Celebrities, in general, have a reputation for partying hard. The combination of excess amounts of cash and VIP access almost everywhere makes it only natural that they would take full advantage of the opportunities to continuously have a good time. However, there have been a select few individuals throughout the years that will forever go down in history as taking the party to a completely different level. Whether it’s an affinity for explosives (which happens to be a common theme), extravagant theatrics, or habit of pushing their limits to the razor’s edge, these 5 party animals are remarkable in their extreme approach to having fun.
Andy Warhol
Andy Warhol’s New York City apartment was nicknamed The Factory and was the hip hangout for artistic types, amphetamine (speed) users, and the Warhol superstars. It was famed for its groundbreaking parties. In the studio, Warhol’s would put his guests to work making silkscreens and lithographs under his direction. To increase production, he attracted a ménage of adult film performers, drag queens, socialites, drug addicts, musicians, and free-thinkers who became known as the Warhol Superstars, to help him. These “art-workers” helped him create his paintings, starred in his films, and created the atmosphere for which the Factory became legendary. He was also a regular at Studio 54, one of the most notoriously exclusive nightlife spots in New York.
Hunter S. Thompson
Hunter S. Thompson was a larger than life writer for American publications such as Rolling Stone. The title character in his most famous work, Fear & Loathing In Las Vegas, was a thinly veiled allusion to Thompson himself, and the book/film chronicles a drug-fueled, inexplicably bizarre tale of a journey into the heart of America’s gambling capital. He once set a million dollar yacht on fire during a world famous regatta while high on psilocybin pills. He almost killed both Bill Murray and Johnny Depp, the former by playing a ‘Houdini’ style escape challenge in which Murray was duck taped to a chair and thrown into a pool. When it became clear that he could not escape and was, in fact, drowning, Thompson was luckily able to save him in the nick of time. In a similar close call, Depp was preparing himself to play Thompson in the film Fear & Loathing In Las Vegas and moved into his basement to get to know Thompson better. His impromptu bedroom was thrown together with random furniture, and one evening as Depp went to ash his cigarette on the table next to his bed, he glanced down and noticed that the table was actually a crate full of dynamite.
Bill Murray
A good friend of Hunter S. Thompson, Bill Murray has a weird and wonderful reputation for crashing strangers parties and doing bizarre things. He drunkenly crashed a stolen golf cart while driving it through the streets of Stockholm, regularly attends karaoke nights and once attended a college house party in St. Andrews and proceeded to do the washing up when there were no clean glasses to drink out of. In 2014 he was spotted partying with Wu-Tang Clan at SXSW and took over as an impromptu bar tender. Reportedly, no matter what anyone ordered, he would serve them a shot of tequila.
Salvador Dali
While notably refraining from intoxicating substances, Dali once famously proclaimed, “I don’t do drugs, I am drugs.” Although he didn’t like getting high, doesn’t mean he didn’t know how to throw a party. His dinner parties were often conceptualized with elaborate themes, costumes and decorations. He would import lions and monkeys, force his guests to dress like unicorns, and serve them live frogs on a platter.
Keith Moon from The Who
Keith Moon (and the rest of The Who) had a notorious reputation for destroying hotel rooms. A notable incident happened when Moon and Pete Townshend decided to send a king sized water mattress from their room down to the lobby in an elevator. Unfortunately it burst before they could get it inside, sending a wave of water into their room and down the hallway, destroying everything. He also loaded his drum set with explosives on live television, and the explosion was so intense, Moon was injured by cymbal shrapnel and bandmate Pete Townshend’s hearing was permanently damaged. He would also rig up other bands instruments (eg. keyboards) with firecrackers and allegedly drove a Rolls-Royce into a swimming pool.