Though 95 years is a nice long age for anyone to reach, I'm still sad that Alistair Cooke has died. He was an intelligent, clever man. I enjoyed listening to him and reading his writings when I had a chance. He was self-made in many ways, coming from a rather common background.
Please check out his obituary here:
http:// http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/letter_from_america/3581657.stmI'd highly recommend listening to the World Service tribute audio link on the upper right of the page.
And you can listen to his last Letter From America here:
http://www.npr.org/features/feature.php?wfId=1764472
He had just stopped doing his "Letter From America" for the BBC, which I would listen to on the way to work rebroadcast over NPR on Mondays. I also enjoyed his intros and outros to Masterpiece Theater on PBS.
I also enjoyed his intros and outros to Masterpiece Theater on PBS.
Yes! He was good at that, wasn't he? Gave it real authority.
I hadn't recalled that Cooke had witnessed Robert Kennedy's assassination. George Plimpton was there that day as well. Were Cooke & Plimpton friends?
Hewre's a piece from his old paper, The Grauniad
http://snipurl.com/5etw-mq4201. Affectionate, but not obsequious.
My earliest recollections include the family gathered round listening to "Letter from America" on the radio - 'the wireless' we called it then. I must have been very young when I first listened to him, but those mellifluous tones and the fascinating yet, to a youngster, somewhat mysterious topics were my first introduction to the United States. Alastair Cooke, along with the comics that came as padding in 'food parcels', made America seem a strange, delightful place full of delightful people. He gave me a liking for America and an interest in things American that has stayed with me and, I am pleased to say, mostly been reinforced by subsequent extensive experience. What an ambassador he was!
I wasn't even aware of his "Letters from America." I wonder, is there a place on the web where I can read them?
What a cozy memory. Though born after WW2, my early contact with the UK was via my father's occasional stories of having been in Great Britain during the war: buzz bombs, tea, creaky B-17s, pre-decimal Lsd, and mutton. When I finally got to the UK in the mid=70s, a lot had changed, but I enjoyed myself immensely. Thanks, dxb.
There are transcripts of a selection of 6 of his letters here, my lady:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/letter_from_america/default.stm
I remember listening to his Letters as a child here in Zild too. That voice fascinated me, and even thuogh I didn't hear them often enuogh to remember much of what he said, I loved listening to them whenever I could.
Hi sjmaxq!
Thanks for the link. That seemed like a pretty realistic obit. It gave me a more human impression of the man than most things I've read since his death. He was a hard worker from all accounts. I'll miss his voice.