Hunter S Thompson

I think I’ve mentioned him a few times on this blog already, but he is one of my favourite writers of all time, and a truly fascinating man – I’d like to invite him round for tea, even though he’d probably turn up wasted and try to shoot me. Happy Birthday, Hunter S Thompson!

Who?
Hunter S Thompson, a.k.a Hunter Stockton Thompson.

When?
He was born on the 18^th July 1937, and died in February 2005. His most famous work, ‘Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas’ was published in 1972.

Where?
Hunter S Thompson was born in Kentucky. He went to jail for being an accessory to robbery in 1955, and after leaving jail joined the US Air force, where he trained in first Texas, and then Florida before moving to Pennsylvania and New York. In 1960 he moved to Puerto Rico to write for a Sports magazine, and in 1964 he moved to California to write for National Observer. In 1965, after the newspaper refused to print some of his work, he moved to San Francisco, where he joined the drug culture. In 1967 he moved to Colorado where he died in 2005.

What?
He is most famous for writing the drug-fuelled novel ‘Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas’, which was later made into a film.

He was however, predominantly a journalist. He invented Gonzo journalism in 1970. If you don’t know what Gonzo journalism is, and you're into that sort of thing, I definately recommend checking it out because it’s brilliant. I’m hoping to try it out soon.

A member of the NRA (National Rifle Association), he campaigned for the right to bear arms, and had a huge collection of guns and explosives. He was also an advocate of drugs, as shown in one of his many many famous quotes, "I hate to advocate drugs, alcohol, violence or insanity to anyone, but they've always worked for me."

Here are some more famous Hunter S Thompson quotes:

"When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro"

"Buy the ticket, take the ride"

"Too weird to live, too rare to die"

“If you're going to be crazy, you have to get paid for it or else you're going to be locked up”

"If I'd written the truth I knew for the past ten years, about 600 people—including me—would be rotting in prison cells from Rio to Seattle today. Absolute truth is a very rare and dangerous commodity in the context of professional journalism."

“It's a strange world. Some people get rich and others eat shit and die.”

Expect to see more quotes from him around here in the future.

Thompson died in 2005. He shot himself, and his suicide note 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"

At his funeral, his ashes were shot from a cannon along with red, white and blue fireworks to the sound of Bob Dylan’s ‘Mr Tambourine Man’. His funeral was financed by his friend Johnny Depp.