Alan Cooke; Directed TV’s ‘Lou Grant’

Alan Cooke, a British-born director whose credits ranged from television’s “Lou Grant” to tours of U.S. college campuses presenting “King Lear,” is dead of liver failure caused by hepatitis.

A family spokesman said this week he was 68 and died in Los Angeles on Oct. 9.

Born in London, Cooke began directing while a he was member of the Coldstream Guards stationed in Palestine at the end of World War II. It was a production of Bernard Shaw’s “Arms and the Man.” Thereafter, his eclectic tastes led him to the works of Shakespeare, Ben Jonson and the new medium of live television.

He also staged the works of Evelyn Waugh, Anton Chekhov, Arthur Miller and T.S. Eliot.

In Britain for Thames Television, he produced and directed a 13-part series on the short stories of Graham Greene. His other work in England involved miniseries about Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine and the life and work of author Katherine Mansfield.

Cooke returned to the United States in 1979, directing episodes of “Lou Grant,” “Quincy,” “Matlock,” “Hart to Hart,” “Father Dowling Mysteries” and many others.

His stage efforts in Los Angeles brought Dramalogue Critics’ Awards for “The Birthday Party,” “Rocket to the Moon” and “Summer and Smoke.”

Survivors include his wife, Eleanor, a daughter, son and brother.