Alistair Cooke

Alistair Cooke
Cooke during an interview in 1974
Born	Alfred Cooke (1908-11-20)20 November 1908 Salford, Lancashire, England
Died	30 March 2004(2004-03-30) (aged 95) New York City, U.S.
Citizenship	United Kingdom (until 1941) United States (from 1941)
Alma mater	Jesus College, Cambridge Yale University Harvard University
Occupations	Journalist broadcaster
Notable credits	Letter from America America: A Personal History of the United States
Spouses	Ruth Emerson ​ ​ (m. 1934; div. 1944)​ Jane White Hawkes ​ (m. 1946)​
Children	2, including John Byrne
Awards	Honorary Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire

Alistair Cooke (born Alfred Cooke; 20 November 1908 – 30 March 2004) was a British-American writer whose work as a journalist, television personality and radio broadcaster was done primarily in the United States.^[1] Outside his journalistic output, which included Letter from America and America: A Personal History of the United States, he was well known in the United States as the host of PBS Masterpiece Theatre from 1971 to 1992. After holding the job for 22 years, and having worked in television for 42 years, Cooke retired in 1992, although he continued to present Letter from America until shortly before his death. He was the father of author and folk singer John Byrne Cooke.