Historical records matching Hunter S. Thompson
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About Hunter S. Thompson
Hunter Stockton Thompson (1937 – 2005) was an American journalist and author, and the founder of the gonzo journalism movement.
Born in Louisville, Kentucky, to a middle-class family, Thompson had a turbulent youth after the death of his father left the family in poverty. He was unable to formally finish high school as he was incarcerated for 60 days after abetting a robbery. He subsequently joined the United States Air Force, becoming a sports writer for Stars and Stripes, before moving deeper into journalism. He traveled frequently, including stints in California, Puerto Rico, and Brazil, before settling in Aspen, Colorado, in the early 1960s.
Thompson became internationally known with the publication of Hell's Angels (1967). For his research on the book he had spent a year living and riding with the motorcycle gang Hells Angels, experiencing their members' lives and hearing their stories first-hand. Previously a relatively conventional journalist, with the publication in 1970 of The Kentucky Derby Is Decadent and Depraved he became a counter-cultural figure, with his own brand of New Journalism which he termed "Gonzo", an experimental style of journalism where reporters involve themselves in the action to such a degree that they become central figures of their stories. The work he remains best known for, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1971), constitutes a rumination on the failure of the 1960s counterculture movement. It was first serialized in Rolling Stone, a magazine with which Thompson would be long associated, and was adapted into film a couple of times; loosely as Where the Buffalo Roam with Bill Murray in 1980, and again, more successfully in 1998, as the eponymous film starring Johnny Depp and Benicio del Toro and directed by Terry Gilliam.
Politically minded, Thompson ran unsuccessfully for sheriff of Aspen, Pitkin County, Colorado, in 1970, on the Freak Power ticket. He became well known for his inveterate hatred of Richard Nixon, who he claimed represented "that dark, venal, and incurably violent side of the American character" and whom he characterized in Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail '72.
Thompson's output notably declined from the mid-1970s, as he struggled with the consequences of fame, and he complained that he could no longer merely report on events as he was too easily recognized. He was also known for his lifelong use of alcohol and illegal drugs, his love of firearms, and his iconoclastic contempt for authoritarianism. He remarked: "I hate to advocate drugs, alcohol, violence, or insanity to anyone, but they've always worked for me."
After a bout of health problems, Thompson committed suicide at the age of 67. In accordance with his wishes, his ashes were fired out of a cannon in a ceremony funded by his friend Johnny Depp and attended by friends including then-Senator John Kerry and Jack Nicholson.
Hari Kunzru wrote that "The true voice of Thompson is revealed to be that of American moralist... One who often makes himself ugly to expose the ugliness he sees around him."
In 2005, Thompson's inner circle told the press that he had been depressed and always found February a "gloomy" month, with football season over and the harsh Colorado winter weather. He was also upset over his advancing age and chronic medical problems, including a hip replacement; he would frequently mutter "This kid is getting old." Rolling Stone published what Doug Brinkley described as a suicide note written by Thompson to his wife, titled "Football Season Is Over". 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."
HST running for the Sheriff of Aspen, Colorado in 1970
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Hunter S. Thompson's Timeline
| 1937 |
July 18, 1937
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Louisville, Jefferson County, Kentucky, United States
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| 2005 |
February 20, 2005
Age 67
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Woody Creek, Pitkin County, Colorado, United States
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August 20, 2005
Age 67
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Aspen, Pitkin County, Colorado, United States
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