person1937–2005

Hunter S. Thompson

Disciplines:

Summary

American journalist — inventor of Gonzo journalism — author of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and Hell's Angels — who placed himself at the center of his stories, blurring the line between reporter and participant — whose style influenced every major magazine journalist of the subsequent 30 years.

Core Contribution

Creates Gonzo journalism — Thompson's method (the journalist as participant-observer, using first-person narrative and extreme personal experience to reveal cultural truth) transformed magazine journalism and established the template for the author-as-character narrative journalism that followed.

Key Spikes & Highlights

Shot his own ashes out of a cannon mounted on his 'Gonzo fist' monument at his Owl Farm — per his 2005 request; the cannon cost $2.5M funded by Johnny Depp; it is the most theatrical writer's funeral in American literary history and the most complete expression of Thompson's brand identity in a single act
Ran for Sheriff of Aspen, Colorado in 1970 on the 'Freak Power' platform — shaved his head so he could call his opponent 'my long-haired opponent'; nearly won; the Freak Power campaign is the most serious attempt by a Gonzo journalist to practice the politics he documented

Notable Works & Achievements

Hell's Angels

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas

Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail '72

The Rum Diary

Historical Influences

William Faulkner F. Scott Fitzgerald Hemingway

Intellectual Lineage

Louisville, Kentucky Air Force Hell's Angels Rolling Stone Owl Farm, Woody Creek, Colorado

Contemporaries & Peers

Tom Wolfe Gay Talese Ralph Steadman

Minds Influenced

Magazine journalism New Journalism

Intellectual Posterity

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas Gonzo journalism Raoul Duke Johnny Depp played him Ralph Steadman

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