Posted on 02/21/2005 2:53:20 AM PST by wingblade
Legendary US author Hunter S. Thompson commits suicide
LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) - Legendary US author and sharp-witted icon of the 1960s counter-culture, Hunter S. Thompson, is dead, apparently after shooting himself in the head, police and his family said.
The 67-year-old writer and journalist, best-known for his 1972 book "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas," apparently shot himself at his rural home in Woody Creek, in the western US state of Colorado.
"The sheriff's department can confirm the apparent death by a self-inflicted gunshot wound of Hunter S. Thompson at his home," Tricia Louthis, a spokeswoman for Colorado's Pitkin County government, told AFP. Authorities declined to give any further details of the death.
But local news reports said his son, Juan Thompson, had found his body at his home in Woody Creek, near the ski resort of Aspen, about 256 kilometers (160 miles) southwest of Denver, on Sunday evening.
"On February 20, Dr. Hunter S. Thompson took his life with a gunshot to the head at his fortified compound in Woody Creek, Colorado," Juan Thompson said in a statement released to the Aspen Daily News.
"Hunter prized his privacy and we ask that his friends and admirers respect that privacy as well as that of his family," he said, adding that arrangements for a memorial service would be made public soon.
Born in July 1937, Thompson, was known for his explosive and comically cutting writing style with which he spun outlandish tales that provided a unique viewpoint to accurately describe his experiences.
Almost always writing in the first person, Thompson flirted with the border between fiction and journalism, creating a genre that became known as "gonzo" journalism, in which the writer engages himself and his personal views in the story. It made him a cult figure.
Thompson shot to fame in 1966 after the publication of his book "Hell's Angels," the story of his time spent wwith the then-feared Hell's Angels motorcycle gang, an experience during which he was savagely beaten.
"Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" is the apocryphal tale of a wild, drug-fuelled weekend spent in the desert gambling hub of Las Vegas by the protagonist Raoul Duke, a thinly-disguised version of Thompson.
Thompson claimed at the time that the book and its tales of LSD use were accurate examples of gonzo journalism, but later admitted that some of the events in it never took place.
But the stories of his heady experiences earned him a popular reputation as a wild-living, hard-drinking, LSD-crazed writer bent on self-destruction.
His other works include "Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail '72," a collection of articles he wrote for Rolling Stone magazine while covering the re-election campaign of then-president Richard M. Nixon.
The ever-rebellious Thompson was born in the southern state of Kentucky and frequently got into trouble with the law in his early years for drinking and vandalism, spending 60 days in jail on one occasion.
He was enlisted in the US Air Force in 1956 and managed to get assigned as a sports writer for the air base newspaper at Eglin Air Proving Ground in Florida.
But the unsettled youngster quickly became dissatisfied with the rigours of military routine and his high-jinks led to an honorable discharge after only a year in 1957.
He spent several years in Puerto Rico and South America working for various newspapers, mostly as a sports reporter.
In 1963, Thompson wed Sandy Conklin, a union that would last 18 years and produce one child, Juan. He also moved to Woody Creek, where he would spend most of the rest of his life.
In 1970 Thompson ran for the office of Sheriff in Pitkin, Colorado, campaigning on the "Freak Power" ticket. He lost by a handful of votes.
His later works included "The Rum Diary" and "Screwjack and Other Stories."
Thompson became such an icon that cartoonist Garry Trudeau based the wild character of Duke in his "Doonesbury" comic strip on him.
Thompson is survived to his second wife, Anita Beymunk, whom he married two years ago, his son Juan and a grandson.
Then why his praise for kerry, who is the epitomie of the modern left.
"Dupe"
Yeah well, at least the entire thread isn't.
I guess now he is headed to "Bat-country," maybe?
Either a terminal disease, or he looked in the mirror and saw a giant winged lizard with glowing red eyes and 12 inch fangs.
This guy couldn't handle but one year in the Air Force, as a sports reporter, and in Florida no less. What a loser.
"This guy couldn't handle but one year in the Air Force, as a sports reporter, and in Florida no less. What a loser."
Hellz a-poppin'! Imagine if he had never left the USAF?
"Really, that one was much more interesting."
Maybe we'll know more about it the later in the day it gets.
With tabs!( I didn't feel like formatting HTML)
Ballad Of Curtis Lowe Tab By Lynyrd Skynyrd
Band Lynyrd Skynyrd
Song Ballad of Curtis Lowe
Album Second Helping
Tuning Standard (if you play it with a slide i would tune to open E)
Tabber Coldshot11 COld_shot11@yahoo.com
Intro: E D E
(E) B
Well, I used to wake the mornin' before the rooster crowed,
E A F#
Searchin' for soda bottles to get myself some dough.
E B
Run 'em down to the corner, down to the country store,
A E
Cash 'em in, and give my money to a man named Curtis Loew.
Verse:
E B A E
Old Curt was a black man with white curly hair,
(E) B A E
When he had a fifth of wine he did not have a care,
(E) B A E
He used to own an old Dobro, used to play it 'cross his knee
(E) B A E
I give old Curt my money, he play all day for me.
Chorus:
A E E7
Play me a song, Curtis Loew, Curtis Loew,
A E E7
Well, I got your drinkin' money, tune up your Dobro.
A E F#
People said he was useless, them people all were fools,
E D A E E D E
'Cause Curtis Loew was the finest picker to ever play the blues
He looked to be sixty, and maybe I was ten,
Mama used to whup me, but I'd go see him again.
I clap my hands, stomp my feets, try to stay in time,
He'd play a song or two, then take another drink of wine.
Play me a song, Curtis Loew, Curtis Loew,
Well, I got your drinkin' money, tune up your Dobro.
People said he was useless, them people all were fools,
'Cause Curtis Loew was the finest picker to ever play the blues
Ya just got to hate them racist Southern boys! ;)
Whenever I hear the line ...
"Play me a song curtis loew, hey curtis loew
I wish that you was here so everyone would know ... "
... somehow I always get something in my eyes. ;)
Legendary? Hmmmmm . . .
Legendary according to American Heritage . . .
Celebrated in legend.
Extremely well known; famous or renowned.
Yeah, well maybe in the LSD crowd but I suspect MOST Americans have never heard of the guy . . . but it makes for a better story.
Yes.
Don't go to writers for politics, go for their writing.
HELL'S ANGELS and FEAR AND LOATHING are incredible works. Something else has dies with HST.
Who Cares?
It's "epitome".
Kerry Will Come Through (By Hunter S. Thompson)
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1266838/posts
This is a quote from one article:
And Thompson's life was nothing if not surprising. He famously and fully embraced an unconventional lifestyle, summing up his attitude to fast living with the iconic phrase: "I do not advocate the use of dangerous drugs, wild amounts of alcohol and violence and weirdness - but they've always worked for me." A firearms fan, he allegedly kept a keg of gunpowder in his basement, and on one occasion accidentally shooting an assistant. Hi major foray into public life occurred in 1970, when he decided that "there might be some serious fun in politics" and duly stood for Sheriff of Pitkin County, Colorado on a platform of drug decriminalisation. The Republican candidate was sporting a crew cut, which prompted the contrary author to shave his head entirely and refer to his rival as "my long-haired opponent" throughout the campaign. He lost by a handful of votes.
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