1970-1979
- Personal events are in purple
- Gonzo literary events are in amber-orange
NOTE: I know this is a very, very sketchy outline for HST's life in the seventies, but some dates and events are more obscure than others (or don't match in various sources). --Christine O
March 1970 - HST writes for the first issue of Scanlan's Monthly; "The Temptations of Jean-Claude Killy" which Playboy had turned down.
June, 1970 - "The Kentucky Derby is Decadent and Depraved" appears in Scanlan's. Bill Cardoso christens it "gonzo".
Fall 1970 - HST, along with friends Ned Vare and Billy Noonan, organize a run for sheriff of Pitkin County. An outrageous platform and media pranks attract the attention of the local press. HST loses by about 500 votes.
October 1, 1970 - "The Battle of Aspen" is HST's first article in Rolling Stone, issue #67. It details HST's race for sheriff.
1971 - An excerpt from Hell's Angels and the entire Kentucky Derby piece is reprinted in Tom Wolfe's book, The New Journalism. Only HST and Wolfe have two entries in the mammoth book.
November 1971 - "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" appears in RS 95 and 96 under the name Raoul Duke.
Late 1971 - Jann Wenner, shareholder Max Pavlesky and others retreat to Esalen in Big Sur to discuss covering the 1972 campaign. Over worries about HST's massive expenses, Wenner writes in a secret clause that any expenses will be deducted from book sales.
Early 1972 - Rolling Stone 1972 presidential campaign coverage begins. HST moves to Washington and is assisted by Tim Crouse, who would later write The Boys on the Bus. HST latches onto the McGovern campaign after predicting his win in the New Hampshire primaries and because they are more accessible than the other candidates.
1973 - Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail '72 is published by Jann Wenner's Straight Arrow Press. It garners rave reviews as one of the most accurate and least factual book on the campaign.
Oscar Acosta's second book, The Revolt of the Cockroach People is also published by Straight Arrow Press.
June 1974 - Marco Acosta sees his father for the last time after leaving a Mexican port.
November 1974 - Playboy interviews HST.
December 1974 - The long, sporty piece "The Great Shark Hunt" is published in Playboy. Michael Solheim is HST's travelling companion, "Yail Bloor".
April 1975 - RS sends HST to Saigon where he makes life miserable for Philip Caputo and Nick Proffitt. While allegedly carrying the payroll for Newsweek strapped to his body, Jann fires HST, then is re-hired.
1976 - HST works to set up a National Affairs Desk in Washington, certifies Carter to the skeptics and fails to start a book called Guts Ball after about three months of research. HST later renounces the desk (see High Times 1977) and suggests William Greider as a replacement.
HST's fans want him back, so Harriet Fier makes a plea to fans in the letters section of Rolling Stone to pester him with letters at Owl Farm.
1977 - A hospital bill for a broken arm appears in the accounting offices of Rolling Stone; the patient is listed as Oscar Acosta, but efforts to trace it turn up empty (Perry).
September 1977 - Ron Rosenbaum interviews HST for High Times.
Early 1979 - Sandra and Juan Thompson leave Owl Farm; a divorce is later filed that last several years.
Fall 1979 - The Great Shark Hunt is published.
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When the Going gets Weird, the Weird turn Pro
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