“When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro,” stated Thompson in Kingdom of Fear. 

This pro was about as weird as it gets.

Hunter S. Thompson, author of bizarre brilliance such as, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, among many other oddities, lead an even odder life.

Childhood delinquency:

• Served 30 days in jail as an accessory to robbery for sitting in a car next to the robber.

Young adult delinquency:

• Joined the Air Force, then left the Air Force after a recommendation for early honorable discharge (though dishonorable discharge describes it better). As stated by his commanding officer: “this airman, although talented, will not be guided by policy,”

Getting fired from more places anyone you know has ever even worked for:

• He worked for Time until he was fired for noncompliance.
• He worked for The Middletown Daily Record until he was fired for damaging an office candy machine and yelling at an advertiser.
• He worked security at the Big Sur Hot Springs until he published a feature in Rogue revealing the questionable culture at Big Sur, which, of course, got him fired.
• He joined the Hell’s Angels motorcycle gang until they realized he was making money editorializing about them, at which point they gifted him with a beating, only later made worth it by the royalty check that allowed him to buy a house.

Then, with his shining record, he ran for office:

• “Thompson ran for sheriff of Pitkin County, Colorado, as part of a group of citizens running for local offices on the “Freak Power” ticket. The platform included promoting the decriminalization of drugs (for personal use only, not trafficking, as he disapproved of profiteering), tearing up the streets and turning them into grassy pedestrian malls, banning any building so tall as to obscure the view of the mountains, and renaming Aspen “Fat City” to deter investors. Thompson, having shaved his head, referred to his opponent as “my long-haired opponent”, as the Republican candidate had a crew cut.” – wikipedia (Gotta love that place.)

Other Crazy Ass Activities:

• He wrote an article on Hemingway’s suicide for the National Observer.  While doing so, he stole a pair of elk antlers off of Hemingway’s front door.
• He founded an entire form of journalism “Gonzo” out of pure desperation and his naturally insanely manic personal style.
• It is rumored that he once tied Bill Murray to a chair, blind folded him and threw him into a pool.
• The police took the courtesy of searching his house one day and discovered a cornucopia of drugs and a bunch of dynamite.

Crazy in Death:

• One day, while on the phone with his wife, son, daughter-in-law and grandson in the next room, Thompson shot himself in the head.
• At Thompson’s funeral, his ashes, according to his detailed plans, were fired out of a cannon atop a 153-foot tower while Bob Dylan’s “Mr. Tambourine Man” blasted, continuing his crazy into the afterlife.

As a final nugget of knowledge, I leave you with Thompson’s words: “I hate to advocate drugs, alcohol, violence or insanity to anyone, but they’ve always worked for me.”