Alistair Cooke dies

Broadcaster Alistair Cooke died today aged 95, only four weeks after retiring from his longrunning Letter From America.

Cooke gave his last letter to the BBC 58 years after he began his weekly broadcasts.

Cooke was frail and had suffered a number of falls. It took him two hours to write his 1,700-word Letter, which he would compose on his typewriter in his 15th-floor apartment on Fifth Avenue, overlooking New York's Central Park. His letter was broadcast on Sunday mornings on Radio 4 then repeated during the week.

He said on retiring: "It's an enormous relief. Suddenly I can throw all my newspapers away and I don't care what happens in Afghanistan. I've already switched off."

Jane, his wife of 58 years, said: "I'm glad he's giving up because I see the toll it takes on him.

"It was a difficult decision but he was a wreck after doing it."

Cooke only missed three shows over the years.

He was born in Salford in 1908. His first job at the BBC was as a film critic in 1934.

He began Letter From America in 1946 and was awarded an honorary knighthood in 1973.