Doonesbury character modeled after Hunter S. Thompson, gonzo journalist for Rolling Stone. Uncle to Zonker. Usually involved in several scams at once. Often stoned.

Duke's jobs have included U.S. ambassador to China and "medicinal" consultant for the Washington Redskins. Was taken hostage in Iran in 1979, called "The Bald Spy" by his captors. Nowadays has a illegitimate son in tow, a real chip off the old block.


"Too weird to live, too rare to die." --Raoul Duke, at the end of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.

Raoul Duke's spirit, in the souls captivated by the writings of Hunter Thompson, will live on forever.

Raoul Duke is the protagonist in the film Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, and was a pseudonym used by Hunter S. Thompson in other writings. Raoul Duke acted as an author surrogate, providing Thompson a way to share his ideas and beliefs through his writing when there was no other means possible. When journalism would fail to capture the mood of the situation often Raoul Duke would come forth with his infinite knowledge and provide some words of wisdom. Duke claimed the official title 'Sports Editor', but was known more for his contributions to Gonzo Journalism, and the taking and collecting of "strange illegal drugs"*.

The character Uncle Duke of the Doonesbury cartoon is modeled after Raoul Duke and during the 1978 BBC Documentary, Fear and Loathing on the Road to Hollywood, Hunter spoke about how he truly despised the cartoon then the coming to accept and ignore its existence.





* A description eloquently phrased by Thompson, Hunter. The Kentucky Derby is Decadent and Depraved. Scanlan's Monthly, vol. I, no. 4, June 1970. The Great Shark Hunt. Simon & Schuster Paperbacks, 1979: 31.

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