Hunter S. Thompson: The Playboy Interview (50 Years of the Playboy Interview)

In mid-1962, Playboy founder Hugh Hefner was given a partial transcript of an interview with Miles Davis. It covered jazz, of course, but it also included Davis’s ruminations on race, politics and culture. Fascinated, Hef sent the writer—future Pulitzer-Prize-winning author Alex Haley, an unknown at the time—back to glean even more opinion and insight from Davis. The resulting exchange, published in the September 1962 issue, became the first official Playboy Interview and kicked off a remarkable run of public inquisition that continues today—and that has featured just about every cultural titan of the last half century. To celebrate the Interview’s 50th anniversary, the editors of Playboy have culled 50 of its most (in)famous Interviews and will publish them over the course of 50 weekdays (from September 4, 2012 to November 12, 2012) via Amazon’s Kindle Direct platform. Here is the interview with the journalist Hunter S. Thompson from the November 1974 issue. Playboy interview : Hunter Thompson / Craig Vetter -- Hunter Thompson : the good doctor tells all about Carter, cocaine, adrenaline, and the birth of gonzo journalism / Ron Rosenbaum -- Hunter Thompson : still crazy after all these years? / Peter O. Whitmer -- Fear and loathing in Hunter Thompson / Harold Conrad -- The doctor is in / Curtis Wilkie -- Gonzo's last stand? The new Aspen takes aim at Hunter S. Thompson / Geoffrey Stokes, Kevin Simonson -- Interview with Hunter S. Thompson / William McKeen -- Exclusive interview with Hunter S. Thompson / Kevin Simonson -- Still gonzo after all these years / Richard Keil -- Writing on the wall : an interview with Hunter S. Thompson / Matthew Hahn -- Fear and loathing in Hollywood : a strange and terrible saga of guns, drugs, and Hunter S. Thompson / Kevin Simonson -- The art of journalism : an interview with Hunter S. Thompson / Douglas Brinkley -- Still gonzo after all these years / Jeff Kass -- Fear and writing / Seth Mnookin -- Bedtime for Gonzo / J. Rentilly -- Hunter S. Thompson / John Glassie -- Man of action : Hunter S. Thompson keeps moving / Jesse Jarnow.