Cooke just recently retired from his "Letters From America" show on the BBC after 58 years - hasty he was not:
- Veteran BBC broadcaster and writer Alistair Cooke has died at his home in New York.
....Leading the tributes, Prime Minister Tony Blair described him as "a remarkable man" and "one of the greatest broadcasters of all time".
The BBC's acting director general, Mark Byford, said Cooke was "one of the greatest broadcasters ever in the history of the BBC".
A BBC spokesman said Cooke's daughter contacted his biographer, BBC reporter Nick Clarke, to confirm his death at midnight local time (0600 BST).
Cooke was absent from recent shows due to illness, and this month it was announced he would not record any new Letters.
The BBC said Cooke had decided to sign off following advice from doctors. His final Letter was broadcast on 20 February.
In it, he talked about being "propped up there against my usual three pillows" before considering how Iraq and domestic issues had become key elements in the run-up to the US presidential elections.
"Throughout 58 years I have had much enjoyment in doing these talks and hope that some of it has passed over to the listeners, to all of whom I now say thank you for your loyalty and goodbye," he said.
Cooke joined the BBC as a film critic in 1934 and started writing his US current affairs and historical Letter in 1946.
The show was listened to by people across Europe, Asia, New Zealand, Africa, the Americas and the Middle East via the BBC's World Service. It was heard in the UK on BBC Radio 4.
Over almost 60 years, his 15-minute reflections touched on everything from the assassinations of the Kennedys to the terrorist attacks of 11 September.
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