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Who Was Hunter S. Thompson?
Hunter S. Thompson was an American journalist and author who pioneered a style of reporting known as “Gonzo Journalism,” a blend of fact and personal experience that emphasized subjectivity and immersion. Born in Louisville, Kentucky, in 1937, Thompson displayed an early interest in writing and began his career as a journalist while serving in the United States Air Force. After leaving the military, he gained national recognition for his immersive, often controversial reporting on a variety of subjects, most notably in his 1972 book Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. His provocative writing style, combined with his rebellious lifestyle, made him a countercultural icon throughout his life.
Thompson’s career was marked by both literary success and personal excess. Known for his love of drugs, alcohol, and firearms, he cultivated a persona that was as much a part of his work as his actual writing. Despite his wild lifestyle, Thompson was a skilled writer whose work provided sharp social and political commentary. However, his use of substances also took a toll on his health, and in 2005, Thompson died by suicide at the age of 67.
Early Life
Hunter Stockton Thompson was born on July 18, 1937, in Louisville, Kentucky. Raised by his mother, Virginia, after his father’s death when he was a teenager, Thompson developed a reputation for mischief and rebellion from a young age. He ran with a group of troublemakers, often testing the boundaries of authority. Despite his rebellious streak, Thompson had a talent for writing and was invited to join the prestigious Athenaeum Literary Association while still in high school.
However, his contributions to the group were often irreverent and satirical, and he soon became known as a prankster. His misbehavior escalated during his teenage years, leading to multiple arrests for offenses ranging from vandalism to robbery. Given a choice between jail and military service, Thompson chose the latter, enlisting in the United States Air Force in 1956.
‘Hell’s Angels’
After completing basic training, Thompson was stationed at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida, where he worked as a sports editor for the base’s newspaper. However, his rebellious nature clashed with the strict military environment, leading to an early discharge in 1958. Following his departure from the Air Force, Thompson embarked on a nomadic career in journalism, working for various small-town newspapers across the United States and briefly for Time magazine.
In 1965, Thompson gained widespread attention with his article on the notorious Hells Angels motorcycle gang, published in The Nation. The success of the piece led to a book deal, and Thompson spent a year embedded with the gang, documenting their lifestyle. His book, Hell’s Angels: The Strange and Terrible Saga of the Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs, published in 1967, was an instant success. The immersive and often dangerous nature of his reporting, combined with his vivid, hallucinatory writing style, helped solidify Thompson’s reputation as a fearless and innovative journalist.
Gonzo Journalism
In 1967, with the proceeds from Hell’s Angels, Hunter S. Thompson purchased a compound on the outskirts of Aspen, Colorado, which he named Owl Creek. He moved there with his wife, Sandy Conklin, whom he had married in 1963, and their son, Juan, born in 1964. Despite the appearance of domestic tranquility, Thompson was far from settling down. His career as a journalist was defined by his constant travel, covering a range of topics for various magazines, including the hippie movement, the Vietnam War, and the 1968 presidential campaigns, all presented in his irreverent and subjective style.
Among the most significant of his works was The Kentucky Derby Is Decadent and Depraved, published in the June 1970 edition of Scanlan’s Monthly. This rambling, first-person account of the Derby was more about the experience of witnessing the event than the event itself, marking a shift in how journalism could be both immersive and personal. Accompanied by illustrations from British artist Ralph Steadman, the piece became a defining example of Gonzo Journalism — a style that blends fact with fiction, where the journalist becomes an active participant in the story.
Thompson’s success did not quell his rebellious nature. In 1970, he ran for sheriff of Pitkin County, Colorado, under the “Freak Power” ticket. His platform included decriminalizing drugs, renaming Aspen “Fat City,” and replacing the asphalt streets with sod. Though he narrowly lost, Thompson’s account of the campaign, The Battle of Aspen, was published in Rolling Stone that October, cementing his relationship with the magazine, where he would continue to serve as national affairs editor until 1999.
‘Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas’
In 1971, Thompson was assigned by Sports Illustrated to cover the Mint 400 motorcycle race in the Nevada desert. However, the story he produced was not about the race at all, but rather a hallucinatory narrative about his alter ego, Raoul Duke, and his attorney, Dr. Gonzo (Thompson’s friend Oscar Acosta), as they embarked on a wild, drug-fueled journey in search of the American Dream in Las Vegas.
Although Sports Illustrated rejected the piece, it was serialized in Rolling Stone in November 1971 and later expanded into Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: A Savage Journey to the Heart of the American Dream. Published in hardcover by Random House in 1972, the book became both a critical and commercial success, cementing Thompson’s status as a cultural icon. The novel was adapted into a film in 1998, directed by Terry Gilliam and starring Johnny Depp and Benicio Del Toro. Depp, a fan of Thompson’s work, would later develop a friendship with the author and star in a 2011 adaptation of The Rum Diary.
Rough Times
Following his newfound celebrity, Thompson continued his coverage of the 1972 presidential campaigns of Richard Nixon and George McGovern, which resulted in the book Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail ’72. His sharp, incendiary style, blending humor with political critique, resonated with readers, but this period also marked a decline in his productivity. In 1974, Thompson was sent to cover the “Rumble in the Jungle” boxing match between George Foreman and Muhammad Ali in Zaire, but instead of attending the fight, he spent his time floating in a hotel pool, tossing marijuana into the water. This incident epitomized his growing frustration with traditional journalism and his own self-destructive tendencies. Many projects that followed were begun with enthusiasm but ultimately abandoned. In 1980, his wife Sandy divorced him, adding personal turmoil to his struggles.
Later Works and Death
Thompson continued to write throughout the 1980s and 1990s, with Random House publishing four volumes of his collected works under the title The Gonzo Papers. In 2003, he published Kingdom of Fear, a semi-autobiographical and rambling exploration of his life and thoughts, through Simon & Schuster. However, by 2005, Thompson was battling chronic depression, disillusionment with the world, and various health issues. On February 20, 2005, at his Owl Creek compound, he ended his life with a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
In August of that year, a private ceremony was held to honor Thompson’s life, attended by hundreds of friends and admirers. As a final tribute, Thompson’s ashes were shot from a cannon, set to the music of Bob Dylan’s Mr. Tambourine Man, embodying the same defiance and irreverence that defined his entire career.