Editing Alistair Cooke (section)

===Mid to later years===
[[File:Carl Albert, Barbara Jordan, and Alistaire Cooke at the anniversary of the First Continental Congress. September 25, 1974.jpg|thumb|Alistair Cooke (front row, left) at the bicentennial of the [[First Continental Congress]], September 25, 1974; [[Barbara Jordan]] addresses the joint Houses of Congress.]]
In 1966 he was invited to deliver the MacMillan Memorial Lecture to the [[Institution of Engineers and Shipbuilders in Scotland]]. He chose the subject "The Jet Age and the Habits of Man".<ref>{{Cite journal|date=1967|journal=Naval Engineers Journal|language=en|volume=79|issue=5|pages=784–790|doi=10.1111/j.1559-3584.1967.tb05134.x|issn=0028-1425|title=The Jet Age and the Habits of Man}}</ref><ref name="MacmillanLecture1966">{{cite web |url=http://www.iesis.org/macmillan.html |title=Hugh Miller Macmillan |work=Macmillan Memorial Lectures |publisher=[[Institution of Engineers and Shipbuilders in Scotland]] |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181004102303/http://www.iesis.org/macmillan.html |archive-date=2018-10-04 |access-date=2019-01-29 }}</ref>

In 1971, he became the host of the new ''[[Masterpiece (TV series)|Masterpiece Theatre]]'', [[PBS]]'s showcase of quality British television. He remained its host for 22 years, before retiring from the role in 1992.

He achieved his greatest popularity in the United States in this role, becoming the subject of many parodies, including "[[Monsterpiece Theater|Alistair Cookie]]" in ''[[Sesame Street]]'' ("Alistair Cookie" was also the name of a clay animated cookie-headed spoof character created by [[Will Vinton]] as the host of a video trailer for ''The Little Prince and Friends''), and Alistair Quince, portrayed by [[Harvey Korman]], who introduced many episodes in the early seasons of ''[[Mama's Family]]''.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/tv/la-xpm-2013-oct-11-la-et-st-mamas-family-dvd-0131013-story.html|title='Mama's Family' returns for more biting, home-spun humor on DVD|last=DeCaro|first=Frank|date=2013-10-11|work=Los Angeles Times|access-date=2018-06-25|language=en-US|issn=0458-3035}}</ref>

''[[America: A Personal History of the United States]]'' (1972), a 13-part television series about the United States and its history, was first broadcast in both the United Kingdom and the United States in 1973, and was followed by a book of the same title. It was a great success in both countries, and resulted in Cooke's being invited to address the [[Joint session of the United States Congress|joint Houses]] of the [[United States Congress]] as part of Congress's bicentenary celebrations. After the series was broadcast in Ireland, Cooke won a [[Jacob's Award]],<ref>''The Irish Times'', "Radio awards presented by O'Brien", 25 February 1974</ref> one of the few occasions when this award was made to the maker of an imported programme.{{citation needed|date = October 2017}}