Celebrated author, journalist and contrarian Christopher Hitchens passed away due to complications from cancer last night at 62. Throughout his colorful career, the British-born writer frequently polarized opinion — and while many questioned his arguments, Hitchens’ talent remains undoubted.
NewsFeed rounds up the top Twitter tributes to the bon viveur described by his Vanity Fair editor, Graydon Carter, as being “as vibrant on the page as he was at the bar.”
(MORE: Christopher Hitchens: A Career in Quotes)
British novelist Salman Rushdie:
Goodbye, my beloved friend.
A great voice falls silent. A great heart stops.
Christopher Hitchens, April 13, 1949-December 15, 2011.
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Salman Rushdie (@SalmanRushdie) December 16, 2011Richard Dawkins, a fellow atheist and author of The God Delusion:
Christopher Hitchens, finest orator of our time, fellow horseman, valiant fighter against all tyrants including God bit.ly/rMkZV7
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Richard Dawkins (@RichardDawkins) December 16, 2011Seth Meyers, Saturday Night Live head writer:
RIP Christopher Hitchens. I didn't always agree with him, but I loved the way he wrote. His last piece - vanityfair.com/culture/2012/0…
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Seth Meyers (@sethmeyers21) December 16, 2011Stephen Fry, British writer and comedian:
Goodbye, Christopher Hitchens. You were envied, feared, adored, reviled and loved. Never ignored. Never bested. A great and marvellous man
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Stephen Fry (@stephenfry) December 16, 2011Peter Bradshaw, Guardian film critic:
I knew Christopher Hitchens a bit in the 90s. As a writer, he was a Jimi Hendrix in an industry full of session rhythm guitarists
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Peter Bradshaw (@PeterBradshaw1) December 16, 2011Ricky Gervais, writer, director and stand-up comedian:
RIP Christopher Hitchens
The most honest and outspoken, bullshit-free thinker of our time.
A brave man and a hero of mine.
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Ricky Gervais (@rickygervais) December 16, 2011Tina Brown, editor-in-chief of Newsweek and The Daily Beast:
Desolate at the loss of the bravest and the best, my dear old friend Hitchens.
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Tina Brown (@TheTinaBeast) December 16, 2011Tony Parsons, novelist:
With the death of Christopher Hitchens it feels like our culture just lost a limb.
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Tony Parsons (@TonyParsonsUK) December 16, 2011Rick Warren, Evangelical minister and author:
My friend Christopher Hitchens has died. I loved & prayed for him constantly & grieve his loss. He knows the Truth now.
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Rick Warren (@RickWarren) December 16, 2011Tony Blair, former British prime minister:
Tony Blair: Christopher #Hitchens was fearless in the pursuit of truth and any cause in which he believed: bit.ly/sko6BJ #Hitch
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Tony Blair Office (@tonyblairoffice) December 16, 2011
