Wikipedia

Oscar Zeta Acosta

For other people named Oscar Acosta, seeOscar Acosta (disambiguation).
In thisSpanish name,the first or paternalsurnameisAcostaand the second or maternal family name isFierro.

Oscar"Zeta"Acosta Fierro(/əˈkɒstə/;April 8, 1935 – disappeared 1974) was aMexican Americanattorney,author and activist in theChicano Movement.He wrote the semi-autobiographical novelsAutobiography of a Brown Buffalo(1972) andThe Revolt of the Cockroach People(1973),[3]and was friends with American authorHunter S. Thompson.Thompson characterized him as a heavyweightSamoanattorney,Dr. Gonzo,in his 1971 novelFear and Loathing in Las Vegas.Acosta disappeared in 1974 during a trip in Mexico and is presumed dead.[4][5]

Oscar Zeta Acosta
Acosta inCaesars Palace,Las Vegas,c.March–April 1971
Born
Oscar Acosta Fierro[1]

April 8, 1935
El Paso, Texas,U.S.
DisappearedMay 27, 1974(1974-05-27)(aged 39)
Mazatlán,Sinaloa, Mexico[2]
StatusMissing,presumed dead
EducationSan Francisco State University(BA)
San Francisco Law School(JD)
Occupation(s)Attorney, author, activist
Known forActivism, friendship withHunter S. Thompson
Notable workAutobiography of a Brown Buffalo
The Revolt of the Cockroach People
MovementChicano Movement

Life and career

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Oscar Acosta was born inEl Paso, Texas,to Manuel and Juanita (néeFierro) Acosta, from Mexico and El Paso, respectively. He was the third child born, but second to survive childhood. Acosta had an older brother, Roberto, born in 1934.[1]After the family moved toCalifornia,the children were raised in the smallSan Joaquin Valleyrural community ofRiverbank,nearModesto.[2][3]Acosta's father was drafted duringWorld War II.

After finishing high school, Acosta joined theU.S. Air Force.Following his discharge, he worked his way throughModesto Junior College.Acosta went on toSan Francisco State Universitywhere he studiedcreative writing,[3]becoming the first member of his family to get a college education. He attended night classes atSan Francisco Law Schooland passed the statebar examin 1966.[6]In 1967, Acosta began working locally as an antipoverty attorney for the East Oakland Legal Aid Society.[2]

In 1968, Acosta moved toEast Los Angelesand joined theChicano Movementas an activist attorney,defendingChicano groups and activists. He represented the Chicano 13 of theEast L.A. walkouts,members of theBrown Berets,Rodolfo Gonzales,and other residents of the East L.A. barrio. Acosta's controversial defenses earned him the ire of theLos Angeles Police Department,who often followed and harassed him. In 1970, he ran for sheriff ofLos Angeles CountyagainstPeter J. Pitchess,and received more than 100,000 votes. During the campaign, Acosta was jailed for two days forcontempt of court.He vowed that if elected, he would do away with theSheriff's Departmentas it was then constituted. Known for loud ties and a flowered attaché case with a Chicano Power sticker, Acosta lost to Pitchess' 1.3 million votes but beat Everett Holladay, chief of police ofMonterey Park.

In 1972, Acosta published his first novel,Autobiography of a Brown Buffalo,about a lawyer fighting for the rights of a marginalized people. In 1973, he publishedThe Revolt of the Cockroach People,a fictionalized version of the 1970Chicano Moratoriumas well as an account of the death ofLos Angeles TimescolumnistRubén Salazar.

Friendship with Hunter S. Thompson

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In the summer of 1967, Acosta met authorHunter S. Thompson.In 1971, Thompson wrote an article about Acosta and the injustice in the barrios of East Los Angeles, as well as the death of Salazar, forRolling Stonemagazine, titled "Strange Rumblings in Aztlan".While working on that article, Thompson received an offer fromSports Illustratedto cover an off-road race outsideLas Vegas.He invited Acosta to join him, and the two men returned to Las Vegas for a second weekend. Thompson wrote about their adventures in a two-part article forRolling Stonethat appeared in 1971. The following year, Random House publishedFear and Loathing in Las Vegasas a nonfiction title.

The legal department of the publisher ofFear and Loathingsaid the book could not be published without clearance by Acosta, as references to him were recognizable. Acosta initially refused the clearance, saying that he was insulted by Thompson's alteration of his race—Thompson had described him as a "300-poundSamoan."He understood, however, that inserting his real name and race would necessitate extensive rewriting and delay publication of the book, so he promised clearance provided that his name and picture would appear on thedustjacket.He later claimed a portion of the film rights, which led to more acrimony.[7]

Scholar David S. Wills, inHigh White Notes: The Rise and Fall of Gonzo Journalism,argued that it was Acosta who pushed Thompson to pursue the theme of the American Dream and indeed provided much of the plot of the novel through his actions in Las Vegas.[8]He asserts that this is likely the reason why Acosta felt so aggrieved, citing various letters and audio recordings of the two men. Acosta even complained to one of Thompson's editors, "Hunter has stolen my soul. He has taken my best lines and has used me."[9]

Although Thompson and Acosta attempted to work together one more time, their relationship was strained by the dispute overFear and Loathing in Las Vegas,and it never fully recovered. After Acosta's death, it took Thompson several years before he wrote an obituary for his friend, "The Banshee Screams for Buffalo Meat". In it, Thompson called Acosta "a stupid, vicious quack with no morals at all and the soul of a hammerhead shark."[10]Ralph Steadmanexplained that Thompson "berated most of his friends a lot, but somehow it was funny. His way of expressing love for people was to be both angry and insulting."[11]

Disappearance

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In May 1974, Acosta disappeared while traveling inMazatlán,Sinaloa, Mexico.[2][4]His son, Marco Acosta, believes that he was the last person to talk to his father. Acosta telephoned his son from Mazatlán, telling him that he was "about to board a boat full of white snow." Marco is later quoted in reference to his father's disappearance: "The body was never found, but we surmise that probably, knowing the people he was involved with, he ended up mouthing off, getting into a fight, and getting killed."[12]

In 1977, Thompson's investigation of Acosta's disappearance, titled "The Banshee Screams for Buffalo Meat", was published inRolling Stone.[13]According to Thompson, Acosta was a powerful attorney and spokesman, but suffered from an addiction toamphetaminesand had a predilection forLSD.Thompson wrote that he believed Acosta was either murdered by drug dealers or was the victim of a political assassination.[2]Others have speculated that Acostaoverdosedor suffered anervous breakdownduring his trip.[4]

Motion pictures

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The filmWhere the Buffalo Roam(1980) loosely depicts Acosta's life and his relationship with Thompson. Its name is derived from Thompson's article about Acosta, "The Banshee Screams for Buffalo Meat", in reference to Acosta's bookAutobiography of a Brown Buffalo.ActorPeter Boyleportrayed Acosta, whose character is named "Carl Lazlo, Esquire",[14]andBill Murrayportrayed Thompson.

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas(1998) is a film adaptation of Thompson's 1972novel of the same name,a fictionalized account of Thompson and Acosta's trip to Las Vegas in 1971.Benicio del Toroportrays Acosta,[15]referred to in the film and novel as "Dr. Gonzo", whileJohnny Deppportrays Thompson (under the alias ofRaoul Duke).

The Rise and Fall of the Brown Buffalo(2017) is a documentary[16]of the life and career of Acosta, with dramatic reenactments. The documentary[17]was directed byPhillip Rodriguezand produced by Benicio del Toro.[18]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ab"Birth certificate of Oscar Acosta".Texas State Department of Health. 8 April 1935.Archivedfrom the original on 2015-04-06.Retrieved2015-03-26.
  2. ^abcdeDoss, Yvette C. (June 5, 1998)."The Lost Legend of the Real Dr. Gonzo".Los Angeles Times.Archivedfrom the original on 2 April 2015.Retrieved25 March2015.
  3. ^abc"Guide to the Oscar Zeta Acosta PapersCEMA 1".California Digital Library.Archivedfrom the original on 2018-05-31.Retrieved2014-08-20.
  4. ^abcMartinez Wood, Jamie (2007).Latino Writers and Journalists.Infobase. pp.1–2.ISBN9781438107851.Archivedfrom the original on 9 December 2020.Retrieved25 March2015.
  5. ^"Top 10 Famous Disappearances: Oscar Zeta Ocasta".Time Magazine.3 October 2008.Archivedfrom the original on 27 March 2015.Retrieved25 March2015.
  6. ^"Oscar Acosta – #38731".State Bar of California.Archivedfrom the original on 2 April 2015.Retrieved25 March2015.
  7. ^Peter Richardson,"Strange Rumblings: The Prickly but Productive Friendship Between Hunter Thompson and Oscar Acosta,"Los Angeles Review of Books,Nov. 21, 2021.
  8. ^Wills, David S. (11 November 2021).High White Notes: The Rise and Fall of Gonzo Journalism.Beatdom Books. pp.290–291.ISBN978-0-9934099-8-1.OCLC1324995493.
  9. ^Wills, David S. (11 November 2021).High White Notes: The Rise and Fall of Gonzo Journalism.Beatdom Books. p. 289.ISBN978-0-9934099-8-1.OCLC1324995493.
  10. ^Thompson, Hunter S. (2014).The great shark hunt: strange tales from a strange time.Simon & Schuster. p. 516.ISBN978-1-4516-6925-1.OCLC892937797.
  11. ^Wenner, Jann (20 October 2008).Gonzo: the life of Hunter S. Thompson.Little, Brown. p. 195.ISBN978-0-316-00528-9.OCLC1305380444.
  12. ^"Shermakaye Bass".Archived fromthe originalon 2012-09-20.Retrieved2009-01-18.
  13. ^Thompson, Hunter S. (December 15, 1977)."The Banshee Screams For Buffalo Meat".Rolling Stone.Archivedfrom the original on 12 July 2012.Retrieved25 March2015.
  14. ^Moorhead, Jim (April 28, 1980)."It Gets Rather Messy 'Where Buffalo Roam'".The Evening Independent.Archivedfrom the original on December 9, 2020.RetrievedSeptember 23,2018.
  15. ^Olsen, Mark (December 11, 2008)."A rebel force".Los Angeles Times.Archivedfrom the original on July 5, 2009.RetrievedFebruary 22,2012.
  16. ^"Welcome".City Projects Presents.Archivedfrom the original on 12 June 2018.Retrieved31 May2018.
  17. ^"The Rise and Fall of the Brown Buffalo".IMDb.31 May 2018.Archivedfrom the original on 15 November 2019.Retrieved31 May2018.
  18. ^"Documentary on 'Dr. Gonzo' captures Oscar Zeta Acosta's wild ride".NBC News.March 23, 2018.Archivedfrom the original on October 29, 2018.RetrievedNovember 19,2018.

Further reading

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