Johnny Depp once spent $3 million to fire Hunter S. Thompson out of a cannon
There are very few tight-knit friendships in the entertainment world quite like the one that blossomed between actor Johnny Depp and writer Hunter S. Thompson, a unique and enduring bond that will continue to glisten throughout the ages. Depp famously played his dear friend and creative hero Thompson in both Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and The Rum Diary.
Their camaraderie was formed through a shared interest in music, counterculture and nefarious substances, and their belief in alternative ways of living ensured that the time the pair spent together would always be one for the history books. On Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, the duo came together, spending time at Thompson’s Colorado home, and Depp began to embody the iconic writer.
Thompson became a confidant of Depp, and vice versa, and their friendship transcended the boundaries of mere cinema into something far deeper, a link that so many of us could only ever dream of having with another human being. In fact, when Thompson tragically passed away after a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head, it was Depp who personally financed the legendary author’s funeral, one of the most extravagant send-offs in living memory.
By 2005, Depp was one of the wealthiest actors in Hollywood, so he could afford to spend $3million gratifying Thompson’s final wish: to be fired out of a cannon as Bob Dylan’s ‘Mr. Tambourine Man’ rang through the air. The likes of John Kerry, Jack Nicholson, John Cusack, Bill Murray, Benicio del Toro, Sean Penn, Josh Hartnett and Ralph Steadman attended the funeral on Thompson’s Colorado farm, a mighty list of key names.
“All I’m doing is trying to make sure his last wish comes true,” said Depp of the cannon spectacle at the time. “I just want to send my pal out the way he wants to go out”.
The cannon was dragged up to the top of a 47-metre tower in Colorado as the guests waited down below to watch their old friend and one of the most significant counterculture writers make his last act on Earth, a fitting tribute to the American giant of letters.
It’s no surprise to learn of Thompson’s demands for a truly eccentric swansong, matching his unconventional lifestyle of excess. The cannon itself had been designed in the shape of a two-thumbed fist, a touching monument to his sheer irreverence. Passages from across the writer’s back catalogue were read, and as many tears fell that day in 2005, there were also smiles and laughter.
As the cannon fired, Depp looked on at his dear friend and hero blasting through the sky one final time, an unapologetic last act embodying the “fuck you” attitude he possessed throughout his remarkable time on Earth. Depp perhaps knew Thompson’s innermost secrets and confessions, so it was only fitting that the actor was the one to bring his desires and wishes into fruition in perhaps the most colourful and chaotic funerals of all time.