Dave Juliette is an enigma unlike any other in our time. Many claim to know him, and yet even his closest friends describe him as being “elusive”. Much has been written over the years about his substance abuse, his jail time, and the now mythical “Shadyside years”.
Often overlooked however, are his philanthropy, his work with underprivileged children, his relationship with Mother Teresa, his crucial role in peacefully concluding the Indonesia/East Timor conflict, and his tireless efforts helping victims of fashion mistakes rebuild their lives after some horrendous public faux pas. He has had a life-changing impact on many of those lucky enough to have had a brush with him.
It was Dave, after all, who first encouraged his friend Mark Harmon to “stop wasting time with football” and pursue an acting career. Candice Bergen once described him as “an indispensable presence in my life”. And Jimmy Carter likes to tell the story of how “Anwar Sadat was ready to leave Camp David until Mr. Juliette worked his magic on him. We’d have never gotten Anwar’s signature without Dave’s cajoling”.Tony Blair was highly dependent upon Dave’s council, until their tragic falling out over the Iraq war. Francis Ford Coppola has said that, “If Dave Juliette had been a filmmaker, no one would have ever even heard of me, or Marty, or George … none of us”.
Eydie Gormé once told Vanity Fair that “when Steve goes off on one of his terrible drunken, cross-dressing episodes, Dave is the only one who can pull him out of his tailspin and bring him back to me, clean, sober, and wearing a nice dinner jacket and slacks. I just don’t know how I would manage without him”.
Condoleezza Rice was overheard whispering to Diane Sawyer at a Washington press club dinner, “I don’t think he likes me very much, but you know, I’ve noticed that he’s got a really nice ass. Must be all the bike riding he does”, as Sawyer nodded in agreement.
The list of the great and near great who have joined him at his dining room table, drinking single malt, nibbling Nutter-Butters and discussing world affairs is a veritable Who’s Who of the movers and shakers of our time.
Now living a quiet life with his cat, Pontius, in his sprawling Swisshelm Park (Pittsburgh, PA) compound, Dave often welcomes people from the world over seeking the advice, council or just the simple friendship of this colossus among men. One Man’s Tofu is his way of “giving back to mankind for the privilege of being an American”.
