happy birthday hunter s thompson, rip.

[Ken Gargett]

Hunter S. Thompson Quotes About Being Weird In Honor Of His Birthday

Posted: 07/18/2013 5:11 pm EDT | Updated: 07/18/2013 5:26 pm EDT

Hunter S. Thompson once said "I have a theory that the truth is never told during the nine-to-five hours."

If that's true he must have written the following snippets just after work hours.

It was 76 years ago today the famed gonzo journalist was born in Louisville, Ky.

Best known for "Fear and Loathing In Las Vegas" and his Rolling Stone reports on Richard Nixon's 1972 re-election, Thompson's first book, a tell-all account of his time riding with the Hells Angels, distinguished him as a counter-culture legend.

While some may dismiss his blunt style as drug-addled buffoonery, we at Huffpost Weird News slavishly admire Thompson, and in his honor, here are some of our favorite HST quotes:

[Reevzy]

I've only read Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (seen the movie a billion times) and The Rum Diary.

Both pretty whacked out reads but good fun to read and very hard to put down........ and comprehend at times, haha.

May he rest in pieces blown out of a cannon

[Ken Gargett]

years ago, hen living in london, i went to a book signing by ralph steadman - who did all hunter's illustrations and accompanied him on some of the adventures, i believe. quite excited to meet him, especially as i had a question. the signing was not for anything of hunter's but illustrations he did for an 'alice in wonderland', but i brought along my old copy of 'fear and loathing' and asked him to sign it. he did so, on behalf of the good doctor. big gold letters - still have it.

i then asked the question - why would the chevy convertible be right hand drive? he grabbed the book, looked at it and realised what he'd done, being an englishman (i could not believe no one had ever said anything). his response. must have been a rental.

so of course, i asked why on earth would anyone rent out a right hand drive vehicle in the states?

his response to that? 'you can just f off out of here. piss off'.

and he had me thrown out. not that security is too strict at a book signing but he just started screaming. complete tosser. i can only assume the good doctor was so high the entire time, highly likely, that he never knew what the bloke as really like.

[Reevzy]

That's quite a tale.

I guess you were the only person with enough balls to point out the flaws in some of his most famous work.

I bet he's a writhing mess nowadays

[Ken Gargett]

i think he probably coped. love his work but he was just a knob. he did a series for the winery, taltarni, years ago and they were terrific.

definitely worth reading 'hell's angels'. pretty much brought in a new style of journalism - gonzo - and not many can say that.

fear and loathing on the campaign trail is terrific too, though probably a bit dated these days. i have a vague recollection he ended up in the back of a limo discussing football with nixon. that must have been a sight.

but definitely read 'the great shark hunt'. fantastic stuff.

sadly the later stuff tended to be recycled earlier articles, desperate attempts to regain relevance or just plain crap.

[mazolaman]

Loved Thompson, love Steadman.

Agree with above, Great shark hunt is possibly his finest...and anyone who's ever smoked a joint has read fear and loathing in Las Vegas, the campaign trail is still pretty relevant I think, to show us how getting elected is a sport, and what scummy people our politicians are...Hells Angels is great, but a hard read at times. I also love the rum diary, as you can see his development as a writer, how Gonzo was formed..they guy was a nutter/genius.

As for Steadman, I find his characatures totally truthful, and an artstic way of finding the essence of peoples character.

I couldn't give a toss if he is a ***, or if he kicks off because some pedant points out the steering wheel is on the wrong side!

It's a bit like no one liking Watson...if he scores 150 today, it doesn't matter, job done.

[FlyingFossil]

Ahh yes those of us who are a little older will allways remember that he lived the life that we all wanted but were too chicken **** to live by

He laugh at the establishment with is great quotes and his stick in the eye snipes ...

Yes was a great man with some great stories I bet ..

Thanx ken ...

My favorite quote of his is :

I hate to advocate Drugs,Alcohol ,Violence or Insanity to anybody but they allways worked for me

I

[Ken Gargett]

I couldn't give a toss if he is a ***, or if he kicks off because some pedant points out the steering wheel is on the wrong side!

i was not being a pedant, i was genuinely curious as to why he did it. i assumed that there must have been a story behind, not that he was an idiot.

as i said, always loved his work but think him a complete wanker (a view i have heard echo'd numerous times by others). but that said, as soon as i met him, i never brought anything else he did. he had soured me. a shame. happens all the time in all manner of pursuits. i see people who won't buy wine from a producer because they met him and thought him a tosser or went to the winery and had a poor experience.

[mazolaman]

i was not being a pedant, i was genuinely curious as to why he did it. i assumed that there must have been a story behind, not that he was an idiot.

as i said, always loved his work but think him a complete wanker (a view i have heard echo'd numerous times by others). but that said, as soon as i met him, i never brought anything else he did. he had soured me. a shame. happens all the time in all manner of pursuits. i see people who won't buy wine from a producer because they met him and thought him a tosser or went to the winery and had a poor experience.

Fair enough..

But I long ago came to the conclusion that if I admire someones work, I have no right to expect them to be jolly nice people. I like their work, that's it.

Having said that, I do like them more if they are decent folk...eg, can't stand the ignorant tittish footballers of which there are many these days.

[Ken Gargett]

Fair enough..

But I long ago came to the conclusion that if I admire someones work, I have no right to expect them to be jolly nice people. I like their work, that's it.

Having said that, I do like them more if they are decent folk...eg, can't stand the ignorant tittish footballers of which there are many these days.

agreed. the problem is that these days, we all think we know our heroes and stars. they are, of course, completely different from what we expect so often. good, bad and indifferent people.

i saw a panel discussion with thriller/action/bestseller writers a while back. lee child was one, matthew reilly and bryce courtney. and someone else. bryce courtney made the point that it did matter - being polite and nice to the fans. he always tried to be kind and helpful and generous with his time. i remember thinking it was a bit over the top but lee child - who was the only author on the panel who i'd read at that stage, came across as such a complete arrogant monumental tosser that i have never read anything more by him. completely lost interest. yet reilly and courtney both came across as really decent people and i have subsequently purchased books by both of them (have not read them yet but have them).

[Ophidion]

Hells angels is his best book, in my opinion of course. I have read it a few times and it continues to amaze me how he was able to make the stories so vivid.

[Drguano]

Dr. Thompson was an interesting fellow and a role model of sorts. I had the pleasure of visiting him at his ranch in Woody Creek back in the late '80s. I was touring with a group of vaudevillians and they met him at a bar in Aspen one night. He invited us over and we went the next day. He was in good form, speaking in his distinctive slightly slurred staccato while gleefully pulling out his recent weapons acquisitions. A red convertible, a gift from friends, was parked in the garage for the winter. Large screen TVs carried various sporting events. His kitchen drawers contained a mixture of ninja throwing stars and a .32 automatic. The end irons of his fireplace were in the shape of human feet. I felt quite at home.

As to the Steadman cover for Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, my paperback from 1973 shows an American LHD configuration. Go figure...

[Jeremy Festa]

I dig his work, in general. As for the famed Fear and Loathing, it is one of those unfortunate occurrences where the movie is better than the book.

[mazolaman]

Dr. Thompson was an interesting fellow and a role model of sorts. I had the pleasure of visiting him at his ranch in Woody Creek back in the late '80s. I was touring with a group of vaudevillians and they met him at a bar in Aspen one night. He invited us over and we went the next day. He was in good form, speaking in his distinctive slightly slurred staccato while gleefully pulling out his recent weapons acquisitions. A red convertible, a gift from friends, was parked in the garage for the winter. Large screen TVs carried various sporting events. His kitchen drawers contained a mixture of ninja throwing stars and a .32 automatic. The end irons of his fireplace were in the shape of human feet. I felt quite at home.

As to the Steadman cover for Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, my paperback from 1973 shows an American LHD configuration. Go figure...

Lucky man, many of us would have loved to meet him...but then, I would probably have nowt interesting to say!

Great to read of your meeting him.

I saw some of his photography at an exhibition in London, at the Proud gallery, which were really good. Some from the Hells angels period, and some great shots of the Big Sur. The same gallery showed Steadmans work...great people.

[Ken Gargett]

Dr. Thompson was an interesting fellow and a role model of sorts. I had the pleasure of visiting him at his ranch in Woody Creek back in the late '80s. I was touring with a group of vaudevillians and they met him at a bar in Aspen one night. He invited us over and we went the next day. He was in good form, speaking in his distinctive slightly slurred staccato while gleefully pulling out his recent weapons acquisitions. A red convertible, a gift from friends, was parked in the garage for the winter. Large screen TVs carried various sporting events. His kitchen drawers contained a mixture of ninja throwing stars and a .32 automatic. The end irons of his fireplace were in the shape of human feet. I felt quite at home.

As to the Steadman cover for Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, my paperback from 1973 shows an American LHD configuration. Go figure...

interesting. mine is a UK edition from 72, later reprinted. it actually has that drawing but on the inside. if i can get the cover scanned, i'll put it up but it is similar colour but drawn from behind as they head off into the desert.

[Ken Gargett]

I dig his work, in general. As for the famed Fear and Loathing, it is one of those unfortunate occurrences where the movie is better than the book.

on this, we are completely at odds. and horrified.

[Jeremy Festa]

on this, we are completely at odds. and horrified.

Showing my age there Ken.

For me, I am on the cusp of the generation who read the book before the movie. But only just. As such, I completely understand that Hunter S. Thompson's ongoing cult status is a direct result of the film. Fear and Loathing is a tremendously hard book to read. I liken it to attempting to read some of Nick Cave's work. It's all over the place.

Don't get me wrong, I really respect Thompson's work, and as you said, he contributed gonzo style to the field of 'journalism.' Best thing to happen to 'journalism.'

But the film Fear and Loathing, has narrative, where the novel, really doesn't. And, Johnny Depp is amazing, and Benicio Del Toro should have won the Oscar for best supporting actor!

[Ken Gargett]

Showing my age there Ken.

For me, I am on the cusp of the generation who read the book before the movie. But only just. As such, I completely understand that Hunter S. Thompson's ongoing cult status is a direct result of the film. Fear and Loathing is a tremendously hard book to read. I liken it to attempting to read some of Nick Cave's work. It's all over the place.

Don't get me wrong, I really respect Thompson's work, and as you said, he contributed gonzo style to the field of 'journalism.' Best thing to happen to 'journalism.'

But the film Fear and Loathing, has narrative, where the novel, really doesn't. And, Johnny Depp is amazing, and Benicio Del Toro should have won the Oscar for best supporting actor!

i am astonished. i would have almost thought that the film did damage to his rep/cult status, rather than enhance it. i struggle with some of his later stuff but i have read F&L many times and never had any issue and it has never ever seemed a difficult read.

[Jeremy Festa]

i am astonished. i would have almost thought that the film did damage to his rep/cult status, rather than enhance it. i struggle with some of his later stuff but i have read F&L many times and never had any issue and it has never ever seemed a difficult read.

Totally see where you are coming from. Especially people who are accustomed to Thompson as a literary and photographic figure! But the movie opened him up to a whole new demographic. Now the younger generations know him as a complete renegade. And respect him for that, probably more so than his contributions in writing!

[Drguano]

This thread perked my interest so I reread "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas". Now it is 2:00 on a Sunday afternoon and I am halfway through a '98 Punch DC and a bottle of El Dorado 15 year old rum while finishing the book. As I read the last few words, the neighbors' dogs gegan barking and snapping as if they were about to rip each other apart. Their frenzy could have been triggered by the restless spirit of the good Doctor walking the shadows of South Minneapolis, summoned forth by my brutal laughter or maybe the blaring of Bulgarian wedding music emanating from my office. RIP HST.

[mazolaman]

the spirit of Raoul Duke lives.

Surely a fitting tribute.

[Drguano]

Toured the Ralph Steadman retrospective at the Cartoon Museum in London today and saw the original art for Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. Definitely Right Hand Drive:

[Ken Gargett]

Toured the Ralph Steadman retrospective at the Cartoon Museum in London today and saw the original art for Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. Definitely Right Hand Drive:

THANK YOU!