Trivia

Shortly after his death it was discovered that some of his bones had been removed before his body was passed to his family for cremation. Police investigating an illegal trade in bones, used for transplants and sold for thousands of dollars, found that his body was one of many which had been desecrated in the mortuary.

A naturalised US citizen, he was awarded an honorary knighthood in 1973.

His first wife, Ruth Emerson, was a model and a great-grandniece of Ralph Waldo Emerson. Their son, John Byrne Cooke, was Janis Joplin's road manager from 1967 until her death.

His "Letter From America" radio broadcast to the UK (and the world via the BBC World Service) ran from 1946-2004 making it the world's longest running speech radio show (58 years).

Became a U.S. Citizen in 1941.

Cooke worked as a personal assistant to Charlie Chaplin (the Little Tramp) on a projected film about the life of Napoleon. Chaplin had been invited to be Best Man at Cooke's wedding to Ruth Emerson, but the bride's mother objected to the film star's living in sin with actress Paulette Goddard.

He retired at the age of 95 years in 2004 due to failing health.

His "Letter from America" began its thirteen week run on 24 March 1946. It ended after 2869 letters in March 2004, weeks before Cooke's death.

A memorial service was held for him at London's Westminster Abbey on 15th October 2004.

In 1934, Charles Chaplin was scheduled to serve as best man at broadcaster Alistair Cooke's marriage to Ruth Emerson (Ruth Emerson Cooke), but Charlie never showed. Reputedly, he and wife-to-be Paulette Goddard were having such a good time at Southern California's Lake Arrowhead, they decided to stay.

His son was road manager for Janis Joplin and was the one to discover her 18 hours after her fatal heroine overdose.

His second wife, Jane White Hawkes, was a painter and the widow of the son of U.S. Senator Albert W. Hawkes. Their daughter, Susan Cooke Kittredge, is an ordained minister.

He was spoofed on Sesame Street by Cookie Monster who was Alistair Cookie.

Biography in: "The Scribner Encyclopedia of American Lives". Volume 7, 2003-2005, pages 95-97. Farmington Hills, MI: Thomson Gale, 2007.

His ashes were scattered in New York's Central Park.

The British prints of the Bob Hope comedy "Beau James" feature Cooke as narrator; this version has been shown many times on British television. In the original American prints, the narration was spoken by Walter Winchell, who was thought to be insufficiently well-known to the British audience.