A. E. Hotchner

A. E. Hotchner fully intended to be a career lawyer but
after two stultifying years practicing with a St. Louis law
firm, he escaped into the wild blue yonder of the Air Force,
vowing never to look at another Corpus Juris Secundum. After
the war, Hotch became a literary bounty hunter, and in the
process met Ernest Hemingway, with whom he buddied around
for fourteen years, an adventurous period that Hotch
chronicled in Papa Hemingway, which was published in
34 countries in 28 different languages. In between selling
salad dressing, Hotch has written fifteen books, a dozen
plays and musicals, and scores of television dramas. In
1999, Washington University conferred on him an honorary
Doctor of Letters to go along with his doctor of law degree,
but he is proudest of the fact that he was crowned marbles
champion of St. Louis when he was in the sixth grade.