Thompson claimed the "Outlaw Journalist" title and shot to the front of the list of the hippie era writers.
When the country music boys needed to boost sales, someone cooked-up the "Outlaw" label for use with their songs and then (to quote a line from a Waylon Jennings song): "New York sent a posse down like I've never seen." The rest is pop culture history.
In the early Forties, Gypsy Rose Lee wanted to expand her career to other money making endeavors and so she became a mystery writer. If she had been a stripper with a comic strip, she probably would have achieved an even great amount of fame and fortune than she did. (Homework assignment: Google "Stripper girl comic strip.") Isn't the rule in Hollywood: "Ya gott have a gimmick?"
Cartoons and motion pictures have been a winning combination since the first "talkies" were made. Boo oop ee doop! We wonder if Pixar sent a cartoon talent scout to the San Francisco Bay Area event.
Hunter Thompson fans should fact check the comic book series "The Transmetropolitan," which featured a famous fictional gonzo journalist, named Spider Jerusalem, who wears sun glasses and has a shaved head. (Try a Google Image search.)
Speaking of suing a cartoonist for plagiarizing a life, when we noticed the comic book series "Kill-Weather," (written by Jesse E. Lichtenstein and drawn by Abraham Mong), which is about the adventures of a conservative political pundit, we thundered: "You changed liberal to conservative and stole my life story; my Samoan lawyer will contact you." They responded "There's nothing for him to take away from us and we need the publicity; so go ahead and make our day with a newsworthy lawsuit!"
Last weekend was the A. P. E. event; this weekend in San Francisco will be Satire weekend. (Wasn't he on the NY Times OpEd team roster some time ago?) Maybe for next Friday, we'll do a column and use the headline: "Sartre, Satire, and Safire"?
Charles M. Shulz (creator of the Peanuts comic strip) has said: "There is a difference a philosophy and a bumper sticker."
Now the disk jockey will play the Coasters' song "Charlie Brown," the Hollywood Argyles' "Alley Oop," and the Royal Guardsmen's "Snoopy vs. the Red Barron." We have to go see if we can get a one-day press pass for when the Giants play home games during the World Series. Have a "Curses! Foiled again!" type week.
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