Journalist and author Hunter S. Thompson, who unleashed the concept of "gonzo journalism" in books like "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas," fatally shot himself in the head Sunday at his home near Aspen, Colorado, police and his family said.
"On Feb. 20, Dr. Hunter S. Thompson took his life with a gunshot to the head at his fortified compound in Woody Creek, Colo.," said a statement issued by Thompson's son, Juan Thompson, to the Aspen Daily News as reported by the Denver Post.
"The family will shortly provide more information about memorial service and media contacts. Hunter prized his privacy, and we ask that his friends and admirers respect that privacy as well as that of his family."
A dispatcher for the Pitkin County Sheriff's Department confirmed Thompson's death.
Thompson, 67, was associated with the "New Journalism" movement of the 1960s, in which writers took a more novelistic and personal approach to their subjects. His account of a drug-fueled trip to cover a district attorneys' anti-drug conference as a writer for Rolling Stone magazine was the seed of "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas," perhaps his best-known work.
Subtitled "A Savage Journey to the Heart of the American Dream," the 1971 book included his lament on the passing of the 1960s and its "sense of inevitable victory over the forces of Old and Evil."
"There was no point in fighting -- on our side or theirs," he wrote. "We had all the momentum; we were riding the crest of a high and beautiful wave. So now, less than five years later, you can go up on a steep hill in Las Vegas and look West, and with the right kind of eyes you can almost see the high-water mark -- the place where the wave finally broke and rolled back."
In "Fear and Loathing: On the Campaign Trail '72," he described the campaign leading to Richard Nixon's re-election as president with terms like "brutal" and "depraved," speculating that Democratic Sen. Ed Muskie was under the influence of an obscure African psychoactive drug and bemoaned Nixon's looming victory by proclaiming, "Jesus, where will it end? How low do you have to stoop in this country to become president?"
Other works included "The Great Shark Hunt," a collection of Watergate-era essays; "Generation of Swine," his lament on the youth of the 1980s; and his account of Bill Clinton's 1992 presidential win, "Better than Sex." His lone novel, "The Rum Diaries," was published in 1998, while a collection of letters, "The Proud Highway: The Saga of a Desperate Southern Gentleman," came out in 1997.
In recent years, he wrote a column for the sports network ESPN's Web site. In his most recent piece, posted Feb. 15, he describes shooting at golf balls like skeet with a friend near his longtime home -- he called it "a fortified compound" -- outside Aspen.
"The general reaction here is shock and dismay, because he was such a figure in town," Aspen resident John Hoag told CNN. Still, Hoag said, Thompson remained a private person. "The most news we heard from him was when a pack of dogs killed his peacock, Atillah, and he broke his leg in Hawaii last year."
Thompson also was the model for the character of "Uncle Duke" in the "Doonesbury" comic strip. But Thompson strongly disliked the characterization, once telling an interviewer that he would set "Doonesbury" creator Garry Trudeau on fire if the two ever met.
In later years, however, Thompson said he had made peace with the "Uncle Duke" portrayal.
"I got used to it a long time ago," he told Freezerbox magazine in 2003. "I used to be a little perturbed by it. It was a lot more personal ... It no longer bothers me."
In 1980, actor Bill Murray portrayed Thompson in the film "Where the Buffalo Roam." And in 1998, the film "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" was released, based on Thompson's book and starring Johnny Depp as the journalist. A new film reportedly is in production based on Thompson's novel "The Rum Diaries."
The writer himself, Hoag said, will be missed. "There's no one in the world these days who writes the truth ... as he seems to, to me," he said. "He spoke to the world and said what people were afraid to say."
:'(... Een briljant schrijver voor wie ik persoonlijk veel respect had. Spijtig, had gehoopt hem ooit nog de hand te kunnen schudden.
R.I.P, Doctor!
Okay, dit had ik dus totaal niet verwacht.
Jammer.
[ Bericht 96% gewijzigd door NorthernStar op 21-02-2005 08:28:16 ]
En zelfmoord is altijd treurig, voor de mensen zelf en voor de mensen die achterblijven...
quote:De film is behoorlijk getrouw aan het boek gebleven. Leest zich ook zeer lekker weg!Op maandag 21 februari 2005 08:40 schreef BBQ-kip het volgende:
Fear and Loathing is zo'n goeie film, wist niet dat de beste man het boek had geschreven...
En zelfmoord is altijd treurig, voor de mensen zelf en voor de mensen die achterblijven...
Ergens ook wel begrijpelijk dat hij de hand aan zichzelf heeft geslagen. De doctor heeft praktisch iedere drug gebruikt die bestaat, dus ik denk dat zoiets nooit positief kan uitpakken op latere leeftijd.
Een groot man heeft ons verlaten, maar gelukkig ook een grote erfenis achtergelaten.
quote:Meer lezen dus, het is het waard.Op maandag 21 februari 2005 08:40 schreef BBQ-kip het volgende:
Fear and Loathing is zo'n goeie film, wist niet dat de beste man het boek had geschreven...
En zelfmoord is altijd treurig, voor de mensen zelf en voor de mensen die achterblijven...
quote:Idd, kurt cobain, herman brood...Op maandag 21 februari 2005 08:50 schreef Disorder het volgende:
Shit. Het zijn ook altijd de kleurrijke personen die zelfmoord plegen
quote:http://www.cnn.com/2005/SHOWBIZ/books/02/21/thompson.obit/index.htmlOp maandag 21 februari 2005 08:54 schreef yvonne het volgende:
Ik kan het nog nergens verder vinden?
quote:Dank je, ff lezenOp maandag 21 februari 2005 08:55 schreef Disorder het volgende:
[..]
http://www.cnn.com/2005/S(...)pson.obit/index.html
[ Bericht 98% gewijzigd door yvonne op 21-02-2005 09:00:56 ]
quote:Ja boeien. Open in R&P maar een topic over hoe oneerlijk zelfmoord en de wereld wel niet is. Je loopt alleen maar weer te kutten en je hebt de afgelopen al herhaaldelijk waarschuwingen gehad.Op maandag 21 februari 2005 08:57 schreef Youssef het volgende:
[..]
Hoezo wegHoe leg je zelfmoord uit aan iemand die kanker heeft en op sterven ligt, of AIDS of of of
quote:Op http://www.gonzo.org staan links naar meer artikelen.Op maandag 21 februari 2005 08:54 schreef yvonne het volgende:
Ik kan het nog nergens verder vinden?
hmmm kut !quote:Z'n eerste column in maanden, en ook meteen z'n laatste.Shotgun Golf with Bill Murray
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By Hunter S. Thompson
Page 2
The death of professional hockey in AMERICA is a nasty omen for people with heavy investments in NHL teams. But to me, it meant little or nothing -- and that's why I called Bill Murray with an idea that would change both our lives forever.
It was 3:30 on a dark Tuesday morning when I heard the phone ring on his personal line in New Jersey. "Good thinking," I said to myself as I fired up a thin Cohiba. "He's bound to be wide awake and crackling at this time of day, or at least I can leave a very excited message."
My eerie hunch was right. The crazy bugger picked up on the fourth ring, and I felt my heart racing. "Hot damn!" I thought. "This is how empires are built." Late? I know not late.
Genius round the world stands hand in hand, and one shock of recognition runs the whole circle round.
Herman Melville said that in the winter of 1914, and Murray is keenly aware of it. Only a madman would call a legend of Bill Murray's stature at 3:33 a.m. for no good reason at all. It would be a career-ending move, and also profoundly rude.
But my reason was better than good ...
* * * * *
BILL: "Hello?"
HST: "Hi, Bill, it's Hunter."
BILL: "Hi, Hunter."
HST: "Are you ready for a powerful idea? I want to ask you about golf in Japan. I understand they're building vertical driving ranges on top of each other."
BILL (sounding strangely alert): "Yes, they have them outdoors, under roofs ..."
HST: "I've seen pictures. I thought they looked like bowling alleys stacked on top of each other."
BILL: (Laughs.)
HST: "I'm working on a profoundly goofy story here. It's wonderful. I've invented a new sport. It's called Shotgun Golf. We will rule the world with this thing."
BILL: "Mmhmm."
HST: "I've called you for some consulting advice on how to launch it. We've actually already launched it. Last spring, the Sheriff and I played a game outside in the yard here. He had my Ping Beryllium 9-iron, and I had his shotgun, and about 100 yards away, we had a linoleum green and a flag set up. He was pitching toward the green. And I was standing about 10 feet away from him, with the alley-sweeper. And my objective was to blow his ball off course, like a clay pigeon."
BILL: (Laughs.)
HST: "It didn't work at first. The birdshot I was using was too small. But double-aught buck finally worked for sure. And it was fun."
BILL: (Chuckles.)
HST: "OK, I didn't want to wake you up, but I knew you'd want to be in on the ground floor of this thing."
BILL: (Silence.)
HST: "Do you want to discuss this tomorrow?"
BILL: "Sure."
HST: "Excellent."
BILL: "I think I might have a queer dream about it now, but ..." (Laughs.)
HST: "This sport has a HUGE future. Golf in America will soon come to this."
BILL: "It will bring a whole new meaning to the words 'Driving Range'."
HST: "Especially when you stack them on top of each other. I've seen it in Japan."
BILL: "They definitely have multi-level driving ranges. Yes."
HST: (Laughs.) "How does that work? Do they have extremely high ceilings?"
BILL: "No. The roof above your tee only projects out about 10 feet, and they have another range right above you. It's like they took the façade off a building. People would be hanging out of their offices."
HST: "I see. It's like one of those original Hyatt Regency Hotels. Like an atrium. In the middle of the building you could jump straight down into the lobby?"
BILL: "Exactly like that!"
HST: "It's like people driving balls from one balcony to the next."
BILL: (Laughs.) "Yes, they could."
HST: "I could be on the eighth floor and you on the sixth? Or on the fifteenth. And we'd be driving across a lake."
BILL: "They have flags out every 150 yards, every 200 yards, every 250 yards. It's just whether you are hitting it at ground level, or from five stories up."
HST: "I want to find out more about this. This definitely has a future to it."
BILL: "They have one here in the city -- down at Chelsea Pier."
HST: "You must have played a lot of golf in Japan."
BILL: "Not much; I just had one really great day of golf. I worked most of the time. But I did play one beautiful golf course. They have seasonal greens, two different types of grass. It's really beautiful."
HST: "Well, I'm writing a column for ESPN.com and I want to know if you like my new golf idea. A two-man team."
BILL: "Well, with all safety in mind, yes. Two-man team? Yeah! That sounds great. I think it would create a whole new look. It would create a whole new clothing line."
HST: "Absolutely. You'll need a whole new wardrobe for this game."
BILL: "Shooting glasses and everything."
HST: "We'll obviously have to make a movie. This will mushroom or mutate -- either way -- into a real craze. And given the mood of this country, being that a lot of people in the mood to play golf are also in the mood to shoot something, I think it would take off like a gigantic fad."
BILL: "I think the two-man team idea would be wonderful competition and is something the Ryder Cup would pick up on."
HST: "I was talking with the Sheriff about it earlier. But in one-man competition, I'd have to compete against you, say, in both of the arts -- the shooting AND the golfing. But if you do the Ryder Cup, you'd have to have the clothing line first. I'm going to write about this for ESPN tonight. I'm naming you and the Sheriff as the founding consultants."
BILL: "Sounds good."
HST: "OK, I'll call you tomorrow. And by the way, I'll see if I can twist some arms and get you an Oscar. But I want a Nobel Prize in return."
BILL: "Well, we can work together on this. This is definitely a team challenge." (Laughing.)
HST: "OK. We'll talk tomorrow."
BILL: "Good night."
So there it is. Shotgun Golf will soon take America by storm. I see it as the first truly violent leisure sport. Millions will crave it.
* * * * *
Shotgun Golf was invented in the ominous summer of 2004 AD, right here at the Owl Farm in Woody Creek, Colo. The first game was played between me and Sheriff Bob Braudis, on the ancient Bomb & Shooting Range of the Woody Creek Rod & Gun Club. It was witnessed by many members and other invited guests, and filmed for historical purposes by Dr. Thompson on Super-Beta videotape.
The game consists of one golfer, one shooter and a field judge. The purpose of the game is to shoot your opponent's high-flying golf ball out of the air with a finely-tuned 12-gauge shotgun, thus preventing him (your opponent) from lofting a 9-iron approach shot onto a distant "green" and making a "hole in one." Points are scored by blasting your opponent's shiny new Titleist out of the air and causing his shot to fail miserably. That earns you two points.
But if you miss and your enemy holes out, he (or she) wins two points when his ball hits and stays on the green.
And after that, you trade places and equipment, and move on to round 2.
My patent is pending, and the train is leaving the station, and Murray is a Founding Consultant, along with the Sheriff, and Keith Richards, etc., etc. Invest now or forever hold your peace.
* * * * *
As for Bill's triumphant finish at Pebble Beach, I am almost insanely proud of him. He is an elegant athlete in the finest Murray tradition. Bill is a dangerous brute with the fastest reflexes in Hollywood, but he is suave, and that is why I trust him even more than I trust all his brothers. Yes, I say Hallelujah, praise Jesus. Where is Brian? I will need him for this golf project, if only to offset Bill's bitchiness. We will march on a road of bones.
OK. Back to business. It was Bill Murray who taught me how to mortify your opponents in any sporting contest, honest or otherwise. He taught me my humiliating PGA fadeaway shot, which has earned me a lot of money ... after that, I taught him how to swim, and then I introduced him to the shooting arts, and now he wins everything he touches. Welcome to the future of America. Welcome to Shotgun Golf.
So long and Mahalo.
Hunter.
Dr. Hunter S. Thompson was born and raised in Louisville, Ky. His books include "Hell's Angels," "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas," "Fear and Loathing: On the Campaign Trail '72," "The Great Shark Hunt," "The Curse of Lono," "Generation of Swine," "Songs of the Doomed," "Screwjack," "Better Than Sex," "The Proud Highway," "The Rum Diary," and "Fear and Loathing in America." His latest book, "Kingdom of Fear," has just been released. A regular contributor to various national and international publications, Thompson now lives in a fortified compound near Aspen, Colo. His column, "Hey, Rube," appears regularly on Page 2.
Hoe moest ik hem kennen?
quote:Z'n sportcolumns voor ESPNOp maandag 21 februari 2005 11:58 schreef Toffe_Ellende het volgende:
Ik schaam me diep en dat neem ik mijn school erg kwalijk...
Hoe moest ik hem kennen?
Wikipedia artikel, inclusief bibliografie
Hij was een van de beste Amerikaanse schrijvers uit de 20e eeuw, definïerend voor een genre.
Zijn stijl, waarin de journalist betrokken is in het verhaal dat hij schrijft, de subjectiviteit van zijn boeken en stukken was de grondslag voor blogs.
De film Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas heb je vast wel gezien en is een verfilming van het boek dat hij schreef.
quote:In feite deed ie dus aan New Journalism? Dan weet ik in welke hoek in moet zoekenOp maandag 21 februari 2005 12:16 schreef Dagonet het volgende:
[..]
Z'n sportcolumns voor ESPN
Wikipedia artikel, inclusief bibliografie
Hij was een van de beste Amerikaanse schrijvers uit de 20e eeuw, definïerend voor een genre.
Zijn stijl, waarin de journalist betrokken is in het verhaal dat hij schrijft, de subjectiviteit van zijn boeken en stukken was de grondslag voor blogs.
De film Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas heb je vast wel gezien en is een verfilming van het boek dat hij schreef.
Die film heb ik ongeveer 10 keer gemist op TV en daarnaast wel 100 keer het advies van iemand die mij m aanraadde genegeerd. guilty as fuck
-edit aah.. zie in mijn literatuur over New Journalism dat hij in het rijtje van Tom Wolfe en Truman Capote hoort.
quote:Op maandag 21 februari 2005 13:03 schreef TheSeeker_NL het volgende:
tvp
quote:Gonzo is feitelijk een uitvinder ervan, oorspronkelijk bijna voorkomend uit de beatnick-scene, laat hij mensen als Ginsberg en Kerouac ver achter zig en tegenover hem lijken die een beetje wereldvreemde dichtertjes...Op maandag 21 februari 2005 13:01 schreef Toffe_Ellende het volgende:
[..]
In feite deed ie dus aan New Journalism?
[..]
-edit aah.. zie in mijn literatuur over New Journalism dat hij in het rijtje van Tom Wolfe en Truman Capote hoort.
Thomspon zat na aan de relaiteit, vaak wel vervormd in een paranoia lucide drugs-rausch, maar juist dat maakte hem zo intrigerend ...
Fear n Loathing on the Campaign Trail, een beschrijving van de '72-er presidentsverkiezingen werd door mcGovern-medewerkers wel eens beschreven als het minst gebaseerd op de werkelijkheid, maar juist daarom de meest waarheidsgetrouwe.
het boek is een bijan doorgeslagen verslag, waarin hij senator Ed Muskiee ervan verdenkt continue aan het trippen te zijn op een afrikaanse drug, en vechtpartijen binnen het democratische kamp beschrijft, waar hij nooit met zekerheid van had kunnen weten ...
Met Thompson sterkt eigenlijk ook een stukje amerikaanse geschiedenis, juist op een moment dat de aloude Nixon Eatergate-stemming eigenlijk des te levendiger zou moeten zijn ...
Een groot Amerikaans schrijver is niet meer. Er is speculatie op een aantal weblogs dat er bij Thompson terminale kanker was ontdekt en dat ie daardoor zelfmoord heeft gepleegd. Hij heeft ook al 6 weken achter elkaar zijn columns gemist, die over shotgun-golf was zijn laatste
Hopelijk wordt er na zijn dood nog wat ongepubliceerd materiaal uitgebracht, dat zou zijn overlijden tenminste een beetje draagbaar maken.
quote:Nee hoor.. Je kunt beter zeggen: Het zijn ook altijd alleen maar de kleurrijke personen die in het nieuws komen die zelfmoord hebben gepleegd.Op maandag 21 februari 2005 08:50 schreef Disorder het volgende:
Shit. Het zijn ook altijd de kleurrijke personen die zelfmoord plegen
Van de 1600 Nederlanders per jaar die zelfmoord plegen hoor je niks. Die worden bewust doodgezwegen.
[ Bericht 6% gewijzigd door Poldermodel op 21-02-2005 20:25:12 ]
De perfecte ode aan HST zou zijn dat ze nu eindelijk een keer vaart zetten achter de verfilming van The Rum Diary.... (superboek trouwens)
quote:Zijn het er zoveel? Zijn er 5 per dag..Op maandag 21 februari 2005 20:18 schreef Poldermodel het volgende:
[..]
Nee hoor.. Je kunt beter zeggen: Het zijn ook altijd alleen maar de kleurrijke personen die in het nieuws komen die zelfmoord hebben gepleegd.
Van de 1600 Nederlanders per jaar die zelfmoord plegen hoor je niks. Die worden bewust doodgezwegen.
DENVER Feb 23, 2005 — Hunter S. Thompson, the "gonzo journalist" with a penchant for drugs, guns and flame-thrower prose, might have one more salvo in store for everyone: Friends and relatives want to blast his ashes out of a cannon, just as he wished.
"If that's what he wanted, we'll see if we can pull it off," said historian Douglas Brinkley, a friend of Thompson's and now the family's spokesman.
Thompson, who shot himself to death at his Aspen-area home Sunday at 67, said several times he wanted an artillery send-off for his remains.
verder>> ABC -news
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Ik denk dat Bernard dat ook wel had gewild.
quote:Bron: BBCThompson's ashes fired into sky
Zie de videoThe ashes of gonzo journalist Hunter S Thompson have been blown into the sky from a cannon in Aspen, Colorado.
Friends and admirers had gathered for the event at the writer's US home, six months after he shot himself there.
His ashes were fired from a 150ft tower topped by a red fist with two thumbs - the symbol of Thompson's free-wheeling, first-person gonzo journalism.
Johnny Depp, who played Thompson in the film of his book Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, paid for the cannon.
Fireworks carrying the ashes of the writer exploded over the top of his memorial on his Owl Farm home.
"He loved explosions," Thompson's widow Anita said.
The writer's friend Matt Moseley told the BBC before the funeral that it would be "the grandest celebration... on the planet".
Sean Penn, Lyle Lovett and the Nitty Gritty Dirt band were among those paying last respects to Thompson.
Friends were instructed to remember him afterwards with the clink of ice in whiskey.
The cult author committed suicide at his home in February.
Thompson, who was 67, had said on several occasions that he would like his ashes to be fired from a cannon after his death.
The event was private.
A public event to commemorate the writer's life is expected to take place at a later date.