Julia Child at GBH (2024)

Julia Child at GBH (1)

WGBH

Cooking legend Julia Child introduced French cuisine to American cooks in 1963 with GBH’s pioneering television series, The French Chef. She was passionate about food and she changed the way Americans cook and eat. GBH is proud to look back at her accomplishments and how we helped to make her a household name. Explore the world of Julia Child here—from tributes to early programs to cooking tips and recipes. As Julia herself said, "Bon appétit!"

Julia was passionate about food and she changed the way Americans cook and eat. GBH is proud to look back at her accomplishments and how we helped to make her a household name and launched the entire cooking program genre. Explore the world of Julia Child here—from tributes to early programs to cooking tips and recipes. And,as Julia herself said, "Bon appétit!

About Julia

Julia Child at GBH (2)

An American in Paris

In 1963, a charismatic woman with a passion for French cuisine and an inimitable voice stepped in front of the cameras at WGBH and introduced Americans to the art of French cooking. More than a decade after her death, Julia Child continues to captivate the public's imagination.

She was born Julia McWilliams in Pasadena, California, on Aug. 15, 1912. She married her husband, Paul Child, in 1946. Paul joined the United States Information Agency and was assigned to the US Embassy in Paris in 1949.

While in Paris with her husband, Julia enrolled at le Cordon Bleu, where she attended French cooking classes. Along with two French friends, Simone Beck and Louisette Bertholle, she co-wrote Mastering the Art of French Cooking, published in 1961, which aimed to make French cooking accessible to Americans. The three women also ran a cooking school in Paris, L’Ecole des Trois Gourmandes (the school of the three hearty eaters). That same year, the Childs returned to the US, settling in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

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"Bon appétit!"

It was on a 1961 promotional tour for Mastering the Art of French Cooking that Julia made her first contact with public television, as a guest on a GBH book review show called I’ve Been Reading. She arrived with a hot plate, giant whisk, and eggs and made an omelette on the set. Dozens of viewers wrote to GBH, wanting to see more. GBH writer/producer Russ Morash asked her to tape three pilot cooking shows, which she did in 1962. GBH put The French Chef on the air on Feb. 11, 1963, and Julia Child became public television’s first and most enduring star. Audiences fell in love with her wavering voice, fondness for wine and butter, eagerness to hack away with a knife, and customary closing phrase, "Bon appétit." The series ran for 10 years.

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A Culinary Pioneer

Among the other breakthroughs for which the series can be credited, it was on The French Chef that GBH first introduced captions for viewers who are deaf or hard of hearing. (WGBH has built on that 1972 milestone with many other media access advances for the 36 million Americans with hearing or vision loss.)

Julia's subsequent cooking shows for public television, which include Julia Child & Company,Julia Child & More Company,Dinner at Julia’s, and Julia Child Cooking with Master Chefs, have been aired and repeated without interruption ever since. In 1998, at age 85, she returned to demonstrating cooking basics in her own kitchen with her final series, Julia Child & Jacques Pépin: Cooking at Home. PBS has also aired two programs about Julia: an American Masters biography and Julia Child Memories: Bon Appétit, a retrospective of some of the most memorable episodes of The French Chef.

Television insiders credit Julia with giving birth to the "how-to" genre and carving a path for a cadre of successful TV chefs—and indeed, an entire cable channel devoted to cooking.

Learn the real history behind HBO's "Julia

Now the subject of the HBO Max series, Julia,explore what's fact and what's fiction.

First 'French Chef' Director Russ Morash Remembers Julia Child

In 1963, a recent BU grad named Russell Morash, Jr. got his chance to direct a television show at WGBH and he ended up making Julia Child a new kind of celebrity — the star of a cooking show.

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Slide Show: 5 Fun Facts about GBH’s The French Chef and Julia Child

Cooking legend Julia Child introduced French cuisine to American cooks in 1963 with GBH’s groundbreaking television series, The French Chef, now the subject of the HBO Max series, Julia. Julia was passionate about food and she changed the way Americans cook and eat. GBH is proud to look back at her accomplishments and how we helped to make her a household name and launched the entire cooking program genre.

We’re taking a look at what's fact and what's fiction.

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In the Kitchen with Russ Morash: GBH’s Discovery of Julia Child

His French language skills were sorely lacking. While growing up, dinners at his house were overcooked fish, fowl and vegetables. He was a theater actor by training. So, what was this 27-year-old doing as producer/director of GBH’s The French Chefwith Julia Child? We spoke with Russ Morash, now in his eighties, who is featured in HBO Max’s new fictionalized Julia series, about the early years of the GBH program, his relationship with Julia and what GBH was really like back in the day.

Watch Episodes of "The French Chef"

The French Chef and other Julia Child programs are available for streaming with GBH Passport.

GBH Passport is the member benefit that provides you with extended access to an on-demand library of quality public television programming, features current and past seasons of PBS and GBH shows — including drama, science, history and the arts. Watch anytime on GBH.org or on the PBS App.

Become a GBH Member today and activate your GBH Passport member benefit. Already a member and not sure if you have activated GBH Passport? Check your GBH Passport status.

Watch: Your Favorite Chefs On Julia Child's Legacy

Watch: Chefs Pay Homage To Classic Julia Recipes

GBH's You & Julia series featured local chefs recreating some of Julia's most iconic dishes.

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Julia Child at GBH (2024)

FAQs

How historically accurate is the show Julia? ›

The show takes creative liberties with the facts, emphasizing Julia Child's focus on feminism, but this is not strictly accurate. Some characters are based on real people, such as Julia's husband, Paul, and co-author, Simone Beck, while others are fictional characters created for the series, like Alice Naman.

How many restaurants did Julia Child own? ›

Julia Child was part of the group that created COPIA, which had a restaurant named Julia's Kitchen. So although she didn't have her own restaurant in the traditional sense, she had that.

What size was Julia's child? ›

Growing to a height of six feet, two inches, Child was the natural choice to be captain of the school's basketball team. She was also president of the Vagabonds, a hiking club. Child's parents always intended for her to go on to college after high school.

How old was Julia Child when she died? ›

Death. Child died of kidney failure in Montecito, California, on August 13, 2004, two days shy of her 92nd birthday.

Was Julia Child's father wealthy? ›

Her father, John, a wealthy California landowner, disapproved of the marriage to an Eastern aesthete with few prospects. It was Julia's own money, inherited from her mother, that cushioned Paul Child's civil-service salary—and all that eating out.

What was Julia Child's net worth when she died? ›

What was Julia Child's net worth before her death in 2004? Child was worth $50 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth.

Did Julia Child have a stroke? ›

Ten years later, in 2004, Julia Child died two days short of her 92nd birthday. In the last year of her life she suffered knee surgeries, kidney failure, and a stroke.

Was Julia Child left or right handed? ›

This featurette dives into the process of making Lancashire look and feel like Child on screen, from the quirky voice to the physicality along with the attitude. The one big thing people mgiht notice - Lancahsire is left-handed, while Child was right-handed.

How high were Julia Child's countertops? ›

The counter height was 38 inches (the standard height is 36 inches). Because Julia stood over 6 feet tall, this extra height was a necessity for her.

What was Julia Child's favorite meal? ›

Vichyssoise. Well-known as one of Julia Child's favorite dishes, this chilled leek and potato soup is startling in its simplicity. Aside from the leek, potato, and water, Child's version of the soup calls for barely any additional ingredients.

Did Julia's Child have breathing issues? ›

2002-03-04 04:00:00 PDT San Francisco -- Famed chef Julia Child was overcome with respiratory problems during the weekend, causing her to cancel an appearance at a wine auction and to spend the night at a San Francisco hospital.

What happened to Max Julia's son? ›

Treating. addiction as a crime didn't save him.

Is Judith in Julia a real person? ›

Judith Jones (née Bailey; March 10, 1924 – August 2, 2017) was an American writer and editor, best known for having rescued The Diary of Anne Frank from the reject pile. Jones also championed Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking. She retired as senior editor and vice president at Alfred A.

Why was the show Julia groundbreaking? ›

Julia is an American television sitcom and the first weekly series to star an African-American woman in a non-stereotypical role. Previous television series featured African-American lead characters, but the characters were usually servants.

Did Julia Child cook at the White House? ›

With dozens of official functions scheduled, First Lady Betty Ford worried the President's House would be closed to the public for a month. She and the president upped the ante by inviting Julia Child, Public Television's "French Chef" and America's first celebrity TV cook, to cover portions of the evening live.

Was Paul Childs married before Julia? ›

Who was Paul Child's first wife? Paul Child was only married to Julia, but before he met her, he had one other serious relationship. According to The New Yorker, Paul lived with the mother of one of his students for a decade.

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