Talking about Hunter S. Thompson

I just got off the phone with William McKeen, author of the recently published Outlaw Journalist: The Life and Times of Hunter S. Thompson. It's an excellent biography that strips away the cartoonish facade and offers an insightful look at the gifted writer and troubled man. McKeen, who hung with HST on several occasions, had this to say about their first encounter, which took place when McKeen was teaching at Western Kentucky University in the late 1970s and interviewed the Gonzo god on stage at a speaking engagement.

"I suppose like others, I expected a mad-dog character," McKeen said. "In fact, [HST] was polite, quiet, soft spoken, almost shy guy … Walking up backstage, his body changed. He became this loping figure, jerking his head around, trying to play up to role … Like all Hunter speaking engagements, it was a disaster. But he had to do them. He made more money from those than writing. I discovered how he lived from paycheck to paycheck. Even when he was at the top fo his game he lived hand to mouth."

Look for my McKeen piece in the CL book issue that hist newsstands Aug. 13.

McKeen will be at Inkwood Books, Tampa, 7 p.m., Thurs., Aug. 14.

Here's a clip of an HST fave.

This article appears in Jul 30 – Aug 5, 2008.