So, last Christmas I was gifted a 528 page book on one of my favorite personalities of all time: Julia Child. It took me awhile, but I MADE IT and finished the book with mixed emotions. It was interesting to me to read about her life before the "famous Julia" became the legend she now is. Here are some things that you probably never knew about her (even if you watched the movie, "Julie and Julia" from a few years back).
Born Julia McWilliams in Pasadena, CA. (for some reason, the accent has always thrown me off!)
Her parents, John and Caro were wealthy Republicans. Her father hated the "French" and their snooty, artsy, intellectual ways.
She was full of it, rambunctious and a tomboy.
Growing up, she loved to eat, but was a terrible cook.
She was 6'2" but her sister ("Dort" for Dorothy) was 6'5"
She hated church and stopped going at age 10.
She attended Smith College and when prompted to fill in "Vocational Choice", she responded by writing in, "No Occupation decided; marriage preferable." She played basketball.
She drank like a sailor in college (and beyond).
Although graduated with a degree, she tried secretarial school and hated it. She floated around for years, thinking she wanted to be a writer, but never really doing anything well.
She tried advertising but was fired.
She volunteered as a clerk for the Red Cross which ultimately led to her position with the OSS (Office of Strategic Services). The OSS eventually became the CIA.
Her first stop was Sri Lanka (Called Ceylon then)… where she mostly was a paper sorter. She eventually had a higher security clearance because the papers coming across the desk were top secret.
During this time, she met and married Paul Child who was 5'9" and 10 years older. The day before the wedding they were in a serious car accident (before seatbelts!). Julia was thrown from the car, but insisted they get married the next day.
As you know, she took classes at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris as they had moved to be stationed there. She was bored and LOVED the Parisian food and wanted to learn to cook.
Most of her finances came from family money. (HER money)
She actually did not become famous until age 50. (LOVE that!)
Paul Child was depressed and came to hate his job (although also an artist) and eventually just helped Julia with her show, sometimes washing dishes with paper towels behind the scenes. He was her biggest supporter.
When he became ill and started to lose his memory, and his zest for life, she still took him everywhere with her (Good Morning America tapings, etc…) and covered for his behavior on many occasions.
Eventually, she could no longer care for him full time and he was put into a home as she continued to cook and travel and maintain her TV persona.
At one point, she even dated another man, but when he became ill too, she walked away from the relationship, not having time to deal with it.
Her telephone number was in the phone book and she took calls all day on Thanksgiving helping people with their turkey disasters.
She was given the Presidential Medal of Freedom from George W. Bush (a republican!) but she found him very kind and engaging. She even voted for Arnold Schwarzenegger because she (at 91) found him attractive.
Her doctors told her to stop drinking liquor and eating butter, to which they all laughed afterward, knowing she was 91. She died 2 days short of her 92nd birthday.
I would give this book a 4 (out of 5) star rating, especially if you love the history of food, food network, and how Julia Child came to be. Although interesting to me because I love to cook, I think I may have just saved you about 40 hours of reading!
Bon Appétit!
CoffeeTalkMom
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