One of the most original voices in American journalism has apparently ended his own life.

Hunter S. Thompson was found dead in his home near Aspen, Co.

An excerpt from the CTV.ca story:

Hunter S. Thompson, the prominent countercultural writer who personified "gonzo journalism," has reportedly been found dead.

He apparently died of a gunshot wound. Police do not suspect foul play.

It happened Sunday evening at his home near Aspen, Colorado. Thompson was 67. His wife Anita was not home at the time.

"Hunter prized his privacy and we ask that his friends and admirers respect that privacy as well as that of his family,"  his only son Juan Thompson said in a statement released to the Aspen Daily News. Juan found the body.

Here's a few stories about Thompson that bring a smile to my lips.

During the 1976 U.S. presidential election, Thompson wanted an interview with the Democratic candidate Jimmy Carter. Jody Powell, Carter's press secretary, blew him off. Thompson set fire to Powell's hotel room door.

He was being interviewed once by the now-deceased Barbara Frum, who hosted the old Journal segment on CBC's The National.

Quite close to the interview, Thompson reportedly demanded a gram of cocaine and a bottle of Jack Daniels whisky before going ahead with it.

Frum, being interviewed for a 10th anniversary show, said, "I don't know where he got it, and I don't want to know where he got it," but some streetwise producer returned with not only the JD, but the coke!

Apparently the interview started quite slowly, with Thompson almost catatonic, but then the various substances kicked in and he became (ahem) highly animated.

Thompson may have been a crazy son-of-a-bitch, and I think you'd need a huge bottle of Tylenol if you were his editor, but he was a giant original talent, with a writing voice as distinctive as a Picasso painting.

It's tragic that his life ended the way it did; a person with an amazing appetite for life wasn't hungry for it by the end.

For more, check out the Wikipedia entry on Thompson. The Great Thompson Hunt is a fan's site.