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February 21, 2005

Hunter Thompson, RIP

Hunter S. Thompson fatally shot himself Sunday night at his Aspen-area home. He was 67.

Mr. Thompson was a counterculture writer who popularized a new form of fictional journalism in books during the early 1970's such as Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and and Fear and Loathing: On the Campaign Trail '72. Mr. Thompson also was the model for Gary Trudeau's balding "Uncle Duke" in the comic strip "Doonesbury."

Although Mr. Thompson was a writer for many years before joining Rolling Stone magazine in the late 1960's, that association led to a fairly large following during the 1970's. Nevertheless, Mr. Thompson's popularity as a writer peaked as a counterculture icon during the Watergate era and the Nixon Administration. He never moved beyond the vacuity of "gonzo journalism" and, thus, the popularity of his writing receded over the past three decades.

Here is an archive of Mr. Thompson's work.

Here is the ESPN.com archive of Mr. Thompson's work.

Update: Banjo Jones over at the Brazosport News has an insightful post on Mr. Thompson.

And Tom Wolfe remembers Mr. Thompson here.

Posted by Tom at February 21, 2005 4:50 AM |

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