ENCORE: Life with 'gonzo' journalist Hunter S. Thompson

CBC Radio | Posted: July 12, 2016 12:48 PM | Last Updated: July 12, 2016

Media | Hunter S. Thompson’s son on his father's last days

Caption: Juan Thomspon watched as years of drugs and booze wore away at his father. Juan Thomspson talks to The Current host Anna Maria Tremonti about his father's last days.

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Audio | The Current : ENCORE: Life with 'gonzo' journalist Hunter S. Thompson

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Hunter S. Thompson was a journalistic figure who rose to fame and acclaim in the 1960s and '70s by covering politics and culture in a way that went beyond just colourful prose. It was downright psychedelic.

Image | Juan Thompson and his dad Hunter S. Thompson

Caption: (Photo courtesy of Juan Thompson)

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Thompson invented the first-person, irreverent style of "gonzo" journalism that inspired generations of writers after him, and he went on to become a celebrity in his own right.

But to Juan Thompson he was always just "dad."

Image | THOMPSON

Caption: Juan Thompson, son of gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson, talks about his father at the Hotel Jerome in Apsen, Colorado August 20, 2005. Juan found his father dead on February 20 with a gunshot wound to the head. Thompson's ashes will be fired from a tower later today in a memorial service at Thompson's farm in Woody Creek, Colorado. (Reuters)

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Juan F. Thompson's new memoir, Stories I Tell Myself, Growing Up with Hunter S Thompson shares memories of his childhood growing up with the outlaw writer and how their conflicted relationship grew to include fear, loathing and love.

This segment was produced by The Current's Howard Goldenthal.

ENCORE: Life with 'gonzo' journalist Hunter S. Thompson

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