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hunter s thompson's ashes may be shot from cannon
from denver post
Pals taking a shot at granting Thompson's wish
"Pirates" star part of effort to blast writer's ashes from cannon
By Nancy Lofholm
Denver Post Staff Writer
Aspen - In what could pass for an outlandish scene from the pages of one of Hunter S. Thompson's books, actor Johnny Depp and others who were close to the gonzo journalist are searching for a cannon and researching firing techniques to grant the author's wish that his cremated remains be blasted into the sky.
"If it can be done, we will do it," said Boston entertainment lawyer George Tobia Jr., who has represented Thompson for about 15 years. "Maybe it will be part of a public thing, or maybe one night a shot will ring out and people will know."
Thompson's unusual send-off is not the only posthumous bang that can be expected from a prolific writer who turned journalism on its head with his incisive and manic observations of everything from the Hells Angels to basketball.
Tobia said many unpublished works are forthcoming.
When Thompson sat down in his kitchen near his trusty typewriter and fired a gun into his mouth Sunday night, he left behind numerous collections of unpublished writings, including a novel called "Prince Jelly Fish," reams of essays and scads of letters.
Some of the writings are in manuscript form. Some are included in Thompson's own detailed files of everything he ever wrote going back half a century, when he had to use typewriter carbon paper to make copies. Many are in faxes. The legendary night owl and news junkie would send nocturnal faxes to his confidants, commenting on happenings in the news. President Bush's re-election was a frequent topic. Janet Jackson's "wardrobe malfunction" merited at least one essay.
"He has a voluminous legacy of work," said Tobia, who has also represented the interests of famous beat-generation writers, including Jack Kerouac, William Burroughs and Allen Ginsberg. "There was hardly a day that went by when Hunter didn't send out a fax. And it wouldn't be a two-line fax. It was always a screed. They were so well written."
Tobia said Thompson sent him faxes in the week before he died. He also kept up his weekly columns for ESPN.com. His most recent piece recommended devising a new golf game that would use guns to shoot balls out of the air rather than hitting them with clubs.
Tobia and other representatives of Thompson's estate will be sifting through the unpublished writings to decide when and in what form they will be publicized.
But first, they have to take care of the matter of the cannon.
Thompson liked to joke that he was cannon fodder, which led to his oft-expressed wish for one final blast.
It's a wish that legally could fly.
"It think if someone wanted to fire a cannon on their own property, I think they could do that," said Pitkin County sheriff's investigator Joe DiSalvo. "I think by statute it would be OK."
Thompson was cremated in Glenwood Springs in Tuesday.
Depp became part of the cannon search because he and Thompson had been close friends since working together on the 1998 movie version of Thompson's "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas." Depp played Thompson's alter ego, Raoul Duke.
Tobia said jokes cropped up Tuesday that maybe Depp could secure a prop cannon from his 2003 movie "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl."
Thompson fans may be able to witness that unusual send- off, but they will have to wait.
Thompson's close friends and family will have a private gathering March 5 at the Belly Up nightclub in Aspen. A public ceremony is planned in the spring or early summer.
Meanwhile, glasses are being hoisted and Thompson books are being pulled out and thumbed through in Aspen and Woody Creek and around the world, as evidenced in condolence letters being sent to Aspen newspapers.
Two anonymous Thompson fans called the bar in the Hotel Jerome on Monday and gave their credit-card numbers so bartenders could buy a drink for anyone who mentioned Thompson's name.
Even Gov. Bill Owens, who said he read "Fear and Loathing" many years ago, addressed the author's proclivity for spirits.
Asked about Thompson's contribution to Colorado and the nation, Owens said, "He certainly increased substantially the alcohol consumption at the ... Woody Creek Tavern."
At the Woody Creek General Store, T-shirts and pink-and- black thong underwear bearing Thompson's trademark closed fist under the word "Gonzo" were selling to some of those making pilgrimages to Thompson's stomping grounds.
The flag still flew at half-staff at the Woody Creek Post Office on Tuesday, as the loss of a man who Aspen friends say was as kind as he was zany began to sink in.
"He was our Hemingway," said DiSalvo. "He was our friend."
Staff writer Nancy Lofholm can be reached at 970-256-1957 or nlofholm@denverpost.com.
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