Great obits in the NY Times.

From one:

As the master of ceremonies on "Omnibus," the legendary arts and entertainment series that ran on network television in the 1950's, and later as the host for more than 20 years of "Masterpiece Theater" on public television, Alistair Cooke came to epitomize highbrow culture to a wide swath of American viewers. The role gave Mr. Cooke, an elegant and erudite transplanted Englishman, the status of a TV icon, and also made him the subject of good-natured parodies on television shows like "Saturday Night Live" and "Sesame Street."