clicking noises, it seemed to me to be a typewriter clicking," Anita Thompson said. "I listened for 45 seconds and heard other noises. I figured he was not going to pick up the headset again, so I hung up."

About the same time on Sunday — 5:40 p.m. — Thompson's son, Juan, his daughter-in-law and his 6-year-old grandson were in another room of the Owl Ranch compound in Woody Creek, a few miles northwest of Aspen. Juan heard a bang, a noise he figured was a book falling.

Anita Thompson had just finished a yoga class when a friend heard that something bad had occurred at Owl Ranch.

"I called my cellphone and there was a message from Juan saying 'Anita, you have to come home; he's dead.' I started to panic. I knew this day would come, but not like this."

Thompson, the hard-drinking writer who coined the term "gonzo journalism" and wrote drug-fueled best-sellers such as "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas," had finally done it.

Cursed with increasingly bad health and never expecting to see 40 — let alone 67 — Thompson had decided to go out, as his widow said, "like a champion."

He had put a .45-caliber pistol in his mouth while sitting in his favorite chair at the kitchen table and pulled the trigger.

When Anita Thompson arrived at Owl Farm, guarded by two metal buzzards at the gate, the place was swarming with police. She shouted at officers and demanded to see her husband's body.

"I was certain I could turn this whole thing around with sheer willpower," she said tearfully. "The sheriff's deputies said I shouldn't see the body because they thought it would be too horrible."

She pushed into the kitchen and found Thompson still in the chair. He had done a remarkable job, she thought. The pistol shot did no damage to his face and there was little blood.

"As soon as I saw him, all that craziness, all the anger and fear, went away," she said. "I held him, kissed his head and rubbed his leg like I always did. Thank God he didn't do much damage. I said it was OK, Hunter; I know what you did. Suddenly, there was nothing but peace."

Thompson and his wife had been at odds for years about his talk of suicide. She threatened to leave the compound and wash her hands of his work and his legacy if he carried out his threat. In the end, he would back down and vow not to do it.

But the pain of hip replacement surgery, back surgery, a lung infection and a broken leg was taking its toll.

"It was definitely not a spur-of-the-moment thing," said Douglas Brinkley, a professor of American history at Tulane University and literary executor of Thompson's will. "He had been looking at his options for a few months. One option was physical rehabilitation. A second option was to stop drinking and move to a warmer climate. The other option was to kill himself. No one knows how long he considered it — he used to say he wasn't afraid to kill himself all the time."

In keeping with his outsized persona, gun-loving Thompson told friends he wanted his ashes to be blasted out of a cannon on his property. A team of experts is working on that now.

Angels Flight of Castaic, Calif., which puts human ashes into fireworks and explodes them in the sky, has offered its services.

"We have done cannons in the past. It would not be difficult to do human remains," said Nick Drobnis, company president. "But if someone didn't understand pyrotechnics and tried to cram the remains into a cannon, they could end up with a detonation."

Before he was cremated this week, Thompson's wife dressed him in his favorite blue pin-striped, seersucker suit. She put his Tilley hat on his head, a red silk handkerchief in his pocket and his reading glasses on his eyes. She also included snapshots of the two of them — along with her long, blond ponytail.

"Hunter's death was not grisly. He was in the catbird seat in the kitchen, in the mountains by his wife and family. He wanted to go out while he was still on top, not wither away," she said.

Thompson wasn't always easy to live with. He could be a 6-foot-2 angry child sometimes, his wife said.

"He hated people who talked too much, he hated cellphones and he couldn't stand a drunk — he actually never seemed drunk himself," she said. "The difference between Hunter and other writers is he never used drugs as an excuse not to work. He used them as an excuse to work. He wrote the first half of 'Hells Angels' in six months. He wrote the second half in four days on whisky and Dexedrine — and that was the best part."

Despite her vows to leave the ranch if he killed himself, Anita Thompson is planning to stay and promote Thompson's legacy.

"If you are ever weak, sad or confused, you can read Hunter and feel better," she said. "I will continue to work with Hunter for the rest of my life."

[Lino]

From Taschen newsletter. Follow this link. It's SO worth it. If only Gilliam would get his hands on this baby!

[Fletch F. Fletch]

From Taschen newsletter. Follow this link. It's SO worth it. If only Gilliam would get his hands on this baby!

That's a pretty sweet book! Damn, if only I had the $$$.

As far as I heard, the film adaptation on The Rum Diary is still a go with Johnny Depp and Nick Nolte.