Nine years ago while working as a cocktail waiter in a piano bar in Chicago I had the pleasure of meeting the great William Dufty. It was a slow Wednesday night when the 83 year old walked in the door. I didn't know who he was at the time, but he had an air about him that commanded my interest. He sat at a table near the piano with an attractive younger man and proceeded to engage me in conversation. I quickly learned that he was the co-author of Billie Holiday's biography Lady Sings the Blues, Gloria Swanson's sixth and final husband (thus he signed his name William Dufty IV) and the author of Sugar Blues.
Bill lived in Michigan, but was visiting Chicago regularly for cancer treatment. He was almost 60 years older than I, but we never managed to run out of things to talk about. We carried the friendship out of the piano bar and together with his young friend spent many a day and night having adventures in and around the city of Chicago.
He shared his life story with me over meals, during road trips, and in book stores, and I in turn showed him what it was like to live life as a 24 year old underemployed dancer in Chicago. His friends included movie stars, rock stars, politicians, and the generally famous. I delighted in hearing of his early performances as a boy singing on the radio, his marriage to Gloria Swanson, and his friendship with Billie Holiday. He told of how he tore up his royalty check when Diana Ross was cast as Billie in the movie version of Lady Sings the Blues. Just the mention of Diana Ross seemed to fill him with anger.
I will never forget the meals we had in some of the best restaurants in the Chicago area. He always introduced me to our dining companions, the chef, and the maître de as an up-and-coming Broadway star. As a result the restaurant staff would lavish attention on me, anticipating my every move. He always consulted me on which wine to order, and when I particularly enjoyed something he asked that the maître de deliver my compliments to the chef.
Bill was years ahead of his time when he wrote Sugar Blues. In it he argues that refined sugar is not only an addictive substance but that it is "responsible for modern plagues ranging from depression to coronary thrombosis." Michael Pollan's current best seller In Defense of Food seems to build upon the groundwork that Bill laid in 1975. I encourage you to read both books, as they will change the way you think about refined foods.
I fell out of touch with Bill when I moved to New York after just a few short months of life-changing adventures. He died in 2002 at the age of 86 of cancer. I will always be grateful for the short time he spent in my life.
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