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Alistair Cooke
Alistair Cooke, March 18, 1974 interview
Birth name Alfred Cooke
Born November 20, 1908(1908-11-20)
Birth place Salford, Lancashire, England
Died March 30, 2004 (aged 95)
in New York City, U.S.
Circumstances
Occupation journalist and broadcaster
Spouse (1) Ruth Emerson, (2) Jane Hawkes White
Ethnicity English
Notable credit(s) Letter from America
Alistair Cooke's America
Alistair Cooke should not be confused with Alastair Cook, English cricketer. Events 284 - Diocletian was chosen as Roman Emperor. 762 - Bögü Khan of the Uyghurs, Year 1908 ( MCMVIII) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap year Salford lies at the heart of the City of Salford, a Metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, in North West England. Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England, bounded to the west by the Irish Sea England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland Events 240 BC - 1st recorded Perihelion passage of Halley's Comet. "MMIV" redirects here For the Modest Mouse album see " Baron von Bullshit Rides Again " The City of New York The United States of America —commonly referred to as the A journalist (also called a newspaperman) is a person who practices Journalism, the gathering and dissemination of information about current events trends A presenter, or host (sometimes hostess, in feminine form is a Person or Organization responsible for running an event The English people (from the adjective in Englisc) are a Nation and Ethnic group native to England who predominantly speak English This article is about the radio series for the song by The Proclaimers, see Letter from America (Song. America A Personal History of the United States is a 13-part television series about the United States and its history commissioned by the BBC, written Alastair Cook should not be confused with Alistair Cooke, journalist and broadcaster

Alistair Cooke KBE (November 20, 1908 – March 30, 2004) was a British-American journalist and broadcaster. The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British Order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by King George V. Events 284 - Diocletian was chosen as Roman Emperor. 762 - Bögü Khan of the Uyghurs, Year 1908 ( MCMVIII) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap year Events 240 BC - 1st recorded Perihelion passage of Halley's Comet. "MMIV" redirects here For the Modest Mouse album see " Baron von Bullshit Rides Again " A journalist (also called a newspaperman) is a person who practices Journalism, the gathering and dissemination of information about current events trends A presenter, or host (sometimes hostess, in feminine form is a Person or Organization responsible for running an event

Born in England, he became a naturalized American citizen, and lived in New York City with his family for most of his adult life. England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland Naturalization is the acquisition of Citizenship or Nationality by somebody who was not a citizen or national of that country when he or she was born The United States of America —commonly referred to as the The City of New York

Contents

Early life

Born in Salford, in Lancashire, England, to a Methodist father and an Irish mother, as Alfred Cooke, he legally added the name "Alistair" at age 22. Salford lies at the heart of the City of Salford, a Metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, in North West England. Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England, bounded to the west by the Irish Sea England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland He was educated at Blackpool Grammar School and was awarded a scholarship to study at Jesus College, Cambridge, where he gained an honours degree (2:1) in English. Jesus College in the University of Cambridge was founded in 1496 on the site of a Benedictine nunnery by John Alcock, then Bishop of Ely. He was heavily involved in the arts of the college, becoming the editor of The Granta, the student magazine, and setting up the Mummers, the first co-sex theatre group, from which he notably rejected a young James Mason, telling him to stick to architecture. James Neville Mason ( 15 May 1909 – 27 July 1984) was a three-time Academy Award -nominated British Actor who

While still in England, Cooke became engaged to Henrietta Riddle, the daughter of actor Henry Ainley and the novelist Bettina Riddle, also known as the Baroness von Hutten; but as a graduate student, he went to Yale University and Harvard University in the United States for two years on a Commonwealth fund fellowship, and his fiancée was to desert him while he was away on this trip, in January 1933. Henry Hinchliffe Ainley ( The Harkness Fellowships (previously known as the Commonwealth Fund Fellowships) are a programme run by the Commonwealth Fund of New York City However at the end of this year he met Ruth Emerson, who was the great-niece of Ralph Waldo Emerson. Ralph Waldo Emerson (May 25 1803 &ndash April 27 1882 was an American essayist philosopher poet and leader of the Transcendentalist movement in the early 19th century They were married the next year. Originally Charlie Chaplin, whom Cooke had befriended in Hollywood, was supposed to be his best man, but the mercurial actor vanished at the last minute. Having divorced Ruth (by whom he had a son, John) in 1944, he married Jane Hawkes White, a portrait painter and daughter of a New Jersey senator, thereby acquiring two stepchildren (Holly and Stephen) and subsequently a new daughter (Susie).

Media beginnings

In 1934, at the end of his study fellowship, Cooke saw a newspaper headline that Baldwin, the prime minister's son, had been fired by the BBC as film critic. Cooke sent a telegraph to the so-called "Director of Talks" asking if he could be considered for the post. He was invited for interview and took the Cunard back to England, arriving four hours late for his interview. He suggested typing out a critique on the spot, and a few minutes later, he was offered the job. In October 1934, Cooke became a film critic for the BBC. He was also London correspondent for NBC. The National Broadcasting Company ( NBC) is an American Television network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Each week, he recorded a 15-minute talk for American listeners on life in Britain, under the series title of London Letter. He also sat on a committee for the BBC headed by George Bernard Shaw on correct pronunciation. George Bernard Shaw ( (26 July 1856 &ndash 2 November 1950 was an Irish Playwright. The fact that Shaw spoke with a strong Dublin accent caused him some amusement. Dublin (ˈdʌblɨn/ /ˈdʊblɨn or /ˈdʊbəlɪn/, bˠalʲə aːha klʲiəh or cliə(ɸ is both the largest city and capital of Ireland.

In 1936 Cooke intensively reported on the Edward VIII abdication crisis for NBC. The Edward VIII abdication crisis occurred in the British Empire in 1936 when the desire of King-Emperor Edward VIII to marry his mistress Wallis He made several talks on the topic each day to listeners in several parts of the United States. He calculated that in ten days he spoke 400,000 words on the subject. During the crisis he was aided by a twenty year old Rhodes Scholar, Walt Rostow, who would become Lyndon B. Johnson's national security advisor. Rhodes Scholarship Rhodes scholar redirects here Rhodes Scholar redirects here Rhodes scholars Walt Whitman Rostow (also known as Walt Rostow or WW Rostow) ( October 7 1916 – February 13 2003) was an American

Move to United States

Cooke began what was to become a permanent emigration in 1937, although his claim for citizenship took over four years to be processed. He swore the Oath of Allegiance on 1 December 1941, six days before Pearl Harbor was attacked. Events 800 - Charlemagne judges the accusations against Pope Leo III in the Vatican Year 1941 ( MCMXLI) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (the link will display 1941 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Shortly after emigrating, Cooke suggested to the BBC the idea of doing the London Letter in reverse: a 15-minute talk for British listeners on life in America. A prototype, Mainly About Manhattan, was broadcast intermittently from 1938, but the idea was shelved with the outbreak of World War II in 1939. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including During the war, he broadcast a weekly American Commentary on the BBC concerning the war.

During this time, as well, Cooke undertook a journey through the whole United States, recording the lifestyle of ordinary Americans during the war – and their reactions to it. The manuscript did not arouse much interest after the war, but it was discovered a few weeks before his death in 2004 and published as The American Home Front: 1941-1942 in the United States (and as Alistair Cooke's American Journey: Life on the Home Front in the Second World War in the UK) in 2006. Accompanied by strong reviews, it stands as the only incisive first-hand journal of the American homefront ever published, even if the account is confined to the early stages of the war.

The first American Letter was broadcast on March 24, 1946 (Cooke said this was at the request of Lindsey Wellington, BBC's New York Controller); the series was initially confirmed for only 13 installments. Events 1401 - Mongol emperor Timur sacks Damascus. 1603 - James VI of Scotland Year 1946 ( MCMXLVI) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full 1946 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The series finally came to an end 58 years (2,869 installments) later, in March 2004. Along the way, it picked up a new name (changing from American Letter to Letter From America in 1950) and an enormous audience, being broadcast not only in Britain and in many other Commonwealth countries, but throughout the world by the BBC World Service. This article is about the radio series for the song by The Proclaimers, see Letter from America (Song.

In 1991, Alistair Cooke received a special BAFTA silver award for his contribution to Anglo-American relations. The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA is a British charity that hosts annual awards shows for film television television craft video games and forms of animation

The Staff Reporter

In 1947, Cooke became a foreign correspondent for the Manchester Guardian, for which he wrote until 1972. The Guardian (until 1959 The Manchester Guardian) is a British Newspaper owned by the Guardian Media Group. (It was, incidentally, the first time he had been employed as a staff reporter; all his previous work had been freelance. ) He has also served as foreign correspondent for The Times. The Times is a daily national Newspaper published in the United Kingdom since 1785 when it was known as The Daily Universal Register.

Omnibus

In 1952, Cooke became the host of CBS's Omnibus, the first commercial network television series devoted to the arts. CBS Broadcasting Inc ( CBS) is an American radio and Television network. Omnibus was an American commercially-sponsored educational TV series broadcast live primarily on Sunday afternoons at 400 pm Eastern time from November It featured appearances by such personalities as Hume Cronyn, Jessica Tandy, Gene Kelly, and Leonard Bernstein. Hume Blake Cronyn, OC ( July 18, 1911 – June 15, 2003) was a Canadian - American Actor of Jessie Alice Tandy ( June 7, 1909 &ndash September 11, 1994) was a British - American stage and film actress Eugene Curran “Gene” Kelly ( August 23, &ndash February 2,) was an American Dancer, Actor, Singer, director WikipediaWikiProject Composers#Lead section --> WikipediaWikiProject Classical music#Biographical_infoboxes The series marked Bernstein's first-ever television appearances.

Mid to Later Years

In 1968, he was yards away from Robert F. Kennedy when he was assassinated, and was a witness to the events that followed. Robert Francis "Bobby" Kennedy (November 20 1925 – June 6 1968 also called RFK, was the United States Attorney General from 1961 to 1964 and a

For more than 50 years Alistair Cooke lived in a rent controlled apartment in Manhattan, easily outliving several property owners and all fellow tenants. Rent control refers to laws or ordinances that set Price controls on the Renting of residential housing

In 1971, Cooke became the host of the new Masterpiece Theatre, PBS's showcase of quality British television. Masterpiece (formerly known as Masterpiece Theatre) is a drama Anthology television series produced by WGBH Boston. The Public Broadcasting Service ( PBS) is a Non-profit Public broadcasting Television service with 354 member TV stations in the He remained host for another 22 years, retiring from the role in 1992. He achieved his greatest popularity in this role, and was the subject of many parodies, including "Alistair Cookie" in Sesame Street's "Monsterpiece Theater" and, arguably, Leonard Pinth-Garnell in Saturday Night Live's "Bad Conceptual Theater". Cookie Monster is a fictional Muppet character on the children's television show Sesame Street. Sesame Street is an American educational Children's television series and a pioneer of the contemporary educational television standard combining Monsterpiece Theater is a recurring segment on the American version of the internationally acclaimed children's educational program Sesame Street portrayed as Saturday Night Live ( SNL) is a weekly late-night 90-minute American Sketch comedy / Variety show based in New York City

In 1973 Alistair Cooke was awarded an honorary knighthood (KBE). Knight is the English term for a social position originating in the Middle Ages. The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British Order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by King George V. However, he could not be called "Sir Alistair" since he had lost his British nationality during World War II.

Alistair Cooke's America, a 13-part television series about the United States and its history, was first broadcast in both Britain and the US in 1973, and was followed by a book of the same title. America A Personal History of the United States is a 13-part television series about the United States and its history commissioned by the BBC, written It was a great success in both countries, and resulted in Cooke being invited to address the joint Houses of the United States Congress as part of Congress's bicentennial celebrations. The United States Congress is the bicameral Legislature of the federal government of the United States of America, consisting of two houses Following the series' broadcast in the Republic of Ireland, Cooke won a Jacob's Award[1], one of the few occasions when this award was made to the maker of an imported programme. Ireland ( Irish: Éire, ˈeːrʲə is a country in north-western Europe. The Jacob's Awards were instituted in December 1962 as the first Irish television awards

Alistair Cooke said that, of all his work, Alistair Cooke's America was that of which he was most proud; it is the result and expression of his long love of America. (Cooke was once asked how long it took him to make the series. "I do not want to be coy," he replied, "but it took 40 years. ")

Later Life and Death

On March 2, 2004, at the age of 95, following advice from his doctors, Cooke announced his retirement from Letter from America — after 58 years, the longest-running speech radio show in the world. Events 986 - Louis V becomes King of the Franks. 1127 - Assassination of Charles the Good "MMIV" redirects here For the Modest Mouse album see " Baron von Bullshit Rides Again "

Cooke died at midnight on March 30, 2004 at his home in New York City. Events 240 BC - 1st recorded Perihelion passage of Halley's Comet. "MMIV" redirects here For the Modest Mouse album see " Baron von Bullshit Rides Again " The City of New York He had been ill with heart disease but died of lung cancer which had spread to his bones. Lung cancer is a Disease of uncontrolled Cell growth in tissues of the Lung. [2]

On December 22, 2005, the New York Daily News reported that bones of Cooke and many other people had been surgically removed before cremation by bodysnatchers working for a tissue-recovery firm. Events 1790 - The Turkish fortress of Izmail is stormed and captured by Suvorov and his Russian armies Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The Daily News of New York City is the fifth most-widely circulated daily Newspaper in the United States with a daily circulation of 703137 Body-snatching was the secret disinterment of bodies from Churchyards to sell them for Dissection or Anatomy lectures in Medical schools The thieves allegedly sold the body parts for use in (among other things) dental and bone implants. An implant is a Medical device made to replace and act as a missing biological structure (as compared with a transplant, which indicates transplanted Biomedical The cancer that Cooke was suffering from prior to his death had spread to his bones, making them unsuitable for transplant and implant therapies. Reports indicated[3] that the people involved in selling the body parts altered his death certificate to hide the cause of death and reduce his age from 95 to 85. Michael Mastromarino and Lee Cruceta agreed to a deal that resulted in their imprisonment. [4]

The Fulbright Alistair Cooke Award in Journalism

After Alistair Cooke's death the Fulbright Alistair Cooke Award in Journalism was established as a tribute to the man and his life and career achievements. The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright-Hays Program, is a program of grants for international educational exchange for scholars educators graduate The award supports students from the United Kingdom to undertake studies in the US and for Americans to study in the UK. It is offered for a Masters in Journalism or specialist study (e. g. Middle Eastern Studies) leading to a career in journalism.

The Fulbright Programme (www. fulbright. co. uk), sponsored by the US Department of State Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, was created in the aftermath of World War II though the efforts of US Senator J. William Fulbright.

UK recipients of the Fulbright Alistair Cooke Award are listed below.

2008-9 Simon Akam (Oxford University) and Daniel Walker-Smith (Edinburgh University)

2007-8 Peter Cardwell (Oxford University)

2006-7 Archie Bland (Cambridge University)

2005-6 Ewan Jones (Cambridge University)

Bibliography

"America" books

Cooke also co-authored several "coffee table" photo books.

Preceded by
none		 Host of Masterpiece Theatre
1971–1992		 Succeeded by
Russell Baker

Media

Alistair Cooke's America, a 13-part series on DVD, with a bonus where Cooke talks about his life. Masterpiece (formerly known as Masterpiece Theatre) is a drama Anthology television series produced by WGBH Boston. Russell Wayne Baker (born August 14, 1925) is an American Pulitzer Prize -winning writer known for his satirical commentary and self-critical

References

  1. ^ The Irish Times, "Radio awards presented by O'Brien", February 25, 1974
  2. ^ BBC NEWS | Americas | Alistair Cooke's bones 'stolen'
  3. ^ Zahn, Paula. "Paula Zahn Now", CNN, 2006-01-09. Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. Events 475 - Byzantine Emperor Zeno is forced to flee his capital at Constantinople. Retrieved on 2007-08-21. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 1192 - Minamoto Yoritomo becomes Seii Tai Shōgun and the De facto ruler of Japan.  
  4. ^ BBC NEWS | Americas | Plea deal in US body parts case

External links

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