As someone who grew up on PBS programs, I'm very sad at the passing of Julia Child. She was the first, and greatest icon of public broadcasting. It's hard to imagine a world without her enormous presence.
Her landmark show, The French Chef, launched a wave of modern cooking and DIY programs that have blossomed onto various cable channels, ranging from Home and Garden Television to The Food Network. And if there hadn't been a Julia Child, with her imposing 6'2 stature, her unique, gargling-voice (which Bill Cosby himself had an eerie knack of imitating), and her introduction of European flair and imagination to white-bread North American cooking, we wouldn't have the Jamie Olivers, the Delia Smiths, the Christine Cushings, or the Nigella Lawsons of today.
God rest your soul, Julia...you spiced the soul of countless viewers over 40 delicious years.
