Hunter S. Thompson kills himself

[Modern Man's Hustle 0]

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Writer Hunter S. Thompson Commits Suicide

 

Mon Feb 21, 2:26 PM ET

 

Add to My Yahoo!  U.S. National - AP

 

By ROBERT WELLER, Associated Press Writer

 

ASPEN, Colo. - Hunter S. Thompson, the hard-living writer who inserted himself into his accounts of America's underbelly and popularized a first-person form of journalism in books such as "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas," has committed suicide.

 

Thompson was found dead Sunday in his Aspen-area home of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, sheriff's officials said. He was 67. Thompson's wife, Anita, had gone out before the shooting and was not home at the time. His son, Juan, found the body.

 

Thompson "took his life with a gunshot to the head," the wife and son said in a statement released to the Aspen Daily News. The statement asked for privacy for Thompson's family and, using the Latin term for Earth, added, "He stomped terra."

 

Neither the family statement nor Pitkin County sheriff's officials said whether Thompson left a note. The sheriff and the county coroner did not immediately return telephone messages Monday.

 

Besides the 1972 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 alongside Tom Wolfe and Gay Talese with helping pioneer New Journalism — or, as he dubbed his version, "gonzo journalism" — in which the writer made himself an essential component of the story.

 

Thompson, whose early writings mostly appeared in Rolling Stone magazine, often portrayed himself as wildly intoxicated as he reported on such figures as Jimmy Carter, Richard Nixon and Bill Clinton (news - web sites).

 

"Fiction is based on reality unless you're a fairy-tale artist," Thompson told The Associated Press in 2003. "You have to get your knowledge of life from somewhere. You have to know the material you're writing about before you alter it."

 

Thompson also wrote such collections as "Generation of Swine" and "Songs of the Doomed." His first ever novel, "The Rum Diary," written in 1959, was first published in 1998.

 

Thompson was a counterculture icon at the height of the Watergate era, and once said Nixon represented "that dark, venal, and incurably violent side of the American character."

 

Thompson also was the model for Garry Trudeau's balding "Uncle Duke" in the comic strip "Doonesbury." He was portrayed on screen by Bill Murray in "Where The Buffalo Roam" and Johnny Depp in a film adaptation of "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas."

 

That book, perhaps Thompson's most famous, begins: "We were somewhere around Barstow on the edge of the desert when the drugs began to take hold."

 

Other books include "The Great Shark Hunt," "Hell's Angels" and "The Proud Highway." His most recent effort was "Hey Rube: Blood Sport, the Bush Doctrine, and the Downward Spiral of Dumbness."

 

"He may have died relatively young but he made up for it in quality if not quantity of years," Paul Krassner, the veteran radical journalist and one of Thompson's former editors, told The Associated Press by phone from his Southern California home.

 

"It was hard to say sometimes whether he was being provocative for its own sake or if he was just being drunk and stoned and irresponsible," quipped Krassner, founder of the leftist publication The Realist and co-founder of the Youth International (YIPPIE) party.

 

"But every editor that I know, myself included, was willing to accept a certain prima donna journalism in the demands he would make to cover a particular story," he said. "They were willing to risk all of his irresponsible behavior in order to share his talent with their readers."

 

The writer's compound in Woody Creek, not far from Aspen, was almost as legendary as Thompson. He prized peacocks and weapons; in 2000, he accidentally shot and slightly wounded his assistant trying to chase a bear off his property.

 

 

 

Born July 18, 1937, in Kentucky, Hunter Stocton Thompson served two years in the Air Force, where he was a newspaper sports editor. He later became a proud member of the National Rifle Association and almost was elected sheriff in Aspen in 1970 under the Freak Power Party banner.

 

Thompson's heyday came in the 1970s, when his larger-than-life persona was gobbled up by magazines. His pieces were of legendary length and so was his appetite for adventure and trouble; his purported fights with Rolling Stone editor Jann Wenner were rumored in many cases to hinge on expense accounts for stories that didn't materialize.

 

It was the content that raised eyebrows and tempers. His book on the 1972 presidential campaign involving, among others, Edmund Muskie, Hubert Humphrey and Nixon was famous for its scathing opinion.

 

Working for Muskie, Thompson wrote, "was something like being locked in a rolling box car with a vicious 200-pound water rat." Nixon and his "Barbie doll" family were "America's answer to the monstrous Mr. Hyde. He speaks for the werewolf in us."

 

Humphrey? Of him, Thompson wrote: "There is no way to grasp what a shallow, contemptible and hopelessly dishonest old hack Hubert Humphrey is until you've followed him around for a while."

 

The approach won him praise among the masses as well as critical acclaim. Writing in The New York Times in 1973, Christopher Lehmann-Haupt worried Thompson might someday "lapse into good taste."

 

"That would be a shame, for while he doesn't see America as Grandma Moses depicted it, or the way they painted it for us in civics class, he does in his own mad way betray a profound democratic concern for the polity," he wrote. "And in its own mad way, it's damned refreshing."

[GreatWhiteNope 0]

OMG!!!!!!

 

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Actor John Ritter dead at 54

Friday, September 12, 2003 Posted: 10:10 PM EDT (0210 GMT)

 

John Ritter, famous for his role in 'Three's Company,' died after collapsing on the set of his current show.

 

(CNN) -- Actor and comedian John Ritter, who gained stardom in the sitcom "Three's Company," died Thursday night after collapsing on the set of his current TV series. He was 54.

 

Ritter was rushed from the set of the ABC series "8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter" to Providence St. Joseph Medical Center in Burbank, California, after suffering from aortic dissection, an unrecognized and undetected flaw in his heart, according to a statement from his publicist Lisa Kasteler.

 

"Surgeons at the hospital tried to save the Emmy Award-winning actor but, sadly, were unable to do so," the statement said.

 

WebMD.com describes an aortic dissection as "an abnormal separation of tissues within the walls of the aorta" caused by high blood pressure, family history of the condition, disease of connective tissue, or severe trauma to the chest.

 

"Aortic dissection results in a weakened blood vessel wall that may also rupture," the Web site says.

 

Ritter, who would have turned 55 next week, is best known for his role as Jack Tripper on the long-running television sitcom, "Three's Company," which brought him an Emmy.

 

Actress Suzanne Somers remembered her former "Three's Company" co-star as a man of "great joy" and said he was one of the finest physical comedy actors she had ever known

 

"The chemistry that people see on that show is the chemistry we had," Somers told CNN's Larry King in a phone interview. "I loved John Ritter. He was like playing ping-pong with a great player, he'd just bang the ball and you better be fast to get it. And he also had a great joy."

 

Ritter was the youngest son of Western film star and country music legend Tex Ritter, according to his biography on ABC's Web site.

 

Henry Winkler, best known as "The Fonz" in "Happy Days," was to make a guest appearance on "8 Simple Rules" and was on the set Thursday with Ritter. He said he got a call later about Ritter's death.

 

Winkler told the Larry King show: "He said, 'I'm tired.' And I said, 'You're always tired.' He said, 'Well I just took a nap.'" He later heard that Ritter had gone home from the set early, and thought it was to celebrate his daughter's birthday.

 

"He loved what he did, he loved children. He loved his wife, Amy, and he loved his work. It's a gigantic loss. He's irreplaceable."

 

'I was the class clown'

Ritter was born on September 17, 1948, to Tex Ritter and actress Dorothy Fay. He was graduated from Hollywood High School and attended the University of Southern California. A psychology major, he had no intentions of following in his father's footsteps as a performer -- but a drama class changed his mind. He later earned a degree in drama.

 

"I was the class clown, but I was also student body president in high school," he told The Associated Press in a 1992 interview. "I had my serious side -- I idolized Bobby Kennedy, he was my role model. But so was Jerry Lewis."

 

Ritter had roles on many popular television series, including "The Waltons" and a guest shot on "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" (he played a clergyman on both) and was nominated for an Emmy Award for his appearance on "Ally McBeal." He also starred on the late-'80s series "Hooperman," produced by Steven Bochco, and the early-'90s show "Hearts Afire."

 

Proving his versatility, he also provided the voice of Clifford on the PBS animated series "Clifford the Big Red Dog," a role for which he received two Emmy nominations.

 

"He never aspired to be Hamlet," said Tim Brooks, co-author of "The Complete Guide to Prime-Time Network and Cable TV Shows," to the AP. "He was a true actor of the people and television viewers really bonded with him as a result."

 

Variety of roles

He is best remembered for his goofy physical humor on "Three's Company," but showcased his penchant for serious acting in Billy Bob Thornton's 1996 cinematic hit, "Sling Blade."

 

That role opened the door for future serious acting roles. He recently co-starred with Sigourney Weaver in Miramax's "Tadpole," directed by Gary Winick.

 

He also appeared in the independent feature "Manhood," which premiered at the 2003 Sundance Film Festival.

 

Ritter will also be seen in Miramax's "Bad Santa," opposite Thornton. The film is scheduled for release on November 26.

 

Ritter is survived by his wife, Amy Yasbeck, and their daughter Stella, and three children -- Carly, Tyler and Jason -- from his first marriage to Nancy Morgan.

[Nighthawk 0]

SHUT UP< JUST SHUT UP!

[2GOLD 0]

What? John Ritter died?!?!

God, this just catches me totally off guard.

 

What's next, someone going to tell me the world has lost Norman Fell!

[alfdogg 0]

Vince McMahon's ladder legdrop, was that cool or what?

[Guest Failed Mascot]

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John Quincy Adams, sixth president of the United States, died February 23, 1848. He was 80.

 

 

Adams was born July 11, 1767 in Braintree, Massachusetts, the son of John Adams, second president of the United States.

 

 

Educated at Harvard, Adams became a lawyer.

 

 

He married Louisa Catherine Johnson on July 26, 1797. They had four children---George, John, Charles and Louisa.

 

 

He entered government service as Minister to the Netherlands. In 1802, he was elected a U.S. Senator from Massachusetts.

 

 

Under President James Monroe, Adams served as Secretary of State. In that post, he helped with negotiations on joint U.S.-English occupation of the Oregon territories, the acquisition of Florida from Spain, and did substantial work on formulating the Monroe Doctrine.

 

 

He ran for president in 1824, but failed to get a majority of the electoral vote, finishing second in a four-man race. Andrew Jackson received more electoral votes and more popular votes, but the constitution required the House of Representatives select a president if none of the candidates received a majority of electoral votes.

 

 

The House selected Adams. As President, he led an effort to develop better transportation between the states. He also was a strong advocate of the arts and sciences.

 

 

The election of 1828 pitted Adams against bitter rival Andrew Jackson, who received a majority of electoral and popular votes in 1824. Jackson won handily, and Adams returned to Massachusetts.

 

 

He was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1830, and served in that capacity until his death in 1848. He collapsed on the House floor on February 21, and died two days later.

[Guest cosbywasmurdered]

the marqueis de sade is dead

[Vern Gagne 0]

Generalissmo Francisco Franco is still dead!

[Slayer 0]

God is dead.

[Ted the Poster 0]

Apparently, so is originality.

[Guest cosbywasmurdered]

no such thing

[The Amazing Rando 0]

Dick Laurent is dead.

[... 0]

Your father is dad.

[Modern Man's Hustle 0]

You uneducated fucks don't like Hunter S. Thompson? My bad.

[Giuseppe Zangara 0]

Hunter S. Thompson thought so highly of himself to where having anyone else like him would be completely moot.

[Giuseppe Zangara 0]

I was thinking Joyce Carol Oates should pull a Hunter S. Thompson. Someone shut that bitch up, jeez.

[Slayer 0]

How about John Oates? He's never been the same since he shaved his moustache

[nl5xsk1 0]

You uneducated fucks don't like Hunter S. Thompson? My bad.

So not liking HST is a sign of being uneducated?

 

Could it be the fact that his writing sucked and he was overrated by his little fan-boys?

[... 0]

You uneducated fucks don't like Hunter S. Thompson? My bad.

So not liking HST is a sign of being uneducated?

 

Could it be the fact that his writing sucked and he was overrated by his little fan-boys?

 

-=Mike

Edit.

[nl5xsk1 0]

You uneducated fucks don't like Hunter S. Thompson? My bad.

So not liking HST is a sign of being uneducated?

 

Could it be the fact that his writing sucked and he was overrated by his little fan-boys?

 

-=Mike

Edit.

Huh? What'd I do to deserve the Mike-treatment?!?

 

/no offense meant, Mike ... just wondering why my post was regurgitated verbatim but with your name attached.

[kkktookmybabyaway 0]

Do I really have to answer that question for you?...

[nl5xsk1 0]

So it's safe to presume that Captain of Outer Space thinks as 'highly' of me as you do? Wow, I didn't realize that I was getting so disliked so quickly.

 

And I hadn't realized that I was down to the -=Mike level yet. Damn.

[Art Sandusky 0]

This thread was terrible until the conflict started.

[Guest Failed Mascot]

I can't carry every thread.

[Guest Agent of Oblivion]

I really like the movie version of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, but I think that's more because Terry Gilliam gets the point across better than Thompson did. Especially in that it's less what he wrote and more how he wrote it. Honestly, that movie doesn't really have a plot. He's covering a motorcycle race, and.... that's about as far as it goes. It's still got the meaty bits, but trippy takes on a whole different meaning in his films.

[Guest Agent of Oblivion]

For those that have never done LSD, the visual bit with the hotel carpet growing up the walls and the guy's leg is one of the best examples I've ever seen of "what it looks like." The lizards and blood and such is silliness, though.

[Guest Failed Mascot]

In terms of drug movies everything comes in a distant second to Trainspotting.

[Guest Agent of Oblivion]

Who the fuck wants to do heroin? Fear and Loathing had variety.

[Guest Failed Mascot]

Trainspotting had Baby on the Ceiling and that guy dying of AIDS and his cats end up eating him since nobody found his body for 2 weeks thus nobody fed the kitties for 2 weeks either.

[Giuseppe Zangara 0]

The film version of F+L took all the chaos of Thompson's prose, but had none of the style to pull it off. All sound and fury etc. etc. etc.