Justin Wilson (chef)
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| Justin Wilson | |
|---|---|
| Born | Justin E. Wilson April 24, 1914 Roseland, Tangipahoa Parish Louisiana, USA |
| Died | September 5, 2001 (aged 87) Baton Rouge, Louisiana |
| Resting place | Saint William Catholic Cemetery in Port Vincent in Livingston Parish, Louisiana |
| Occupation | Cajun humorist and chef |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
| Spouse | Sara R. Wilson (deceased) Jeannine Meeds Wilson |
| Relatives |
Harry D. Wilson, Louisiana Agriculture Commissioner |
| Website | |
| http://www.justinwilson.com | |
Justin E. Wilson (April 24, 1914 - September 5, 2001) was a southern American chef and humorist known for his brand of Cajun cuisine-inspired cooking and humor. He was a self-styled "raconteur" and a staunch political conservative.
Wilson was born in Roseland in Tangipahoa Parish, one of the "Florida Parishes" of Louisiana. He began his career as a safety engineer while he traveled throughout Acadiana. His safety lectures that he made to refinery workers prompted him on the road to becoming a Cajun storyteller. He remembered it this way on the back cover of The Justin Wilson Cook Book:
- "Way back when I first started as a safety engineer, I took myself pretty seriously, and I found I was putting my audiences to sleep. So having lived all my life among the Cajuns of Louisiana, and having a good memory for the patois and the type of humor Cajuns go for, I started interspersing my talks on safety with Cajun humor."
Wilson later recorded several comedy albums, beginning with The Humorous World of Justin Wilson on Ember Records. He also recorded several albums for Jewel Records on the Paula label and a few for Capitol Records. He later appeared as a guest on the popular CBS series The Ed Sullivan Show. He was known for the catchphrase, "I gar-on-tee!". Wilson as a comedian was enormously popular in Louisiana, and to a lesser degree in neighboring states, but his humor may have been a little too specifically regional to enjoy the wider popularity of a Jerry Clower or Archie Campbell as a Southern comic for the Country music audience.
He composed 10 songs, as well as composing the background music for his cooking show and recorded one album of Christmas songs with a jazz band.
He later wrote seven Cajun cookbooks and two books of Cajun stories, and hosted several cooking shows on PBS that combined Cajun cooking and Cajun humor. Most of them were aired from the studios of WYES-TV in New Orleans.
Wilson was politically active in his early years. His father, Democrat Harry D. Wilson, was the Louisiana agriculture commissioner in the first half of the twentieth century (his mother, Olivet Wilson, was Louisiana French). In 1951-1952, Justin Wilson was the manager of the unsuccessful Democratic gubernatorial campaign of Lieutenant Governor William J. "Bill" Dodd. He and Dodd were close though they often disagreed on political philosophy. Wilson's brother-in-law, Bolivar Edwards Kemp, Jr., was the Democratic attorney general of Louisiana from 1948–1952, having served between the two terms of Fred S. LeBlanc.
Over the years, Wilson, known for his emphasis of patriotic themes, became involved in numerous Louisiana political campaigns. Former state Senator Donald Wayne "Don" Williamson of Caddo Parish recalls Wilson having cut a commercial for his own Democratic challenge to incumbent Insurance Commissioner Sherman A. Bernard in 1979. Williamson said that Wilson just volunteered to help him. Williamson only narrowly lost to Bernard, who later went to prison for fraud in the handling of his job duties. In time, Wilson's ties to the Democrats soured, and he supported numerous Republican candidates. It is not known whether Wilson himself became a Republican.
Wilson's last residence was in Summit in Pike County, Mississippi. He is interred at Saint William Catholic Cemetery in Port Vincent in Livingston Parish.
[edit] Bibliography
[edit] By Justin Wilson
- The Justin Wilson Cook Book (1965)
- Justin Wilson's Cajun Humor (1974)
- Justin Wilson's Cajun Fables (1982)
- More Cajun Humor (1984)
- The Justin Wilson #2 Cookbook: Cookin' Cajun (1979)
- The Justin Wilson Gourmet and Gourmand Cookbook (1984)
- Justin Wilson's Outdoor Cooking with Inside Help (1986)
- Justin Wilson's Homegrown Louisiana Cookin' (1990)
- Justin Wilson Looking Back: A Cajun Cookbook (1997)
[edit] Other authors
- William J. "Bill" Dodd, Peapatch Politics: The Earl Long Era in Louisiana Politics. Baton Rouge: Claitor's Publishing, 1991.
- Kevin S. Fontenot, "How Y'all Are: Justin Wilson and Cajun Comedy" in Accordions, Fiddles, Two Step and Swing: A Cajun Music Reader. Ryan A. Brasseaux and Kevin S. Fontenot, eds. Lafayette: The Center for Louisiana Studies, 2006.
[edit] Discography (partial)
- I Gawr-On-Tee, Project Records (1961)[1]
- The Humorous World Of Justin Wilson (1961)
- Justin Wilson's Wilsonville U.S. and A. (1965)
- Whooooo Boy (196?)
- Justin Wilson Says, "Me, I got a frien'!" (196?)
- The Wondermus Humor Of Justin Wilson (196?)
- Hunting With Justin Wilson (1972)
- Justin Wilson, The Old Master Story Teller (1972)
- Justin Wilson Meets Jean (John) Barleycorn (1973)
- The Sport (1974)
- Justifyin' Justin Wilson (1975)
- Justin Wilson Reading Christmas Stories (1975)
- Caught Dem Fish (1979)
- Courtin' Songs (1979)
- Christmas Cajun Style (1979)
- Laugh A Little With Justin Wilson (198?)
- Truckin' With Justin Wilson (1980)
- Justin Wilson's Ol Favorites (1982)
- The Unforgettable Stories Of Justin Wilson (1985)
- Pass(ing) A Good Time With Justin Wilson (1986)
- The Crazy Cajun Comedy Of Justin Wilson (1987)
- Shot Dem Duck and Hunt (1996)
- If It Ain't Fun, Don't Do It (200?)
- Justin's Picks (200?)
- Cajun King of Comedy (2009)
[edit] References
- ^ I Gawr-On-Tee, Justin Wilson. Project Records 8001 (1961)
