Alistaire Cooke Dies; Hosted Historic Radio Program

Alistair Cooke is dead. Cooke had been suffering from heart disease. The broadcaster and journalist, who lived in New York, was 95, according to the Web site of The Times newspaper in the United Kingdom. His BBC radio program “Letter From America” launched in March 1946 and ended just this month. The BBC believes it is the longest-running radio show in history.
“Generations have grown up, married and raised their families to the sound of Alistair Cooke’s genteel account of life in the United States on BBC Radio 4,” the newspaper reported.
“The show was supposed to run for only 13 weeks but Cooke’s honeyed tones redolent of intimacy, as he murmured ‘Good evening’ across the airwaves, captivated his audience and he became a permanent fixture. His 15-minute personal reflections touched on everything from the assassinations of the Kennedys to the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11.
“When he began, his conversational, fireside approach was a refreshing change for BBC listeners who were used to broadcasts in a lecturing style.”
He was awarded an honorary knighthood in 1973 for furthering Anglo-American relations and addressed the U.S. Congress on its 200th anniversary. He was at hand in the Los Angeles hotel when Robert F. Kennedy was shot.