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Welcome to AEHotchner.net, the Official Website of A.E. Hotchner, author of 15 books.
* * * Diane Rhem Show — Listen Now (MON 29, 2010) * * *
NEW BOOK: MARCH 23, 2010
Paul and Me: Fifty-three Years of Adventures and Misadventures with My Pal Paul Newman
Bestselling author A. E. Hotchner's intimate account of his 53-year friendship with his pal Paul Newman. Paul and Me, is the story of an unusual bond and a tribute to the acclaimed actor who gave to the world as much as the world gave him.
USA Today Interview
Hotchner's book Paul and Me recalls friendship with Newman (Mar 23, 2010)
By Bob Minzesheimer
Reviews
People Magazine
April 5 (PDF, 293KB)
"[a] humorous and heartfelt collection of stories about Paul Newman by his lifelong bud... Hotchner's affectionate portrayal of a 'splendid man' ...can bring you to tears."
[4 Stars]
Hotchner's portrait of his pal is breezy and heartfelt. He obviously adored him. And reading his anecdotes of their high jinks together, it's easy to see why. . . . The second half of Paul and Me chronicles their creation of Newman's Own—a mom-and-pop operation that started with salad dressing and grew into big business, raising $300 million for charity. . . . the actor's last words to him [A.E. Hotchner] perfectly sum up their time together: "It's been a hell of a ride." B+
—Entertainment Weekly (April 2, 2010)
As Newman’s co-conspirator and office mate (they shared an indoor beach umbrella and had nameplates identifying them as lifeguards), Mr. Hotchner helped create the distinctive marketing style of Newman’s Own products, which have featured slogans like “The Intimate Companion Your Pasta Will Never Forget” and “Fine Foods Since February.” The fun they had is unmistakable in these pages.
—New York Times (March 21, 2010)
The author and Newman met in 1955, when the actor was starring in a television play written by Hotchner. They became friends and remained buddies until Newman’s death in 2008. Hotchner probably could have written a traditional biography of Newman, but instead he’s chosen—rightly—to write about episodes from their friendship, to show us Paul Newman as seen by someone close to him. We all have an image of Newman: talented actor, philanthropist, race-car driver, nice guy. But how many of us know that Newman, until shooting started, thought he was playing Sundance in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid; that he turned down roles in All That Jazz and Jaws; that he was an incorrigible practical joker? Hotchner introduces us to the Newman we probably don’t know, and he turns out to be a man we wish we could have called our friend. Beautifully written (you can tell Hotchner loved and admired his friend) and probably more revealing of the actor’s private side than any traditional biography could hope to be.
—David Pitt for Booklist
The book glitters with anecdotes about interests they shared, from fishing on a series of boats (all named "Caca de Toro") to collaborative projects, including a failed attempt at a movie based on the Hemingway story "After the Storm." It was never made but it offered Newman and Hotchner a reason to visit the Bahamas for research, and those escapades are a highlight of the book.
—Hartford Courant - Full Review plus Q & A (March 28, 2010)
Playwright and biographer Hotchner (The Good Life According to Hemingway, 2008, etc.) affectionately reflects on his decades-long friendship with iconic actor Paul Newman.
The author and Newman bonded during the production of a 1955 TV play that proved to be a turning point in both their careers—Newman was nervously replacing the recently deceased James Dean in a Hemingway story adapted by Hotchner—and the resulting teasing and competitive friendship endured until the actor’s death in 2008. The bulk of Hotchner’s narrative concerns the establishment of the Newman’s Own line of gourmet foods, begun as a lark by the duo in Newman’s barn, where they mixed up a vat of the actor’s signature salad dressing with a dirty oar. From such humble beginnings grew a philanthropic powerhouse, distributing hundreds of millions of dollars to various charities, despite an army of naysayers and seemingly insurmountable odds. The author stresses the playfulness of Newman’s quixotic desire to enter the food industry, and the competitiveness and breezy optimism that characterized Newman’s attitude toward the project. The pair also established a special summer camp for seriously ill children, again bringing a dauntingly complicated and expensive project to fruition with little more than nerve and contrariness. The Newman that emerges from Hotchner’s remembrances is an immensely likable figure, compulsively unpretentious and self-deprecating, hungry for fun and adventure. There are a few scenes highlighting Newman’s movie-star milieu, including a beer-fueled tennis match with Robert Redford and MPAA head Jack Valenti, and a taste test administered by Newman neighbor Martha Stewart. But the author focuses on the actor away from Hollywood, engaged in his passions for racing, boating and just hanging out and shooting the breeze. Sections on the suicide of Newman’s troubled son and a heartbreaking account of the actor’s failing health add melancholic notes to the story, but Hotchner’s memoir is ultimately an inspirational portrait of an extraordinary man.
An intimate, uplifting account of a profound friendship and a boyish lark that grew into a spectacularly successful enterprise.
—Kirkus Reviews
The Boyhood Memoirs of A.E. Hotchner:
King of the Hill and Looking for Miracles
Washington Post
(Sunday, September 2, 2007, Page BW06):
MEMOIRS:
Tales of strength in the face of misfortune.
This is good old-fashioned memoir writing at its best: poignant, endearing, funny and evocative of a bygone era that's worth recalling in detail. . .
(Read the full review.)
Article: Memoir sees new life through Historical Society
Memoir sees new life through Historical Society: A.E. Hotchner describes his life as 12-year-old in Great Depression. Read the article here.
