*Ø* Blogmanac November 20, 1908 | Happy birthday, Alistair Cooke

95 and still going strong; world record for broadcasting

1908 Alistair Cooke, English-born journalist and broadcaster. His Letter from America has been broadcast on BBC (British Broadcasting Commission) Radio every week since March 24, 1946, making it the longest-running speech broadcast program in the world. The 95-year-old Cooke’s Letter is still running at the time of writing, and is enjoyed most weeks by your almanackist as well as millions of others for its clarity, intelligence and good writing, if not always for the opinions expressed.

According to a CBS media release, on October 4, 1953, Omnibus, an American TV show hosted by Cooke, made its CBS debut. It won three Emmy awards throughout its CBS run in its category.

The show must go on
In his November 9, 2003 broadcast, Cooke revealed that in 57 years of Letter from America he has recorded the program 16 times while in hospital, but only ever missed one edition due to ill health. As reported in the Sydney Morning Herald on October 20, 2003:

“Veteran 94-year-old British-born presenter Alistair Cooke was unable to broadcast his Letter from America show this week after suffering a fall, the BBC said yesterday.”

Ever the trouper, Cooke’s only reference to his injuries in his next broadcast (October 27), lay his opening sentence: “Where were we when I was so smashingly interrupted?”

Veteran BBC broadcaster Cooke falls and misses show

Shop Alistair Cooke

Classic Letter: The death of Senator Kennedy, 1968
More on Cooke
Listen: 90th birthday tribute, November 20, 1998
Alistair Cooke: A Biography