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Hotchner pens version of his WWII showdown with "Shane" actor
Aaron Edward Hotchner has written another phase of his life story, and it partially deals with a famous person he really disliked: the late movie actor Alan Ladd. “The Day I Fired Alan Ladd, and Other Wartime Adventures,” is in the recent issue of Natural Bridge, the University of Missouri at St. Louis literary publication put together by Olivette novelist David Carkeet. He’s editor of Natural Bridge book No. 6, which, besides Hotchner, contains 11 other pieces of nonfiction, eight short stories and 14 poems. Hotchner, who’ll be 82 on June 20, praised Carkeet - the author of five novels, and two for young adults - for splicing together the excerpts, which focuses on his World War II Army Air Forces experiences. His latest life memories will be published by the University of Missouri Press, with the possible title, “Every Which Way But Up.” “David did a great job of taking it from various parts of the manuscript,” said Hotchner, speaking by telephone from his home in Westport, Conn. Carkeet says he initially approached Hotchner because “I just know writers have stuff in desk drawers that they’re working on, and he strikes me as a writer who’s always working.” But he didn’t hear from Hotchner. Then, one day, a package arrived on his doorstep just before Christmas a year ago. It was a Paul Newman’s Own box, “and I thought it was salad dressing. But it was his manuscript, 200 pages of it.” Hotchner, who grew up in St. Louis, and Newman are in the salad dressing business together. Last year, the dressing grossed about $120 million, and the $12 million in profits went to various small charities. Hotchner’s St. Louis links go back a long way, as does his wartime experience with Ladd and other Hollywood types. But perhaps his most famous work, which is about Depression-era St. Louis, is “King of the Hill.” This Hotchner memoir was published in 1972 and made into a Steven Soderbergh movie in 1993. A graduate student at UMSL drawing excerpts from Hotchner’s new memoir for Natural Bridge joked about using another title, “Don’t Come Back, Shane.” That refers to a famous line in Ladd’s classic 1953 Western “Shane,” in which child actor Brandon de Wilde stands there and mewls: “Come back, Shane.” It was the name of the gunfighter character played by Ladd. “Shane” revived Ladd’s sagging movie career; he died 11 years later. Hotchner did refer to Ladd as “that little bastard.” The actor was 5 feet 2 inches tall and stood on boxes so certain actresses wouldn’t tower over him. Their wartime association had to do with a movie Lt. Hotchner was ordered to make to promote the work of his unit, the 13th Anti-Submarine Wing of the Army Air Forces, which hunted German U-boats. He took the rolls of film to the First Motion Picture Unit at Culver City, where he was stunned at the sight of such Hollywood stars as William Holden, Robert Sterling, George Montgomery and Ronald Reagan wearing the uniforms of captains and lieutenants, and Lee J. Cobb in sergeant stripes. “What’s up, kid?” Those were the first words out of Alan Ladd’s mouth when Hotchner handed him the script he’d written. Ladd lit a cigarette, glanced at Hotchner’s writing and said, “Boring bleep, ain’t it?” He then read the script as if it were an obituary, Hotchner said. So, he eventually fired Alan Ladd. Readings Who: 14 writers and poets will read their works, all of which have appeared in Natural Bridge, a literary publication out of the University of Missouri at St. Louis. A.E. Hotchner will not be in attendance but excerpts will be read from his new memoir. Where: Marty’s Baking at the Left Bank, 395 North Euclid Avenue When: 7 p.m. Saturday How much: Free More info: 314-516-5517 Reporter John M. McGuire:\ E-mail: jmmcguire@post-dispatch.com\ Phone: 314-340-8242 Published in the Everyday Magazine section of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch on Friday, March 1, 2002. |
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