Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

"Gonzo"

"Gonzo" journalist/author Hunter S. Thompson shot himself in his Aspen home Sunday.

My friend Doug called me four months ago and asked if I wanted to go meet Thompson in L.A. He was doing a book-signing at Book Soup on the Sunset Strip. I called the bookstore and they told me he wasn't doing any signings in San Diego. They also said, "He is supposed to sign 50 books, but he can be so weird, we can't even guarantee that. I'd hate for you to drive all the way up here for nothing."

Sponsored
Sponsored

Doug insisted we bring Thompson some MacAllan Scotch. Little did we know he'd have his own bottle at the table with him. He also had former UCSD student and Oscar winner Benicio del Toro sitting beside him. Del Toro was in the movie version of Thompson's autobiographical Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas movie (starring Johnny Depp).

After taking numbers to line up (we were the second and third in line), Doug handed the Scotch to Thompson. He said, "Oh, you brought me some good stuff. Open it." Doug said, "Excuse me?" Thompson said quickly, "You take a swig first! I want to make sure you didn't spike it with anything."

As Doug opened the bottle, Thompson grabbed it and said "Okay, thanks." He then drank a few big gulps. He leaned into us and said, "Do you have any hash? Do you have any cocaine? What else do ya got?" We laughed and said nothing.

In the book Doug handed him to autograph, Thompson wrote "To Doug, Eat shit and die. Hunter S. Thompson."

Thompson said something to Del Toro and followed it by saying, "This reminds me of the times in San Diego, over in El Cajon."

Doug said, "I was born in El Cajon." Thompson grabbed the next book to sign and we walked away. We heard yelling and turned around. Thompson had gotten on top of the table and was yelling at people. We knew he was weird. Aside from keeping many guns at his house, in 2000 (according to the Associated Press) he shot and wounded his assistant Deborah Fuller while trying to chase a bear off his property.

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Trump disses digital catapults

Biden likes General Atomics drones

"Gonzo" journalist/author Hunter S. Thompson shot himself in his Aspen home Sunday.

My friend Doug called me four months ago and asked if I wanted to go meet Thompson in L.A. He was doing a book-signing at Book Soup on the Sunset Strip. I called the bookstore and they told me he wasn't doing any signings in San Diego. They also said, "He is supposed to sign 50 books, but he can be so weird, we can't even guarantee that. I'd hate for you to drive all the way up here for nothing."

Sponsored
Sponsored

Doug insisted we bring Thompson some MacAllan Scotch. Little did we know he'd have his own bottle at the table with him. He also had former UCSD student and Oscar winner Benicio del Toro sitting beside him. Del Toro was in the movie version of Thompson's autobiographical Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas movie (starring Johnny Depp).

After taking numbers to line up (we were the second and third in line), Doug handed the Scotch to Thompson. He said, "Oh, you brought me some good stuff. Open it." Doug said, "Excuse me?" Thompson said quickly, "You take a swig first! I want to make sure you didn't spike it with anything."

As Doug opened the bottle, Thompson grabbed it and said "Okay, thanks." He then drank a few big gulps. He leaned into us and said, "Do you have any hash? Do you have any cocaine? What else do ya got?" We laughed and said nothing.

In the book Doug handed him to autograph, Thompson wrote "To Doug, Eat shit and die. Hunter S. Thompson."

Thompson said something to Del Toro and followed it by saying, "This reminds me of the times in San Diego, over in El Cajon."

Doug said, "I was born in El Cajon." Thompson grabbed the next book to sign and we walked away. We heard yelling and turned around. Thompson had gotten on top of the table and was yelling at people. We knew he was weird. Aside from keeping many guns at his house, in 2000 (according to the Associated Press) he shot and wounded his assistant Deborah Fuller while trying to chase a bear off his property.

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Tacos and elotes greet Ed Bedford after border walk

The first restaurant you find in Latin America
Next Article

Two poems for Christmas by Joseph Brodsky

Star of the Nativity and Nativity Poem
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader