Hunter S. Thompson facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Hunter S. Thompson
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Thompson in 1971
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| Born | Hunter Stockton Thompson July 18, 1937 Louisville, Kentucky, U.S. |
| Died | February 20, 2005 (aged 67) Woody Creek, Colorado, U.S. |
| Pen name | Raoul Duke |
| Nickname | HST |
| Genre | Gonzo journalism |
| Literary movement | New Journalism |
| Years active | 1958–2005 |
| Notable works |
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| Spouse |
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| Children | 1 |
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| Military career | |
| Allegiance |  United States |
| Branch |  United States Air Force |
| Service years | 1955–58 |
| Rank |  Airman first class |
| Service number | AF 15546879 |
| Unit | Strategic Air Command, Office of Information Services |
Hunter Stockton Thompson (born July 18, 1937 – died February 20, 2005) was an American journalist and writer. He became famous after publishing Hell's Angels in 1967. For this book, he lived with the Hells Angels motorcycle club for a year. He wanted to write a firsthand story about their lives.
In 1970, he wrote a unique article called "The Kentucky Derby Is Decadent and Depraved". This article made him more well-known as a countercultural figure. It also helped him create his own style of New Journalism called "Gonzo". In Gonzo journalism, the writer becomes a main part of the story.
Thompson is best known for his book Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1972). This book was first published in parts in Rolling Stone magazine. It explored his thoughts on the 1960s counterculture movement. The book was later made into two movies.
In 1970, Thompson ran for sheriff in Pitkin County, Colorado. He ran on the "Freak Power" ticket but did not win. He was known for strongly disliking Richard Nixon, a former U.S. president. Thompson covered George McGovern's 1972 presidential campaign for Rolling Stone. He later put these stories into a book.
After the mid-1970s, Thompson wrote less. He found it hard to deal with being famous. He also did not finish some big projects for Rolling Stone. For many years, he wrote a column for the San Francisco Examiner. Most of his work from 1979 to 1994 was collected in The Gonzo Papers. He kept writing for different magazines and websites until he died.
Thompson passed away at 67 years old after some health issues. Writer Hari Kunzru said Thompson was an "American moralist." He often showed the bad things he saw around him.
Contents
Hunter Thompson's Early Life
Thompson was born into a middle-class family in Louisville, Kentucky. He was the first of three sons. His mother, Virginia Davison Ray, worked as a head librarian. His father, Jack Robert Thompson, was an insurance adjuster and a World War I veteran.
His parents met in 1934 and married in 1935. Thompson's first name, Hunter, came from an ancestor. His full name, Hunter Stockton, came from his mother's parents.
In 1943, when Hunter was six, his family moved to a nice neighborhood in Louisville. In 1952, when he was 14, his father died. Hunter and his brothers were then raised by their mother. Virginia worked hard as a librarian to support her children.
Hunter's School Days
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From a young age, Thompson enjoyed sports. He helped start the Hawks Athletic Club in elementary school. He later joined a club that prepared kids for high school sports. However, he never joined a sports team in high school.
Thompson went to I.N. Bloom Elementary, Highland Middle, and Atherton High School. In 1952, he moved to Louisville Male High School. That same year, he joined the Athenaeum Literary Association. This was a school club for writing and social events. Its members came from wealthy families in Louisville.
As a member, Thompson wrote articles for the club's yearbook, The Spectator. In 1955, he was asked to leave the group. This was because he faced legal trouble for being connected to a robbery. He spent 31 days in jail. During this time, he could not take his final exams, so he did not graduate. After being released, he joined the United States Air Force.
Military Service and Early Writing
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Thompson completed his basic training in San Antonio, Texas. He then went to Belleville, Illinois, to study electronics. He wanted to become an aviator, but the Air Force did not accept him. In 1956, he moved to Eglin Air Force Base in Florida. While there, he took evening classes at Florida State University.
At Eglin, he got his first writing job as sports editor for The Command Courier. This was a military newspaper. He got the job by making up his past work experience. As sports editor, Thompson traveled with the Eglin Eagles football team. He wrote about their games. In 1957, he also wrote a sports column for a local newspaper. His name was not on it because Air Force rules did not allow outside jobs.
In 1958, his commanding officer suggested he leave the Air Force early. The officer said Thompson was talented but "will not be guided by policy." He also noted Thompson's "rebel and superior attitude."
Starting a Journalism Career
After leaving the Air Force, Thompson worked as a sports editor for a newspaper in Jersey Shore, Pennsylvania. Then he moved to New York City. There, he took some classes at Columbia University. He also worked briefly for Time magazine as a copy boy. To learn how to write better, he typed out parts of famous books. These included The Great Gatsby and A Farewell to Arms. In 1959, Time fired him for not following orders.
Later that year, he worked as a reporter for The Middletown Daily Record in Middletown, New York. He was fired again after damaging a candy machine. He also argued with a local restaurant owner who advertised in the paper.
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In 1960, Thompson moved to San Juan, Puerto Rico. He took a job with a sports magazine, El Sportivo. But the magazine closed soon after he arrived. He tried to get a job at The San Juan Star, an English newspaper. The editor, William J. Kennedy, did not hire him but they became friends. After El Sportivo closed, Thompson wrote for other papers about Caribbean topics. Kennedy often helped him with his writing.
In 1961, Thompson returned to the U.S. He lived in Big Sur, California, for eight months. He worked as a security guard and caretaker. Big Sur was a place where many writers and artists lived. During this time, he wrote his first magazine article for Rogue. It was about the artists and free-spirited people in Big Sur. He also worked on his novel, The Rum Diary. He published one short story, "Burial at Sea," in Rogue. The Rum Diary was finally published in 1998. It was made into a movie in 2011.
In 1962, Thompson traveled to South America for a year. He worked as a reporter for the National Observer. In Brazil, he reported for the Brazil Herald. His girlfriend, Sandra Dawn Conklin, joined him in Rio. They married in 1963 after returning to the U.S. Their son, Juan Fitzgerald Thompson, was born in 1964.
Thompson continued to write for the National Observer in the early 1960s. One story was about his visit to Ketchum, Idaho, in 1964. He went there to find out why Ernest Hemingway died. While there, he took a pair of elk antlers from Hemingway's cabin. Later that year, Thompson moved to San Francisco. He attended the 1964 Republican Convention. He stopped working for the Observer when his editor would not print his review of a book by Tom Wolfe. He then became interested in the hippie culture in the area. He started writing for an underground newspaper called Spider.
Writing Hell's Angels
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In 1965, Carey McWilliams, an editor for The Nation, hired Thompson. He wanted Thompson to write about the Hells Angels motorcycle club in California. At that time, Thompson lived near the Haight-Ashbury neighborhood in San Francisco. The Hells Angels lived across from the Grateful Dead music group.
Thompson's article was published in May 1965. After that, he received offers to write a book. He spent the next year living and riding with the club. Their relationship ended when the bikers felt Thompson was using them for his own gain. They wanted a share of his book profits. An argument at a party led to Thompson being beaten by the Angels.
Random House published the book Hell's Angels: The Strange and Terrible Saga of the Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs in 1966. The fight between Thompson and the Angels was used to promote the book. CBC Television even showed Thompson meeting a Hells Angel on live TV.
A review in New York Times praised the book. It called it "angry, knowledgeable, fascinating, and excitedly written." The review said the book showed the Hells Angels as "total misfits." It also praised Thompson as a "spirited, witty, observant, and original writer."
Later 1960s Work
After Hell's Angels was successful, Thompson sold stories to several national magazines. These included The New York Times Magazine, Esquire, and Harper's.
In 1967, Thompson wrote "The 'Hashbury' is the Capital of the Hippies" for The New York Times Magazine. He criticized the hippies in San Francisco. He felt they lacked strong political beliefs or artistic goals. He wrote that they just wanted to "escape" and "live on the far perimeter of a world that might have been."
Later that year, Thompson and his family moved back to Colorado. They rented a house in Woody Creek, a small mountain town near Aspen. In 1969, Thompson received money from the paperback sales of Hell's Angels. He used some of it to buy a home and land where he would live for the rest of his life. It was a large piece of land that cost him $75,000. He called his home Owl Farm and often described it as his "fortified compound."
In 1968, Thompson agreed to a "Writers and Editors War Tax Protest." He promised to refuse tax payments to protest the Vietnam War. He planned to write a book called The Joint Chiefs about "the death of the American Dream." He used money from his publisher to travel and cover the 1968 United States presidential election. He also attended the 1968 Democratic Convention in Chicago. He saw clashes between police and anti-war protesters. He later said these events greatly changed his political views. He never finished the book, but its themes appeared in his later work.
Thompson was impressed by Rolling Stone magazine's coverage of a music concert in 1969. He wrote to the editor, Jann Wenner. Thompson then started writing for Rolling Stone, which became his main place to publish.
Middle Years and Gonzo Journalism
Running for Sheriff in Aspen
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In 1970, Thompson ran for sheriff of Pitkin County, Colorado. He was part of a group called "Freak Power." Their ideas included turning streets into grassy walking areas. They also wanted to ban tall buildings that blocked mountain views. Thompson shaved his head and called his opponent "my long-haired opponent."
Polls showed Thompson slightly ahead. He went to Rolling Stone magazine and told the editor, Jann Wenner, he would be elected. He wanted to write about the "Freak Power" movement. His article, "The Battle of Aspen," was his first for the magazine. It was signed "By: Dr. Hunter S. Thompson (Candidate for Sheriff)." Thompson got his "Dr" title from a mail-order church.
Despite the attention, Thompson lost the election. He won in the city of Aspen but only got 44% of the county-wide vote. Thompson later said the Rolling Stone article brought more people against him than for him. This event was shown in a 2020 documentary film.
What is Gonzo Journalism?
Also in 1970, Thompson wrote "The Kentucky Derby Is Decadent and Depraved" for Scanlan's Monthly. For this article, editor Warren Hinckle paired Thompson with artist Ralph Steadman. Steadman drew expressive pictures. Thompson's story mostly ignored the horse race itself. Instead, it focused on the wild parties around the event in his hometown. He wrote in the first person, describing the chaos.
Thompson and Steadman worked together often after that. The "Kentucky Derby" article was the first to use Gonzo journalism. This is a style Thompson used in almost all his later writing. The story's wild, personal style came from Thompson being desperate. He was facing a deadline and sent pages directly from his notebook.
The word "Gonzo" to describe Thompson's work was first used by journalist Bill Cardoso. Cardoso wrote to Thompson, praising the "Kentucky Derby" piece. He called it "pure Gonzo." Steadman said Thompson liked the word right away. Thompson said, "Okay, that's what I do. Gonzo."
Famous Books: Fear and Loathing
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
Thompson's most famous book started while he was researching an article for Rolling Stone. It was about the 1970 killing of a Mexican American journalist. One of Thompson's sources was Oscar Zeta Acosta, an activist and lawyer. It was hard to talk in Los Angeles, so Thompson and Acosta went to Las Vegas. They had an assignment from Sports Illustrated to write a short caption about a motorcycle race.
What was supposed to be a short caption grew much bigger. Thompson first sent 2,500 words to Sports Illustrated. They "aggressively rejected" it. Rolling Stone publisher Jann Wenner liked the first pages. He decided to publish it, which encouraged Thompson to keep writing. Wenner later called it "Sharp and insane."
To develop the story, Thompson and Acosta returned to Las Vegas. These two trips became the basis for "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas." Rolling Stone published it in two parts in November 1971. Random House published the book version in 1972. It is written as a first-person story by a journalist named Raoul Duke. He travels with Dr. Gonzo, his "300-pound Samoan attorney."
A main theme of the book is dealing with the end of the 1960s countercultural movement. The book received much praise. "The Vegas Book," as Thompson called it, was a big success. It introduced his Gonzo journalism style to many people.
Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail '72
In 1971, Jann Wenner asked Thompson to cover the 1972 United States presidential election for Rolling Stone. Thompson was paid $1,000 per month. He rented a house in Washington D.C. at the magazine's expense. He also got a deal to publish a book about the campaign. This book, Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail '72, came out in 1973.
Books about presidential politics were popular then. Rolling Stone wanted to cover the election because the voting age had been lowered to 18. This meant many young readers could now vote. Wenner wanted to get young people involved in politics.
Thompson's first campaign article for Rolling Stone was published in January 1972. The last part appeared in November. Throughout the year, Thompson traveled with candidates. These candidates were running in the 1972 Democratic Party presidential primaries. They wanted to challenge President Richard Nixon. Thompson mainly focused on George McGovern, Edmund Muskie, and Hubert Humphrey. Thompson supported McGovern and wrote critically about other campaigns.
In one article, Thompson described how someone pretending to be him caused trouble for Muskie on a campaign train. This was later found to be a prank. In another story, he found McGovern in a restroom to get a quote.
The series and the book were praised for their new way of reporting on politics. Frank Mankiewicz, McGovern's campaign director, called it the "most accurate and least factual" account of the 1972 campaign. Thompson often mixed facts with made-up details. This made readers wonder what was real. As his biographer William McKeen wrote, "He wrote for his own amusement."
Fame and Later Career
Thompson's journalism work became harder after a trip to Africa in 1974. He was supposed to cover a boxing match between George Foreman and Muhammad Ali. He missed the match and did not send a story to the magazine. Jann Wenner said, "After Africa, he just couldn't write."
In 1975, Wenner asked Thompson to go to Vietnam. He was to cover the end of the Vietnam War. Thompson arrived in Saigon as South Vietnam was collapsing. Other journalists were leaving. Thompson left the country and did not file his report until ten years later. Wenner said Thompson spent most of his time in Saigon worrying about leaving. Thompson sent an unfinished report. He then flew to Bangkok for a vacation. While in Thailand, Thompson had a special brass sign made for Rolling Stone. Wenner said, "No story. Just that plaque."
Plans for Thompson to cover the 1976 presidential campaign fell through. Thompson said Wenner canceled the project. Wenner said Thompson lacked the "discipline" for such a long project. Thompson later spent a day with Jimmy Carter and wrote a long article supporting him for president.
From the late 1970s, most of Thompson's writing appeared in a four-book series called The Gonzo Papers.
Around 1980, Thompson became less active. He mostly stayed at his home in Woody Creek. He turned down projects or did not finish them. Even with less new material, Wenner kept Thompson on the Rolling Stone staff. He was the "National Affairs Desk" chief until his death.
In 1980, Thompson divorced his wife, Sandra Conklin. That same year, the movie Where the Buffalo Roam was released. It was loosely based on Thompson's early 1970s work. Bill Murray played Thompson in the film. Murray later became a close friend of Thompson's.
Later that year, Thompson moved to Hawaii. He researched and wrote The Curse of Lono. This was a Gonzo-style story about the 1980 Honolulu Marathon. It was illustrated by Ralph Steadman. The book was not well-received. Its editor called it "disorganized and incoherent."
In 1983, he covered the U.S. invasion of Grenada. He did not write about it until his book Kingdom of Fear in 2003. Also in 1983, he wrote "A Dog Took My Place" for Rolling Stone. It was about a scandalous divorce case in Palm Beach.
Thompson then became a weekly media columnist for The San Francisco Examiner. His editor, David McCumber, said his columns varied. Some weeks they were "acid-soaked gibberish." Other weeks they were "incisive political analysis."
Many of these columns were collected in two books: Gonzo Papers, Vol. 2: Generation of Swine: Tales of Shame and Degradation in the '80s (1988) and Gonzo Papers, Vol. 3: Songs of the Doomed: More Notes on the Death of the American Dream (1990). These books included his memories, articles, and unpublished writings.
Later Years and Final Works
In the early 1990s, Thompson said he was working on a novel called Polo Is My Life. Parts of it appeared in Rolling Stone in 1994. The novel was planned for release in 1999 but was never published.
Thompson continued to write for Rolling Stone sometimes. He wrote 17 articles for the magazine between 1984 and 2004. "Fear and Loathing in Elko," published in 1992, was a strong protest against a Supreme Court nomination. "Trapped in Mr. Bill's Neighborhood" was a factual story about an interview with Bill Clinton. Instead of traveling, Thompson watched the 1994 presidential election on TV. In 1994, the magazine published a harsh obituary for Richard Nixon.
In November 2004, Rolling Stone published Thompson's last magazine article. It was about the 2004 presidential election. He compared the outcome of a court case to a historical event. He formally supported his friend, Senator John Kerry, for president.
Revisiting Fear and Loathing
In 1996, Modern Library re-released Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. It also included other articles. Two years later, the film Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas created new interest in Thompson's work. A paperback edition was published to go with the movie. That same year, his early novel, The Rum Diary, was published. Two books of his collected letters also came out.
Thompson's next book, Kingdom of Fear: Loathsome Secrets of a Star-Crossed Child in the Final Days of the American Century, was published in 2003. It was promoted as his first memoir. It included new stories, old newspaper clippings, and other past works.
Thompson finished his journalism career writing about sports. From 2000 until his death in 2005, he wrote a weekly column for ESPN.com called "Hey, Rube." In 2004, some of these columns were collected into a book.
Thompson married Anita Bejmuk on April 23, 2003.
Death and Funeral
Hunter S. Thompson died at 5:42 pm on February 20, 2005, in Woody Creek, Colorado.
His Unique Funeral
On August 20, 2005, Thompson's ashes were shot from a cannon in a private funeral. This was done with red, white, blue, and green fireworks. Music like "Spirit in the Sky" and "Mr. Tambourine Man" played. The cannon was on top of a 153-foot (47 m) tower. The tower was shaped like a double-thumbed fist holding a peyote button. This symbol was used in his 1970 sheriff campaign. Thompson and Ralph Steadman had designed the monument.
His widow, Anita, said the $3 million funeral was paid for by actor Johnny Depp. Depp was a close friend of Thompson's. Depp told the Associated Press he wanted to make sure Thompson's last wish came true. About 280 people attended the funeral. These included U.S. Senators John Kerry and George McGovern. Actors like Jack Nicholson, John Cusack, Bill Murray, and Johnny Depp were also there. Musicians and his long-time friend Ralph Steadman also attended.
Hunter Thompson's Legacy
His Writing Style: Gonzo Journalism
Thompson is often seen as the creator of Gonzo journalism. This writing style mixes facts and made-up details. His work is a big part of the New Journalism movement of the 1960s and 1970s. This movement tried to be different from the purely factual reporting of the time. Thompson almost always wrote in the first person. He used his own experiences and feelings to tell the story.
Thompson called his work "Gonzo." Others later explained what the term meant. Thompson put himself into the story. He also added invented, symbolic parts. This made it hard for readers to tell what was real and what was not. Thompson said he rarely tried to rebuild a story like other reporters. Tom Wolfe described Thompson's style as "part journalism and part personal memoir." It also had "wild invention and wilder rhetoric."
Most of Thompson's popular work appeared in Rolling Stone magazine. Publisher Jann Wenner said Thompson was a key part of Rolling Stone. Thompson helped the magazine cover more than just music. He was the only staff writer who never wrote a music article. However, his articles often mentioned pop music. He was known for sending messy, sometimes unreadable, material to the magazine's office just before printing deadlines.
Wenner said Thompson worked "in long bursts of energy." He would stay awake until dawn or even longer. To help Thompson finish a piece, editors had to be like "a junior officer in his war." He needed certain comforts, like the right typewriter, specific paper, and music.
Robert Love, Thompson's editor for 23 years, wrote about checking facts in Thompson's work. He called it "one of the sketchiest occupations." It was like a "journalistic fun house." You had to know when the made-up parts began and reality ended. Thompson was very careful with numbers and details.
His Public Image
Thompson often mixed fiction and facts when he wrote about himself. He sometimes used the name Raoul Duke. This was a character he created who was a harsh, wild, and self-destructive journalist.
In the late 1960s, Thompson got the title "Doctor" from the Church of the New Truth.
Many critics said that as Thompson got older, the line between him and his fictional self blurred. Thompson said in a 1978 interview that he sometimes felt pressure to live up to the character he created. He said he was never sure if people expected him to be Duke or Thompson. He felt his normal life and the growing myth about him often clashed.
Thompson's writing style and unique personality gave him a strong following. His fame grew even more after he was played in three major movies. His writing style and image have been copied by many. His likeness has even become a popular Halloween costume.
Political Views
Thompson loved firearms and explosives. He owned many guns and homemade devices. He supported the right to bear arms and privacy rights. He was a member of the National Rifle Association. Thompson also helped create the Fourth Amendment Foundation. This group helps people defend themselves against unfair searches.
He supported Lisl Auman, a woman in Colorado. She was sentenced to life in prison in 1997 for a police officer's death. This was despite unclear evidence. Thompson organized events and helped with legal support. He also wrote an article about her case. The Colorado Supreme Court later overturned Auman's sentence. She is now free. Her supporters say Thompson's help led to her successful appeal.
In a 1965 letter, Thompson said he liked the Industrial Workers of the World. He felt they "had the right idea." He also wrote that he agreed with Karl Marx. He compared Marx to Thomas Jefferson. Thompson also said he saw the "free enterprise system as the single greatest evil." He often wore Che Guevara T-shirts. He also had a large picture of Che in his kitchen. Thompson wrote about African-American rights and the civil rights movement. He criticized "white power structures" in American society.
After the September 11 attacks, Thompson doubted the official story. He thought the U.S. government might have been involved. He admitted he could not prove his theory.
In 2004, Thompson wrote that he disliked Richard Nixon. But he said he would have voted for Nixon against the "evil Bush–Cheney gang."
Scholarships in His Name
Thompson's widow started two scholarship funds. One is at Columbia University School of General Studies for U.S. military veterans. The other is at the University of Kentucky for journalism students. Colorado NORML also created the Hunter S. Thompson Scholarship. This scholarship pays for a lawyer or law student to attend a legal conference in Aspen.
Hunter Thompson's Works
Awards and Tributes
- Thompson was named a Kentucky Colonel in 1996. He also received keys to the city of Louisville.
- Dale Gribble, a character on the TV show King of the Hill, is based on Thompson's look and lifestyle.
- Author Tom Wolfe called Thompson the greatest American comic writer of the 20th century.
- Musician Warren Zevon said Thompson was "the finest writer of our generation."
- Thompson appeared on the cover of the 1,000th issue of Rolling Stone in 2006. He was shown as a devil playing guitar. Johnny Depp was also on the cover.
- General Hunter Gathers in the TV series The Venture Bros. is thought to be a tribute to Thompson. They have similar names and looks.
- In the film Almost Famous, a character mentions Hunter Thompson. The editor tells a young journalist he is not there to join the party because "we already have one Hunter Thompson."
- Eric C. Shoaf donated about 800 items related to Thompson's life to the University of California at Santa Cruz. Shoaf also published a book about Thompson's works.
- An imaginary version of Thompson appears in the 2024 TV series The Girls on the Bus. He advises a young journalist who admires him.
Images for kids
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Thompson in 1971
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Thompson's high-school senior portrait
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Thompson in 1957 as sports editor of the Courier Commander, an Air Force newsletter
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Self-portrait photo of Thompson around 1960–1967
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Hell's Angels (1967)
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318 Parnassus Ave.
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"Thompson for 1970 Aspen, Colorado Sheriff" poster by Thomas W. Benton
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Thompson (right) at a debate with Sheriff Carrol D. Whitmire (left), his incumbent opponent.
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Thompson's 1971 trip to Las Vegas with Oscar Zeta Acosta (right) served as the basis for his most famous novel, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.
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Thompson with George McGovern (right) in San Francisco, June 1972
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Thompson in May 1989
