Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, or so they say. Sketch comedy shows have been impersonating celebrities since their inception, bringing belly laughs and guffaws to at-home audience members. Carol Burnett, of The Carol Burnett Show, featured her comical takes on notable people, one of my favorites being her sketch impersonating Julia Child.
Premiering on January 8th, 1968, Carol Burnett shared the sketch, "Julia Wild" with the audience, characteristic accent and all.
Burnett starts by sharing her famous recipe for wine sauce, "which is the most important part". She notes that one must taste the wine to make sure it isn't sour. After tasting and tasting (because that's what professional chefs do) Burnett finally starts stuffing the chicken with copious amounts of stuffing and moistens it with lots of wine.
While the skit is happening, a man is interviewing Julia Wild about her dish. He asks her how life was different before she started cooking.
"Sober." She replies.
She gets drunker throughout the skit, hiccuping and banging her head into the hanging pots, ending the skit passed out on the kitchen counter.
Dan Aykroyd's Take on Julia Child Steals the Show
Carol Burnett wasn't the only comedian to impersonate the French Chef. During season 4 of Saturday Night Live in 1978, comedian Dan Aykroyd embodies the chef, standing tall over the burners and the pot.
With accent in tow, Aykroyd begins the skit by prepping the chicken for the meal. He goes on to share how important it is to save the giblets and liver, noting that you could use it as a pate or feed it to your cat.
Aykroyd then moves on to debone the chicken, accidentally chopping into his finger, sending gushes of blood all over the counter and himself.
The blood flies as he tries to control it while hoots and hollers can be heard from the live audience. He fancies up a tourniquet of cheesecloth and chicken bone then wobbles over to the phone to call 911, later realizing the phone is a prop and doesn't work.
Which One Wins?
After watching both videos there is no contest between the two. Aykroyd stole the show with his rendition of Child, even prompting the chef to show the sketch to friends during dinner parties. Now that's a compliment.
