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The latest culture as recommended by our staff

Peter Hoskin

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Comprehensive prescription

Wednesday, 16th July 2008

Harley Street (ITV), The Unseen Alistair Cooke (BBC4)

Everyone remembers him as the grave, maple syrup-voiced old gent (he was 95 when he both retired and then died). But when he went to the States in 1932, aged 24, he looked and sounded remarkably like Nigel Havers, as well as having an astonishing ability to ingratiate himself with the rich and famous. The home movies he took of his new best friend Charlie Chaplin — the two men were both hugely self-regarding — were hypnotic. In some ways, Cooke didn’t come over as a particularly nice chap, always putting ambition in front of family. He didn’t go to his parents’ funerals — guilt at neglecting them, thought his own children. It was a well-measured, revealing and rather sad programme. The most poignant moment came when his daughter described scattering his ashes over Central Park. It was only later that we learnt that much of him had been already cut out by body snatchers, now in jail, so there wasn’t very much left.

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ian skidmore

July 17th, 2008 11:11am

Copy takers did not share Hoggart's jaundiced view of Cooke. He knw the all by name, asked afer their families and w generally believed to b a good guy.
If such an astute commentators didn' lie is family, that might be a judgement on them


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