Writer Hunter S. Thompson dead at 67 (http://msnbc.msn.com/id/7005168/)
Son says counterculture writer shot himself
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 home, his son said. He was 67.

bummer. :(

Angry waters run deep, too, I guess. Guy was full of rage, and often right about this country. I was always proud that Nixon was scared of what Thompson represented.

Sad times, although I can't say it's the most surprising news. I wonder if he left a note?

Wonder if Trudeau will reference this, since "Uncle Duke" is pretty much patterned off him.

"Fear and Loathing" one of my favorites.

Are we sure it was a suicide? He made a lot of people angry.

He was suffering from some medical condition I don't remember. He wrote about being in pain all the time.

Well, this certainly makes it possible to do another remake of "Fear and Loathing" someday. In 5 years we'll see the new hot star (like J. Depp was) do a new version....and the ending will much more Hunter like. He planned this I'm sure....he knew what he was doing. Gun shot? He could have O.D'ed and would have been less cinematic. Heck, I admire someone that goes out with a laugh...I'm sure he did.

Although, if his wife came home and didn't know...that actually sucks and he's a loser for doing that to her. I'm not sure about the circumstances, so I guess I shouldn't assume.

Bottom line - "Fear and Loathing" is a GREAT film. Kudos Hunter!

I don't have my dogeared copy of "Fear and Loathing" with me at the moment, but I seem to remember a passage in there where Hunter described how he'd want to take himself out, something about driving a convertible off a cliff...perhaps someone can quote it.

I heard him speak a few times when he was touring colleges in the 80's. Sometimes he was more coherent than others, but always a fun presence and I've enjoyed his writing a lot over the years. I'm sorry to see him go.

"Old elephants limp off to the hills to die; old Americans go out to the highway and drive themselves to death with huge cars." -- HST

Faint shades of Hemingway, who also left a corpse for his wife to find.

Looks like The Rum Diary is in production currently, and with quite a cast...

http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0376136/

In his honor, I have added two HST quotes to the DV Info randomizer list (one random quote from a variety of sources appears at the bottom of every content page on DV Info Net). These are:

A word to the wise is infuriating.

and

Absolute truth is a very rare and dangerous commodity in the context of professional journalism.

I also wanted to use this one, but it's a bit too long for the context of the quote generator:

The music business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free, and good men die like dogs. There's also a negative side.

He also said I wouldn't recommend sex, drugs or insanity for everyone, but they've always worked for me.

Sad news... he was definitely one of a kind.

How about: "When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro".

i'm not familar with this writer. i know the film fear&loathing but i didn't particularly get the writer. it's kinda strange cause i get writers like chuck palahniuk but i don't HST. can anyone tell me what other works besides f&l and rum adaptation he has done and what makes him so great?

Hell's Angels. It's almost a normal book.

Chas...

When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro.

Excellent... done!

Also added, in honor of the late Johnny Carson:

If it weren't for Philo T. Farnsworth, we'd still be eating frozen radio dinners.

Is it possible to have the quotes appear at the bottom of forum pages randomly?

I hardly ever frequent the info pages.

It was a suicide, a self inflicted gun shot to the head. It's totally in keeping with the man, and I completely respect his choice (no doubt did it with an excellent gun too!).

A paraphrase from Fear And Loathing in Las Vegas:

They all looked like used car salesmen from Dallas, and sweet jesus there were a helluva lot of them at 4am on a Sunday morning. Still humping the American Dream.


Shawn

ps I saw a live show called Sex Workers' Art Show at a local theatre the day after he died, in his honor. Amazing show!

I see from the followup stories that Hunter S. actually killed himself while talking on the phone with his wife.

What a bastard.