Hunter S. Thompson - 1937
|
I. Biography Hunter S. Thompson, creator of Gonzo Journalism, not only is known for his writing, but also for his persona. Who else would have discrepancies about his birth
date? All sources agree that he was born on July 18, however some say 1937 and others say 1939, still more cite both. A man born twice? Obviously not, so which is it – only Thompson knows. In
When the Going Gets Weird, Peter O. Whitmer reports Thompson's birth in 1937 (27). He continues, that "in 1946[…] Hunter was nine"(32),
which also places Thompson's birth in 1937. Yet, William McKeen states that Thompson was born in 1939 in Hunter S. Thompson (2). Still another publication has "1937- " under
Thompson's name as part of the heading, and later begins: "born July 18, 1939" (Contemporary). There is even an entire web page dedicated to the question of what year
Thompson was born (http://www.gonzo.org/hst/ht/date.html). However, there is not any controversy over his place of birth, Louisville, KY. After his
insurance salesman father, Jack Thompson's death in 1954, his mother, Virginia Thompson was left to raise him and his brothers. In high school it appeared that Thompson would
become an athlete (Whitmer 29). Instead, a series of arrests would follow. After an arrest in 1956 for robbery, Thompson was sentenced to sixty days in a correctional facility; after
thirty days he was released. By then it was too late for him to graduate with the rest of his class, and he joined the United States Air Force. A year later he received his diploma after
he was given credit for courses he took while serving. He also studied journalism at Columbia University in New York. While enlisted he began his journalism career; he
worked as a sports writer and later as editor for the Eglin Air Force Base Newsletter (McKeen 6). His supervising officer's discovery that Thompson had also been
moonlighting for a civilian newspaper was the culminating event that led to his honorable discharge in 1958 (6). His career continued to include work as the Caribbean correspondent for Time in 1959 and for the
New York Herald Tribune from 1959 until 1960 (Contemporary). Then, in 1961 he became the South American correspondent for the National Observer, which he continued
until 1963. From 1964 to 1966 he worked as the West Coast correspondent for Nation and as a columnist for Ramparts from 1967 through 1968. He was then a columnist for Scanlan's Monthly
from 1969 thru 1970. At this point he began his position as national affairs editor for Rolling Stone, which lasted until 1984. In addition, he also worked for High Times
as a global affairs correspondent from 1977 until 1982. For five years from 1985 to 1990, he worked as a media critic for the San Francisco Examiner. In 1988 he also was editor-at-large for Smart
, and he wrote freelance political analysis for various European magazines (Contemporary). In order to research the Hell's Angels for his first book, Thompson rode with the Angels for almost a year (
Contemporary). During this time he recorded their road rallies, their home lives, as well as their sexual adventures. His goal was to objectively describe the
gang while, at the same time, exposing the media's role in their brutal reputation. Yet, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: A Savage Journey to the Heart of the American Dream
remains his best-known work. In this exemplary display of Gonzo Journalism, Thompson provides a "report of an actual experience which was largely fantasy or an actual fantasy which is disguised as report" (Contemporary
). Not only is Thompson an author and journalist, but he also had a run in politics. In 1968 he was a candidate for sheriff of Pitkin County, CO; election results were: Glen Ricks, 171
votes, Carrol Whitmer 1533 votes, and Hunter Thompson 1065 votes (Carroll 133). Even though he was not elected, Thompson was still influential, as he was a member of the
sheriff's advisory committee of Pitkin County from 1976 thru 1981. He is also executive director of the Woody Creek Rod and Gun Club (Contemporary).
Thompson has only married once, to Sandra Dawn Thompson Tarlo on May 19, 1963. Between 1967 and 1972 Sandra had five miscarriages (Othitis); Thompson only has one
living child, Juan Fitzgerald Thompson. Eventually Thompson's marriage dissolved. Sandra Dawn Thompson Tarlo later commented that "it was a fiery end. It had a fiery
beginning. First time it was love. Last time it was fear" (Carroll 201). In addition, much media attention has been given to Thompson's use of drugs and
conflicts with the law. In February 1990, he was again the center of media coverage when a woman accused him of sexual assault (Contemporary). The woman, who was described as
an actress, a reporter, and an ex-pornographic film producer, claimed that Thompson assaulted her when she refused to join him in his hot tub. In response, the local police
searched Thompson's home; they discovered small quantities of marijuana and cocaine, as well as Valium-like pills, thirty-nine hits of LSD, not to mention an antique Gatling gun, and
four sticks of dynamite. As a result, Thompson was charged with five felonies and three misdemeanors. If convicted, he could have spent up to fifty years in prison. However, the charges were eventually dismissed (
Contemporary). Finally, Thompson is represented as Uncle Duke in the comic strip Doonesbury. Here, exaggerations of his personality as well as lifestyle (and drug use) can be found (Brinkley).
II. Influences on Thompson In an interview with Thompson, William McKeen asked what writers had the greatest influence on him. Thompson responded, "Conrad, Hemmingway, Twain, Faulkner,
Fitzgerald…Mailer, Kerouac in the political sense- they were allies. Dos Passos, Henry Miller, Isak Dinesen, Edmund Wilson, Thomas Jefferson" (106). In fact, Thompson's son,
Juan Fitzgerald Thompson was given his middle name for F. Scott Fitzgerald (Carroll 116). Thompson's connection to Kentucky has also influenced his writing. He got his
breakthrough with his Kentucky Derby piece. Also, it was here that he studied the works of great authors and became well read. Without this knowledge of literature, it is doubtful
that any author could be as great. Not to mention, it is Thompson's connection to Kentucky that makes him feel that he is a southerner at heart. III. Writing Habits In his introduction to
Generation of Swine: Tales of Shame and Degradation in the'80s; Gonzo Papers, Volume Two Thompson provides a glimpse into his writing habits. He states, "I have stolen more quotes and thoughts and purely elegant starbursts of
writing from the book of Revelation than anything else in the English language." He elaborates that "you cannot call the desk at the Mark Hopkins or the Las Vegas Hilton or the Arizona
Biltmore and have the bell captain bring up the collected works of Sam Coleridge or Stephen Crane at three o'clock in the morning[… ]It simply takes too much time, and if
they've been sending bottles of Chivas up to your room for the past three days, they get nervous when you start demanding things they've never heard of[…]If there is a God, I
want to thank Him for the Gideons, whoever they are. I have dealt with some of His other messengers and found them utterly useless. But not the Gideons. They have saved me
many times, when nobody else could do anything but mutter about calling Security on me unless I turned out my lights and went to sleep like all the others…" (9-10)
Like any journalist, Thompson had to write in the tiring conditions of constant travel and strange hotels far from home (Thompson 9). Without a doubt this lifestyle can be
exhausting, especially with pressing deadlines. In fact, Thompson once had his assistant get a tattoo in the middle of the night for the sake of a story (13-15).
Finally, Thompson's use of drugs, alcohol, and his controversial lifestyle are a great part of his writing habits. Of course, some of the media portrayal of him is embellished.
Thompson himself says, "obviously, my drug use is exaggerated or I would be long since dead"(Thompson interview 107). IV. His influence on journalism
Although his early works were conventional, Thompson was a key player in the development of the genre of New Journalism (Contemporary). This new style evolved in
the 1960s in response to the mood of the times. In addition to Thompson, who was possibly the most visible of these new correspondents was Tom Wolfe and Gay Talese,
not to mention others. Crawford Woods described how the basis of this new style was "the particular sense of the nineteen-sixties that a new voice was demanded—by the way
people's public and private lives were coming together in a sensual panic stew, with murder its meat and potatoes, grass and acid its spice. How to tell the story of a time when
all fiction was science fiction, all facts lies? The New Journalism was born." In fact Thompson coined the term Gonzo Journalism himself. He later explained, "I just did that to
differentiate myself from the 'new journalists' that were cropping up. I don't know why I did it. It seemed like a good idea at the time. But since then, we don't have any
generations of gonzo journalists, it's more than going out and getting drunk and pushing people around in public places. It's in the Random House Dictionary as whatever I do. 'As
defined by the work of Hunter S. Thompson,' something like that" (Carey). V. Published Works Hell's Angels: A Strange and Terrible Saga, Random House, 1966
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: A Savage Journey to the Heart of the American Dream, illustrated by Ralph Steadman, Random House, 1972, published with and introduction by
P.J. O'Rourke as Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and Other American Stories, Modern Library, 1996 Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail '72, illustrated by Steadman, Straight Arrow Books, 1973
The Great Shark Hunt: Strange Tales from a Strange Time; Gonzo Papers, Volume One, Summit Books, 1979 The Curse of Lono, illustrated by Steadman, Bantam, 1983
(contributor) Etel Adnan, Russell Chatham, Winn Books, 1984 Generation of Swine: Tales of Shame and Degradation in the '80s; Gonzo Papers, Volume Two, Summit Books, 1988
(Author of Introduction) Steadman, America, Fantagraphics Books, 1989 Songs of the Doomed: More Notes on the Death of the American Dream; Gonzo Papers, Volume Three, Summit Books, 1990
Silk Road: Thirty-three Years in the Passing Lane, Simon & Schuster, 1990 Untitled Novel, David McKay, 1992 Better than Sex: Confessions of a Political Junkie; Gonzo Papers, Volume Four, Random
House, 1993 The Proud Highway: The Saga of a Desperate southern Gentleman, 1995-1967, Villard (New York City), 1997 (Author of Introduction) Ralph Steadman, Gonzo: The Art, Harcourt (New York City), 1998 The Rum Diary: The Long Lost Novel, Simon & Schuster (New York City), 1998 Screwjack, 1991 (self-published in limited quantity).
Screwjack is also a 64 page e-book in conjunction with Fear and Loathing in America: The Brutal Odyssey of an Outlaw Journalist, 1968-1976. They can be purchased at iPublish (www.ipublish.com) for $15 (Staff).
VI. Media Adaptations Where the Buffalo roam (about life and writings of Thompson) written by John Kaye, directed by Art Linson, starring Bill Murray as Thompson, Universal, 1980
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (adapted from book) written by Terry Gilliam with Tony Garisoni, Tod Davies, and Alex Cox, directed by Gilliam, starring Johnny Depp and Benicio Del Toro, Universal, 1998.
VII. Interviews William McKeen March 1990. Appendix to Hunter S. Thompson. 105-109. Lynn Carey "Going, going, gonzo: Almost 60, Hunter S. Thompson is still the definitive party boy."
Knight-Ridder. 9 July 1997. Sara Nelson (aided by Sean Doorly) for The Book Report (http://www.fargonebooks.com/hunter.html) The Paris Review – audio
(http://www.salon.com/audio/the_paris_review/2000/12/05/hsthompson "The Writing on The Wall" interview (http://www.theatlantic.com/unbound/graffiti/hunter.htm) Tony Jenkins (http://www.rkpuma.com/gonzo.htm) VIII. Books about Hunter S. Thompson Adnan, Etel. Russell Chatham. Winn Books, 1984. Carroll, E. Jean. Hunter: The Strange and Savage Life of Hunter S. Thompson. New York:
Dutton, 1993. Contemporary Literary Criticism, Gale (Detroit) Volume 9, 1978, Volume 17, 1981, Volume 40, 1986, Volume 104, 1998.
Dickstein, Morris. Gates of Eden: American Culture in the Sixties. Basic Books, 1977. Dictionary of Literary Biography, Volume 185: American Literary Journalists, 1945-1995, First Series, Gale, 1998.
Hellmann, John. Fables of Fact: The New Journalism as New Fiction. University of Illinois Press, 1981. Klinkowitz, Jerome. The Life of Fiction. University of Illinois Press, 1977.
McKeen, William. Hunter S. Thompson. Boston: G. K. Hall & Co., 1991. Vonnegut, Kurt, Jr. Wampeters Foma & Granfalloons. Delacorte, 1974. Whitmer, Peter O.
When the Going Gets Weird: The Twisted Life and Times of Hunter S. Thompson: A Very Unauthorized Biography. New York: Hyperion, 1993. I. How to Contact Hunter S. Thompson Owl Farm or Janklow & Nesbit IX. Works Cited Bastian, Ed. Dr. Hunter S. Thompson. 5 March 2001.
(http://aimwebdomain.aspen.com/hunter/index.html). Brinkley, Douglas. "Will the real Uncle Duke Pleas Stand Up?" The New Yorker. 15 May 2000: 34.
Carey, Lynn. "Going, going, gonzo: Almost 60, Hunter S. Thompson is still the definitive party boy." Knight-Ridder. 9 July 1997. (Infotrack) Carroll, E. Jean.
Hunter: The Strange and Savage Life of Hunter S. Thompson. New York: Dutton, 1993. Contemporary Authors Online. The Gale Group, 2000. 18 February 2001.
(http://www.uc.libraries.edu/databases/Gale) . McKeen, William. Hunter S. Thompson. Boston: G. K. Hall & Co., 1991. Othitis, Christine.
The Great Thompson Hunt: When the Going Gets Weird, The Weird Get Wired. 5 March 2001. (http://www.gonzo.org/). Staff. "Reviews." Publishers Weekly. 23 October 2000: 38.
Thompson, Hunter S. Interview with William McKeen. Hunter S. Thompson. Boston: G. K. Hall & Co., 1991. 105 – 109. Thompson, Hunter S. Generation of Swine: Tales of Shame and Degradation in the '80s;
Gonzo Papers Volume Two. New York: Vintage, 1989. Whitmer, Peter O. When the Going Gets Weird: The Twisted Life and Times of Hunter S. Thompson: A Very Unauthorized Biography. New York: Hyperion, 1993.
Woods, Crawford. "The Best book on the Dope Decade." New York Times. 23 July 1972. (http://www.nytimes.com/books/98/11/29/specials/thompson-vegas.html).
This essay was submitted by a student of Breen Reardon, an English teacher at Sycamore High School in Cincinnati.
Woody Creek, Co
81656
598 Madison Ave.
New York, NY
10022