RIP Hunter Thompson.

[blkrider]

Hunter Thompson apparently shot himself Sunday night.  He was 67.  

Sad....it seemed like he was making a comeback with the HEY RUBE book.  This really stinks.  I haven't felt this down since Bukowski died about 11 years ago.

[Yaddo 42]

Only a causal fan of his, but he's one of those people who I liked knowing they were around. Kind of patron saints of outsiders, misfits, and malcontents is how I look at them. Anytime he turned up on TV I knew I was in for a treat, be it Conan O'Brien's show or C-Span. Wonder if Gary Trudeau will pay tribute to him by having Uncle Duke mysteriously feeling that a part of himself had died.

One thing he was involved in that I wish I had on tape was an interview from the early 90s he did with Keith Richards on ABC's "In Concert". The show did promos for it weeks in advance, hyping it up. It was amazing they let something like this air, the whole segment was Thompson and Richards having a conversation where only a third of the words were intelligible as English. They rambled, laughed, and acted like old friends who knew exactly what the other was saying, almost like they were speaking a language all their own. Just minute after minute of drunken gibberish airing on a major network, even if it was late at night. I'm guessing they would have put subtitles on it if they could have ever figured out what the two were saying.

My favorite line from the film "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" - "Order some golf shoes or else we'll never get out of this place alive!"

[ulthar]

I was listening to Drudge last night when he announced this.  He interviewed a friend of his (Thompson's) who had been with him recently.  Said he never saw this coming.

I've read a few of his books, and of course, "Where the Buffalo Roam" with Bill Murray is a must-see.

RIP.

[raj]

Can't say I was surprised that it was suicide.  Hunter did not seem to be the most stable guy around, not that I have anything against him.  Interesting, persona-wise, Sandra Dee also died over the weekend, very yin & yang.  With John Riatt also joining the choir invisible, the trifecta got hit within the space of 24 hours.

[blkrider]

I'm not really surprised that he killed himself, just thought it would happen much later.  HST was the type of guy who would prefer dying on his own terms, and with all the firearms he had lying around, it's not hard to believe that he would choose to shoot himself.  I just figured it would happen much later if he got into a position where he was unable to live the way he wanted to.

[peter johnson]

I was out at the Woody Creek Tavern a few years back, and the folks who waited on him at the bar were concerned about his health.   My cousin, who has a medical background, thought Thompson had some sort of neuropathological disorder, possibly from the massive amounts of cocaine he continued to ingest well into his '60's.
I had him in my cab, and made fun of him on local TV, but even if the man had only ever written "Hell's Angels", his place in the literary world would be assured.
On other dead, Kevin Coyne, who was never well-known in this country, passed away recently in Germany.  He was a musician and author whose work led him to be called a "Living Artisitic Treasure" by the Austrian govt., and his adopted Germany.  Founder of the British psycho-folk-rock group "Siren" in Brixton, London, in the '60's, he went on to various solo incarnations whose band members included Zoot Money & Andy Summers from The Police.  He released over 40 albumns & wrote numerous books of poetry & short-stories.  Of these, The Party Dress is probably easiest to find in the US.  Of his records, In Living Black and White & Millionaires & Teddy Bears seem to crop up in the cutout bins most frequently.  
I mention Kevin Coyne in the same space as Dr. Hunter S. Thompson only because they both wrote of the extreme edges of "civilized" society and the extreme emotions to be found there.  Those who enjoy the work of one would do well to seek out the work of the other.
peter johnson/denny crane

[nobody]

I just found this out for myself from CNN only moments ago. This is incredibly depressing news. He'll definitely be missed.

[Vermin Boy]

I don't have much to say that hasn't been said; Thompson was easily one of my five favorite writers, and even better as a personality. My friends and I got together this afternoon and watched Fear & Loathing in tribute, and I plan on continuing by reading a hefty chunck of Hell's Angels.

Any Thompson fans who haven't already, I highly recommend his audio commentary on the Criterion F&L DVD. Two of the most insane hours of audio you're likely to hear; highlights include Hunter calling Benicio Del Toro's answering machine and screaming profanities into it, and his penchant for breaking off mid-sentence to bark like a dog. His parting words are especially inspiring:

INTERVIEWER: Well, Hunter, in the last few minutes, do you have any words of wisdom for the young people of today?

(Pause)

HUNTER: You poor bastards. You poor, poor bastards.

Rest in peace, Hunter.

[blkrider]

I saw on this other writer's weblog that HST was in very poor health.  She met him last month and he was unable to do anything on his own, not even stand up.  His mind was still sharp.  I can't imagine how awful it would be for someonelike him to be so dependent on other people just to do the simplest things, so now this all makes sense.   Still really sad news.

[nobody]

I've always wanted to listen to that commentary by HST. I'll probably end up buying the criterion collection version of F+L this weekend.