Raoul Duke

Raoul Duke is the fictional character and antihero based on Hunter S. Thompson in his autobiographical novel Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. The book was originally written under the name Raoul Duke.

Duke is the main character and narrator of many of Thompson's stories, novels, and articles, often taking part in the events of Thompson's life in Thompson's place. He is portrayed as a cynical, eccentric hedonist whose daily life is a near-perpetual state of intoxication on whatever drugs happen to be available, ranging from cannabis to amyl nitrite to adrenochrome in an attempt to keep the spirit of the 1960s, a time which he spoke of romantically in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, alive within himself even as the rest of the country forgets it and what it represented. He usually obtains and consumes these substances in the company of his attorney, Dr. Gonzo, a half-crazed 300 pound Samoan, whose drug-induced frenzies give even Duke pause. Thompson based Gonzo on friend Oscar Zeta Acosta.

Duke is first mentioned by Thompson in his 1966 book Hell's Angels, where he is described as an outlaw who does not break the law in an offensive way to society, but a way that in fact makes him more acceptable.

Duke is often characterized as being somewhat of an author surrogate, a source of quotes and opinions that Thompson would not necessarily be able to get away with himself, and actions that Thompson didn't want to admit he had committed himself. His name, according to Thompson in interviews, was inspired by Raúl Castro (brother of Fidel Castro) and John Wayne's nickname "The Duke", and probably originated as a pseudonym used to check into hotels, as in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.

...
Wikipedia