Writer's ashes set for gonzo blastoff
By Nancy Lofholm Denver Post Staff Writer
A meadow at Woody Creek is being prepped for a Statue of Liberty-size, cannon-containing tower that will pepper the sky over Aspen with the cremated remains of Hunter S. Thompson next month.
A Beverly Hills, Calif., events planner hired by actor Johnny Depp is pulling together details of the private celestial send-off that will culminate in Thompson's ashes being blasted from the top of a 150-foot temporary tower behind Thompson's Owl Farm home. The event will take place Aug. 20, the six-month anniversary of Thompson's suicide.
The 67-year-old writer, who had been in failing health after a drug-and-alcohol-fueled lifetime of pushing the limits of journalism and flamboyant behavior, shot himself at his home on Feb. 20.
Within days of his death, Depp, a close friend of Thompson's who portrayed him in the movie "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas," began making plans with Thompson's widow, Anita, and son, Juan, for the cannon send-off. The cannon will scatter Thompson's ashes above a quiet residential area north of Aspen, where he had made a home since 1967.
The event could have run into roadblocks if neighbors in the Woody Creek area hadn't agreed to go along with the unusual method of scattering ashes. But the Woody Creek Caucus met several weeks ago with Depp's events planner, Jon Equis, and unanimously supported it.
Depp's representatives had to jump through a number of hoops. They secured approval from the Pitkin County Community Development Department, which determined the cannon party is a private event.
Depp will have a private security detail to ensure the event stays closed to the public.
Thompson's friend and neighbor Mike Cleverly said Depp's representatives unveiled plans for the tower to the Woody Creek Caucus. The tower will be built around the vertical part of a large industrial crane, he said, which will be sheathed in a cover being assembled at a Hollywood special-effects studio. That cover is in the image of a dagger topped with a fist clutching a peyote button - Thompson's gonzo symbol. The ashes will shoot out of the button - just as Thompson described how he would like to have his ashes scattered.