LOS ANGELES, Feb 21: Legendary US author Hunter S. Thompson, a sharp-witted icon of 1960s counter-culture, has died after apparently shooting himself, police and his family said.

The 67-year-old father of "gonzo journalism", best-known for his 1972 book "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas", apparently shot himself in the head on Sunday at his rural home in Woody Creek, in the western US state of Colorado, police said.

"The sheriff's department can confirm the apparent death by a self-inflicted gunshot wound of Hunter S. Thompson at his home," said Tricia Louthis, a spokesperson for Colorado's Pitkin County government.

Authorities declined to give any further details of the death. However, son Juan Thompson, who reportedly found the author's body at his home in Woody Creek, near the ski resort of Aspen, about 256km south west of Denver, issued a statement.

"On Feb 20, Dr Hunter S. Thompson took his life with a gunshot to the head at his fortified compound in Woody Creek, Colorado," Juan Thompson said in the statement released to the Aspen Daily News.