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DOC:

Hunter S. Thompson Tribute

by Keith Stroup

Thu, May 19, 2005 3:50 pm

more: entertainment exclusive

by Keith Stroup

On the wall of my office, directly across from my desk, hangs an amazing photograph, a treasured possession presented to me by my dear friend, the late Dr. Hunter S. Thompson, in appreciation of the small role I played in keeping him out of prison as the 1980s came to a close. The photo captures the Good Doctor, shotgun in hand, getting knocked on his talented ass by a gargantuan lick of flame while the spectral image of Ronald Reagan laughs from the sidelines.

You see, for a time Doc dabbled in art. He’d set up framed black-and-white posters of his enemies (Reagan, Nixon et al.) at the far end of the shooting range behind his house, and would then proceed to fire high-powered weapons at pressurized cans of red paint strategically placed nearby. The paint-splattered posters, signed and numbered by the artist, sold for big bucks in the chi-chi art galleries of downtown Aspen, CO. On this one occasion, however, there was obviously too much pressure in the cans and probably too much Wild Turkey in the artist. Whatever the equation, the result was an immense blowback that sent a 40-foot fireball in Hunter’s direction. Like so many incidents in his life, you have to wonder how he survived.

The photo is made even more extraordinary by its handwritten inscription, a flourish in gold which now has the echoes of an epitaph: “To Keith, Owl Farm, Thanksgiving Day, 1991—The Wicked Accuse! The Godly Defend! The Death of Dr. Thompson!”

READ THE FULL ARTICLE IN THE JULY 2005 ISSUE OF HIGH TIMES

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sumguy

Oct 21 2010, 9:54 pm

hst was the only american with balls to speak about how much of a bad place america truly is canada and hst ftw!!!!!!!

Anchorage, Alaska

Jun 16 2005, 3:45 pm

First off, Thompson as a cultural hero considered himself first a sportswriter.
He had great political insight as well as communicative genius regardless of the recreational chemicals he consumed. I applaude Keith Stroup with the balls to tell it like it is. Suicide is difficult to understand. Apparently, Hunter had been in pain and hinting at death for a number of years. I dont know if he saw himself as an existentialist but he definitely decided it was time to make a statement regardless of the political turmoil. I know that it will be difficult for you wannabee High Time burnouts/morons to understand at your naive age which is reflected in your writing negative comments to commerate the death of an American A TRUE
AMERICAN genius. Please get the government out of our personal lives. Death to all Republicans. You arent worth the carbon you crap out after your Big Mac supersize meal.

too close

Jun 16 2005, 4:47 am

too much friends

Jun 16 2005, 4:22 am

how come they put it down twice, I didn't hit it twice, (they). Ha, a ..more of a sound of life.. a song.. no that man must have missed

of pain

Jun 16 2005, 4:18 am

no, of death. A sound, once identified can mean

of pain

Jun 16 2005, 4:18 am

no, of death. A sound, once identified can mean

lize

Jun 16 2005, 4:11 am

on the walls of my office, directly across from my desk".. ha ha ha ho, a pix., I'm sure, of us. He was a man, as men knew him well, of rocks and bones and fairly a-tuned to the sound

abSINthe

Jun 15 2005, 11:19 am

Jimmy has several good points. Nelson...shut the fuck up and quit preaching your bullshit to people who just dont care.

snow man

Jun 15 2005, 6:41 am

no nor i or any thing else will be thrown in here

bagoglass

Jun 15 2005, 6:27 am

THOW A SNOW BALL

Nug Goddess

Jun 10 2005, 12:34 pm

Hey "AF" if you believe everything you are told, you are part of the problem. Why don't you do some research online about the World Trade Centers. Follow the money. Who benefited from the bombings? Haliburton? Arbusto Oil? Hunter new about the problem, he called Bush a "Nazi". I had always wondered how the german people allowed Hitler to rise to power, but watching the direction America is heading, with fixed elections, the taking away of our basic freedoms, I am beginning to see. Did you know that both George Bushs are Skull and Bonesmen? Have you heard about the Jeff Gannon (homosexual escort)incident recently at the White House? Maybe you should look into the reality of the world that we live in AF.

Jimmy

Jun 10 2005, 9:07 am

Nelson, nelson, nelson. When will inbred, sister banging drop kicks like you ever learn...?? So mummy died of lung cancer hey...? Hope she left you lots of clean bed sheets, with the holes already cut for you, because we all know that you dont have the intelligence to be operating a pair of scissors. What kind od douche bag types a full page on this website....one who can obviously type faster than your swamp dwelling brain can read...I'll give you the hot tip...remove mummy's pillow case from your head...it makes it easier to read. If you dont like smoking, then dont go to a site that deals with smoking herbs you moron...!!! The funny thing is you came back for more. You would be the kind of guy who gets pissed on the weekends, and goes to mcdonalds with his mates and throws up a big mack in the carpark, then goes home and jerks off all over his own chest. Come monday you brag to all your redneck mates what a hot date you had on the weekend. So you dont like to smoke... but your not afraid to watch the soap suds run down the crack of another mans ass....!!!

Jun 10 2005, 2:06 am

Look Planes hit the World Trad e Center and that's why it came down. Hunter S. Thompson was a great writer. But Jesus! Explosives come on. Maybe if he stopped doing too much shit he wouldn't have killed himself. What's next that Elvis was driving one of the plane. Nug Goddess chill on the weed. Okay.

Fiona Kelly

Jun 9 2005, 2:10 pm

R.I.P. Hunter S. Thompson

You will be greatly missed by many, and remembered by many more. I can only hope that in some way, I can touch half as many people as you did in your lifetime. You gave meaning to live life to the fullest, and you have left footsteps for others to follow. Thanks man.

Nug Goddess

Jun 9 2005, 12:54 pm

I know what story HST was working on prior to his death-He apparently found some information that proved that the World Trade Centers were brought down with explosives. And the night before his death he made a call to a friend saying that weird stuff was going on, and that he feared he would be killed, and it would be made to look like a suicide. Fancy that. The day he was murdered, was the same day the story about Jeff Gannon broke, maybe he knew something about that too. Do some research for yourself online, there is plenty of evidence to sort through. It just makes me sad that such a great life can be snuffed out by people with a lot of money and power.

He Stomped Terra
Let us not forget Gonzo

tony

Jun 8 2005, 9:04 pm

flippin ballz to the walls

U.S. ARMY MC Marshall

Jun 8 2005, 4:55 pm

Do you get drunk Nelson? Who said pot had to be smoked? Everybody who has used POT onece knows you can get higher when you drink it, and get more people higher also. Did you know that the first time you get drunk you completly change your brain, otherwise your brain would be like the dead fetus floating in you science class. Brain damage (after the age of 25 when the brain has mattured)is almost revearsable with pot, unlike alcohol. 100 proof means you are drinking 50% the shit that goes in your car or on your boo-boos (naturaly accuring). It is expensive to get all the bad alcohol out. It is a known fact that hangovers are non existent when half a fifth of liquor is consumed, unless you drink the cheap stuff that cost you $40 or less a fifth.

Nelson

Jun 8 2005, 1:32 pm

hey Jimmy. what kind of douche bag writes a full page on this website. the only reason i dont like smoking is because my mom died of lung cancer a year ago. by the way, you are a sick for writing thoses comments. you kind of people keep me up at night.

Digger

Jun 7 2005, 2:42 am

The spirit of Hunter S. Thompson will never die. He opened my eyes with his writing when I was 18 years old.

He taught me that it`s OK to question authority .....in fact, it`s required.

Losing him was a great loss :(

flow jo blow

Jun 4 2005, 9:06 pm

Anyone know what the last story HST was working on be fore he was murdered, ahh, i mean before he killed him self, ya thats it, killed him selfr (them sucka's will belivie that, its the perfect cover)

BS - They murdered him... Check it out yourselves..

dirdy redzz of wash dc

Jun 4 2005, 9:15 am

ive been livvin the doc:hunter lifestlye for 15 yrs and can relate to the words and high of a man before his time....ses in peace

Toking Tom

Jun 3 2005, 7:59 pm

Dr. Thompson was a great writer, and a man who lived his life to the fullest. He used freedom of speech to his advantage and spoke his mind, and also had a great time doing it. He will be missed.

Jimmy

Jun 3 2005, 11:02 am

Hunter S.Thompson is an absolute ledgend gonzo journalist. His style, to this day is, and always will be, unmatched. All the try hard imitators will never get it. All you have to do is read fear and loathing in las vegas to realise what a ledgend this guy was and will always be. To all you war loving, sister banging, bed sheet wearing, trailer park dwelling inbred fuckheads like nelson.... go back to the swamps you fucking ignorant wankers!!! No wonder the world is so fucked up with morons like you plodding around the earth, stealing our valuable oxygen. People like you should be killed at birth, to lighten the load on the gene pool, because god knows there is enough inperfection sloshing around in the DNA soup already. Nelson wrote "smoking is gay, go police" I hope you get your inbred ass beaten by one of your hero policeman, and drafted to go and get your ass shot to peices by some lunatic wearing one of his mothers stained tea towles on his head, protecting something he beleives in....go put that in your pipe NELSON and smoke it, you punk ass bitch. Get your head out of your ass, your fingers out of your sister, remove mummys pillow case from your head and realise that you are just some weak ass fuckhead that wont stand for what he beleives in. There.... had my vent.

Fresh

Jun 1 2005, 9:27 pm

Dr. Tompson will be greatly missed. He was a genius as well as a TRUE patriot. He spoke his mind 24/7 and ya cant get any realer than that. oh ya, and fuck off nelson, you ignorant mufucker. go back to nazi meeting punta. (RIP Gonzo, tell god we need some help down here)

Nug Goddess

Jun 1 2005, 6:20 pm

What if he didn't commit suicide? What if his next door neighbor in Colorado was "Bandar Bush", a Saudi Arabian Prince and a close friend of Pres. George Bush? Don't U think if he really wanted to commit suicide he would have done it in a much more elaborate way? Just a thought,
RIP Hunter you will be missed

Jun 1 2005, 9:43 am

"so we shall let the reader answer this question for himself who is the happier man?he who has braved the storm of life and lived or he has stayed securley on shore and merely existed?"
Hunter S Thompson age 17

hask

May 30 2005, 4:50 pm

Dr. Hunter S. Thompson loves skunk just like me

maziemay

May 30 2005, 1:58 am

you all need to stop quit bein haters and stop the negative energy.....mary jane is an amazing plant....theres no denying that.. so just chill and puff puff give YO!

guy

May 30 2005, 1:17 am

come on ppl. lighten up. we do our thing, you do yours. why do come in here and taunt us expecting sumone to say shit back. i smoke it, but i don't care about it. it's a hobbie. and there's ppl that love 'the sweet smell of cheba', and the casul ppl. like alchoholic's and social drinkers... why don't we make liqeur illegal? same shit, different drug.

Nelson

May 29 2005, 3:07 pm

hey budsub. what the hell are you gonna do about me being on this website. the smell of tulips in spring are better than weed. bitch

BudSub

May 29 2005, 9:06 am

Nelsons got sand in his vagina.....u need to lighten up and learn that there isnt much in this world EXCEPT for the sweet smell of cheba....so stop PMSing and get off the pot site if u dont wanna read this shit..
R.I.P.Gonzo

ash anderson

May 28 2005, 10:36 am

Thompson was a true American and a great man. He fought for the rights of all americans and the world is a sadder place witrhout him.

Fuck the Police

thomasxstewart

May 27 2005, 9:34 pm

I TOO FEEL BOTH ITS' LIFE & WRITING ARE MERELY SMALL FRAUD. IF YOU WANT WRITING, TRY TOM WOLFE. PRETEND PARTY GOERS ARE 5 CENTS/DOZEN AT ANY LOCAL BAR.
SIGNED:PHYSICIAN THOMAS STEWART VON DRASHEK M.D.

smoking is good for you

May 27 2005, 6:28 pm

hey i think we should not be talking about this , but the chick who is in prison for 2 years. we must legalize marijuana

justanormlguy

May 27 2005, 5:55 pm

why all the hangups with gays? Are you afaid you are one? Light up and grow up.

Stephyf in KY

May 26 2005, 1:23 pm

I being the beloved Hunter Thompson fan I am (I own and have read all of his books) would have to say "Screw You' tp "Smoking is good for you". How one person can say such words about a deceased man I will never understand. Maybe someone should take some time and fine some inner peace. For god sake some a joint and lighten up.

the haiku kid

May 25 2005, 3:54 pm

here I sit alone
fearing and loathing you all
rest in peace good doc

lize" Pres. Weed "

May 24 2005, 3:31 pm

who won a war
who died in flames,
whose legend tells the lies of men who sought glory in someone else's eyes
who stopped to tell the story and lived another day looking who'll runs this third world country at war? who holds the fear back behind the door- S. Hussein held the rein of sanity while we here persevere, our man Bush has aclaim to a democritic- free power. Mr. Weed, with all your strength, take over

lize

May 23 2005, 11:13 pm

thats what I mean, your only a man for a moment

Travieso

May 23 2005, 7:38 pm

Hmmmm...hard to stay within the boundaries of good taste and human decency when responding to a colon choking felcher such as "smoking is good for you". Hitchhike yr way on down the hershey highway, you limp wrist cream puff.

ikep

May 23 2005, 10:16 am

hey im a average pot head and i think hunter thompson inspired me alot he lived and had fun most of us just live so too all this is bat country i guess you will see them soon enough you poor fool

lisayeager

May 23 2005, 1:22 am

I long for the day when people will appreciate our freedom of speech and not use it as an excuse to disrespect others. It goes to show how many people take this shit for granted, and how many people open their mouths when they don't know what the fuck they're talking about.

May 22 2005, 10:08 pm

However the DOC was a fucking homo that lived a meaningless life.

May 22 2005, 10:04 pm

The previous person to respond 'smoking is good for you' is a fucking idiot that doesn't deserve to smoke the weed they are, rather they can smoke my foot long dick.

you jackass

B.Racy

May 22 2005, 9:18 pm

Thank you Doc!

BUSHsux

May 21 2005, 8:25 pm

who ever thinks this man is a joke is the brunt of the joke themselvs ..........................................so FUCK YOU smokegd4U you spineless coward. I would love to hear one of your reasons for such harsh words at a time where this man is being idolized, treasured and remebered in his greatest fashion. I think HUNTER if not allready is needs to be INDUCTED THIS NEXT CANNABIS CUP into THE COUNTERCULTURE HALL OF FAME. THAT would serve as a good move into this very tragic and untimely event so RIP brother HUNTER T. I will cry for you as well as leave half a joint waiting just in case!

Ether

May 21 2005, 7:23 pm

(smoking is good for you)I think you're a fucking joke. HST didn't need to buy most of his supplies, he had good friends in "High" places.

Good article and he was the greatest outlaw out there. R.I.P. Hunter, where ever you are now.

Miguel Lopez

May 21 2005, 12:53 pm

Hello i just want to give u a little information about the late mr. thompson, i my self live in the aspen area were mr. thompson spent alot of his time. Im a great fan of his work and lucky to have came upon one of the greatest experiences in my life. I personally got to pack mr. thompsons beloved type writer wich got sold and shipped to new york to a great musician { thats all im saying}I mean the type writer was incredible as i was stearing at it i could just imagine all the great times and stories that he whent through infront of that heavy bright red typewriter. thanks for your time hopefully u post this story and i cant wait to get this edition with tribute in it. good bye
Miguel Lopez

HST fannatic

May 20 2005, 10:47 am

The shot printed in the mag is the coolest pic of Hunter I have ever seen.

Flat on his ass with a huge burst of flame in front of him - shotgun in hand. It's worth buying the mag just for that picture.

Brettholomew

May 19 2005, 10:34 pm

Those were some great pieces of art.. I'd kill to have that hanging on my wall.

Res Ipsa Loquitor, Doc.

them9502

May 19 2005, 8:10 pm

R.I.P. Dr. Hunter.

i got Steven Hunter on my 2002 Los Angeles Lakers, NBA Live team.

matt

May 19 2005, 4:24 pm

i know the picture youre talkin about....hilarious, the good doctor will be missed.....but never forgotten, i was very happy to see HT writing about him.....

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