Hunter Thompson Burial Plans

Rumple Foreskin

The AH Patriarch
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Just took this AP story off Yahoo news. Thought the other Thompson fans might be interested. Those who aren't fans of the late, great inventor of Gonzo journalism and author of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, are more to be pitied than censured.

Rumple Foreskin :cool:

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Thompson Ashes Said to Be Shot From Cannon

By DAN ELLIOTT, Associated Press Writer

DENVER - Hunter S. Thompson's ashes will be blasted from a cannon mounted inside a 53-foot-high sculpture of the journalist's "gonzo fist" emblem, his wife said Tuesday.

The cannon shot, planned sometime in August on the grounds of his Aspen-area home, will fulfill the writer's long-cherished wish.

"It's expensive, but worth every penny," Anita Thompson said. "I'd like to have several explosions. He loved explosions."

Thompson, 67, shot himself in the head on Feb. 20 after a long and flamboyant career that produced such new journalism classics as "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" and cast his image as a hard-charging, drug-crazed daredevil.

The cannon shot will be part of a larger public celebration of Thompson's life. Some details remain to be worked out, including the exact date, what kind of cannon will be used and the specifics of the gonzo fist, Anita Thompson said.

She said the gonzo fist will be mounted on a 100-foot pillar, making the monument 153 feet high. It will resemble Thompson's personal symbol, a fist on an upthrust forearm, sometimes with "Gonzo" emblazoned across it.
Anita Thompson has said the monument will be a permanent fixture on the writer's 100-acre property.

She said planning for the fist has been guided by a video of Thompson and longtime illustrator-collaborator Ralph Steadman, recorded in the late 1970s when they visited a Hollywood funeral home and began mapping out the cannon scheme.

Meanwhile, Playboy magazine this week is publishing an interview with Thompson based on a series of conversations he had with magazine staffer Tim Mohr in December.

In the interview, Thompson discusses a range of topics from political freedom to the best kind of snow tires to buy but offers no obvious hints of his impending suicide.

"He was really enthusiastic and full of energy," Mohr told The Associated Press on Monday. Thompson even talked about embarking on a long-term project to expand the Playboy piece into a book, "a guide to life, sort of a handbook," Mohr said.

The interview appears in the magazine's May issue, which its newsstands Friday.
 
I read about this, Rumple, and as much as I admire it...

(being a huge fan of HST, as you know)

Here in Seattle, this guy tried to scatter his grandfather's ashes over Safeco Field, him being a long time Mariner's fan and all .....

Got arrested by Homeland Security, doncha know, and he's now in a federal pen trying to explain himself....

tough luck, dude.
 
I'm glad Hunter is getting his way and going out with a cannon blast is really going out with a bang.

Now, I have an excuse to pick up playboy to read the interview.
 
Yes! Finally!

This is a great plan for the remains. Second only to my plan, which is to have my ashes mixed with a vial of massage oil in the possession of George Clooney's masseuse. It takes money and dedicated family members to accomplish something like this. Kudos to Thompson's offspring.

If you haven't read it yet and can find it, last month's Rolling Stone had a lovely tribute by Thompson's son and a dozen or more by people who knew him well.
 
What a positive anodyne to the Terri Schiavo media circus, Anita Thompson truly is. A woman doing her best to follow her husband’s last request - I just hope no self-righteous bastard tries to screw it up.

Thompson deserves to be canonized. There have been damn few writers around of his calibre.
 
Seattle Zack said:
I read about this, Rumple, and as much as I admire it...

(being a huge fan of HST, as you know)

Here in Seattle, this guy tried to scatter his grandfather's ashes over Safeco Field, him being a long time Mariner's fan and all .....

Got arrested by Homeland Security, doncha know, and he's now in a federal pen trying to explain himself....

tough luck, dude.

Ashes and anthrax are easily confused.
 
That's a surprise. I would have figured he would have had himself cremated in an enormous bong, with friends and well-wishers taking big hits off of it.

A good way to spread his wealth around, ya know?
 
Virtual_Burlesque said:
What a positive anodyne to the Terri Schiavo media circus, Anita Thompson truly is. A woman doing her best to follow her husband’s last request - I just hope no self-righteous bastard tries to screw it up.

Thompson deserves to be canonized. There have been damn few writers around of his calibre.
BURLEY!

You shouldn't go shooting off that way. Now go stand in the corner. And stop giggling.

Rumple Foreskin :cool:
 
Rumple Foreskin said:
BURLEY!
You shouldn't go shooting off that way. Now go stand in the corner. And stop giggling.
Rumple Foreskin :cool:
WHAT?

Do you honestly believe that Hunter wasn't thinking precisely that when he planned the event? :D
 
Virtual_Burlesque said:
WHAT?

Do you honestly believe that Hunter wasn't thinking precisely that when he planned the event? :D
PRECISELY.

Nice photo, Brinnie. Thanks.

Rumple Foreskin :cool:
 
rgraham666 said:
That's a surprise. I would have figured he would have had himself cremated in an enormous bong, with friends and well-wishers taking big hits off of it.

A good way to spread his wealth around, ya know?

He's had this idea for a while. He planned it with Johnny some 8 years ago. o surprise there.
 
Brinnie said:

He's had this idea for a while. He planned it with Johnny some 8 years ago. o surprise there.


I read something about Hunter planning back in 1970 to have his ashes shoot out of a cannon.

I second, the suggestion to read the Thompson issue of the Rolling Stone. First time, I've read that magazine cover to cover in a long time.

And great picture, I haven't seen that one before.
 
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