Pleasure Activist (Julia Child)
Explicit content warning
02/26/25 • 60 min
This person died 2004, age 91. Her father was a wealthy farm consultant and investor; her mother was a housewife with a cook and maid. She attended Smith College, and she had some vague idea of being a novelist or a basketball star. After World War II broke out, she signed up for intelligence work with the Office of Strategic Services, hoping to become a spy. A self-confessed ham, she became a darling of audiences and comedians almost from the moment she made her debut on WGBH in Boston in 1963. She was a towering figure on the culinary front for more than 40 years. Most Americans knew her as the imperturbable host of the long-running PBS television series "The French Chef." Today’s dead celebrity is Julia Child.
If you enjoyed this episode, you may also like Episode 81 Dimpled Ambassador (Shirley Temple) and Episode 20 Notorious Dissenter (Ruth Bader Ginsburg).
Famous & Gravy is created and co-hosted by Amit Kapoor and Michael Osborne. This episode was produced by Allie Arrazola, and features guest co-host Michelle Dahlenburg.
LINKS:
New York Times Obituary for Julia Child
Dan Aykroyd impersonation of Julia Child on SNL
Cassoulet recipe from Mastering the Art of French Cooking
Famous & Gravy on Facebook, LinkedIn, Threads
Famous & Gravy official website
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
This person died 2004, age 91. Her father was a wealthy farm consultant and investor; her mother was a housewife with a cook and maid. She attended Smith College, and she had some vague idea of being a novelist or a basketball star. After World War II broke out, she signed up for intelligence work with the Office of Strategic Services, hoping to become a spy. A self-confessed ham, she became a darling of audiences and comedians almost from the moment she made her debut on WGBH in Boston in 1963. She was a towering figure on the culinary front for more than 40 years. Most Americans knew her as the imperturbable host of the long-running PBS television series "The French Chef." Today’s dead celebrity is Julia Child.
If you enjoyed this episode, you may also like Episode 81 Dimpled Ambassador (Shirley Temple) and Episode 20 Notorious Dissenter (Ruth Bader Ginsburg).
Famous & Gravy is created and co-hosted by Amit Kapoor and Michael Osborne. This episode was produced by Allie Arrazola, and features guest co-host Michelle Dahlenburg.
LINKS:
New York Times Obituary for Julia Child
Dan Aykroyd impersonation of Julia Child on SNL
Cassoulet recipe from Mastering the Art of French Cooking
Famous & Gravy on Facebook, LinkedIn, Threads
Famous & Gravy official website
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Previous Episode
Time Pilgrim (Kurt Vonnegut)
This person died 2007 age 84. He studied for a master’s degree in anthropology at the University of Chicago, writing a thesis on “The Fluctuations Between Good and Evil in Simple Tales.” Like Mark Twain, he used humor to tackle the basic questions of human existence. With a blend of science fiction, philosophy and jokes, he wrote about the banalities of consumer culture, and the destruction of the environment. With his curly hair askew, deep pouches under his eyes and rumpled clothes, he often looked like an out-of-work philosophy professor. The defining moment of his life was the firebombing of Dresden, Germany, by Allied forces in 1945, an event he witnessed firsthand as a young prisoner of war. His experience in Dresden was the basis of his book “Slaughterhouse-Five.” Today’s dead celebrity is Kurt Vonnegut.
If you enjoyed this episode, you may also like Episode 92 Acerbic Comedian (George Carlin) and Episode 80 Super Funkhouser (Bob Einstein).
Famous & Gravy is created and co-hosted by Amit Kapoor and Michael Osborne. This episode was produced by Allie Arrazola, and features guest co-host Wiley Hodges.
LINKS:
New York Times Obituary for Kurt Vonnegut
Kurt Vonnegut’s Shape of Stories lecture
Vonnegut in Back To School with Rodney Dangerfield
Famous & Gravy on Facebook, LinkedIn, Threads
Famous & Gravy official website
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Next Episode
Crikey Inner Child (Steve Irwin)
This person died in 2006, age 44. He was an ebullient staple of American talk shows. His American-born wife was his business partner and on-screen co-star. His fame engendered books, action figures and interactive games. For a time, tube-watching pub crawlers played a drinking game, hoisting a glass every time he said, “Crikey!” or, “Isn’t she a beauty?” His television show, “The Crocodile Hunter,” was seen in more than 100 countries on cable television. Today’s dead celebrity is Steve Irwin.
If you enjoyed this episode, you may also like Episode 67 Golden Rose (Betty White) and Episode 17 Modest Moonwalker (Neil Armstrong).
Famous & Gravy is created and co-hosted by Amit Kapoor and Michael Osborne. This episode was produced by Allie Arrazola, and features guest co-host John Watts.
LINKS:
New York Times Obituary for Steve Irwin
South Park impersonation of Steve Irwin
Steve Irwin tackles Florida Gator mascot on ESPN
Compilation of Steve Irwin being attacked by wildlife
Famous & Gravy on Facebook, LinkedIn, Threads
Famous & Gravy official website
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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