death_date death_place children birth_place nationality credits birth_date spouse birthname image article_title name occupation alma_mater
30 march 2004 new york city , united states john susan byrne cooke -lrb- by jane white hawkes -rrb- byrne cooke -lrb- by ruth emerson -rrb- , salford , lancashire , england british-american '' america '' letter from america '' '' alistair cooke 's 20 november 1908 ruth hawkes -lrb- 1946 -- 2004 -rrb- emerson -lrb- 1934 -- 1944 -rrb- jane white alfred cooke alistair gesturing with left hand , during interview , march 18 cooke , 1974.jpg , head-and-shoulders portrait , facing front , alistair cooke
 alistair cooke journalist and broadcaster jesus university college , cambridge , yale university , harvard
alistair cooke

alistair cooke kbe -lrb- 20 november 1908 -- 30 march 2004 -rrb- was a british journalist , television personality and broadcaster .
outside his journalistic output , which included `` letter from america '' and `` alistair cooke 's america '' , 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 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 .
