The original gonzo journalist, Hunter S. Thompson, 67, suicide
Posted: Sunday, February 20th, 2005 10:17 pm
DENVER Feb 21, 2005 — Hunter S. Thompson, the acerbic counterculture writer who popularized a new form of fictional journalism in books like “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas,” fatally shot himself Sunday night at his Aspen-area home, his son said. He was 67. …
Juan Thompson found his father’s body. Thompson’s wife, Anita, was not home at the time.
Besides the 1972 drug-hazed classic about Thompson’s visit to Las Vegas, he also wrote “Fear and Loathing: On the Campaign Trail ‘72.” The central character in those wild, sprawling satires was “Dr. Thompson,” a snarling, drug- and alcohol-crazed observer and participant.
Thompson is credited with pioneering New Journalism or, as he dubbed it, “gonzo journalism” in which the writer made himself an essential component of the story. Much of his earliest work appeared in Rolling Stone magazine. … Read full obituary
