Actor Johnny Depp raised a champagne glass as the ashes of gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson were shot into the sky in Woody Creek, Colo.

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Depp financed the $2.5 million Saturday night sendoff attended by a star-studded crowd including politicians, actors, friends and family of the "Fear and Loathing Las Vegas" author. Thompson took his own life Feb. 20. He was 67.

"Hunter would have loved it," veteran TV newsman Ed Bradley, told the Denver Post.

A Japanese drum band pounded as red, white and blue fireworks exploded, punctuated by three hologram double-thumbed gonzo fists.

Among those in attendance were actor Bill Murray -- and former Sen. George McGovern, D-S.D., and Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., the Post said. Both are former Democratic presidential candidates.

Looking around, Thompson's friend and neighbor, Don Dixson, said it was "a fantastic crowd. Half of the people here look like Keith Richards."