Dudley Moore facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Dudley Moore CBE
Moore at the 43rd Emmy Awards, 25 August 1991
Born	Dudley Stuart John Moore (1935-04-19)19 April 1935 Charing Cross, London, England
Died	27 March 2002(2002-03-27) (aged 66) Plainfield, New Jersey, U.S.
Resting place	Hillside Cemetery, Scotch Plains
Alma mater	Magdalen College, Oxford
Occupation	Actor comedian musician composer
Years active	1961–1998
Spouse(s)	Suzy Kendall ​ ​ (m. 1968; div. 1972)​ Tuesday Weld ​ ​ (m. 1975; div. 1980)​ Brogan Lane ​ ​ (m. 1988; div. 1991)​ Nicole Rothschild ​ ​ (m. 1994; div. 1998)​
Children	2

Dudley Stuart John Moore CBE (born April 19, 1935 – died March 27, 2002) was a talented English actor, comedian, musician, and composer. He became famous in the UK in the 1960s as a key part of the British satire boom. This was a time when comedy shows made fun of serious topics.

Dudley Moore was one of the four main performers in the comedy show Beyond the Fringe starting in 1960. This show helped create a new wave of funny, smart comedy. He also worked with Peter Cook on the BBC TV series Not Only... But Also. They were a very popular comedy team. Moore's silly, funny actions often made a great contrast with Cook's serious, straight-faced jokes. They even won a British Academy Television Award for Best Entertainment Performance in 1966. They continued to work together until the mid-1970s. By then, Moore had moved to Los Angeles to focus on his film career.

He starred in many successful comedy films. These included Bedazzled (1967), which was set in the exciting Swinging Sixties London. He also appeared in Hollywood movies like Foul Play (1978), 10 (1979), and Arthur (1981). For his role in Arthur, Moore was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor and won a Golden Globe Award. He won another Golden Globe for his acting in Micki & Maude (1984). Dudley Moore received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1987. Queen Elizabeth II also honored him with a CBE (Commander of the Order of the British Empire) at Buckingham Palace on November 16, 2001. This was his last public appearance.

Early Life and Musical Talent

Dudley Moore was born in central London. His mother, Ada Francis, was a secretary, and his father, John Moore, was a railway electrician. He had an older sister named Barbara. Dudley grew up in Dagenham, Essex. He was shorter than average and had club feet, which meant his feet were twisted from birth. This needed a lot of hospital treatment. Other children sometimes made fun of him because of this. His right foot got better by age six, but his left foot and leg remained affected. He felt self-conscious about this for his whole life.

Moore started singing in a choir at age six. When he was 11, he won a scholarship to the Guildhall School of Music. There, he learned to play the harpsichord, organ, and violin. He also studied music theory and composition. He quickly became a very skilled pianist and organist. By age 14, he was playing the organ at local church weddings. He went to Dagenham County High School, where his music teacher, Peter Cork, helped him get a scholarship to Oxford University.

Moore won an organ scholarship to Magdalen College, Oxford. While studying music there, he also performed in a comedy show called The Oxford Revue with Alan Bennett. During his university years, Moore fell in love with jazz music. He became an excellent jazz pianist and composer. He worked with famous musicians like John Dankworth and Cleo Laine. In 1960, he left Dankworth's band to work on Beyond the Fringe.

Career Highlights

Comedy with Beyond the Fringe

Moore (left) in Beyond the Fringe, c. 1963. This show helped start a new wave of satirical comedy and was performed thousands of times.

A friend named John Bassett suggested Dudley Moore for a new comedy show called Beyond the Fringe. Moore then suggested Alan Bennett, who in turn brought in Peter Cook.

Beyond the Fringe became a very important show in the 1960s UK satire boom. At first, it didn't get a great reaction in Edinburgh in 1960. But when it moved to London, it became a huge hit. The show also included many musical parts, using Dudley Moore's music. One famous part was his funny version of the Colonel Bogey March.

In 1962, the show moved to New York with the same cast. Even President John F. Kennedy watched a performance in 1963. The show continued in New York until 1964.

Working with Peter Cook

When Moore came back to the UK, the BBC offered him his own TV series, Not Only... But Also (1965, 1966, 1970). It was meant to be just for Moore. But when he invited Peter Cook as a guest, their comedy team-up was so good that Cook became a regular part of the show.

Cook and Moore are best remembered for their sketches as two working-class men, Pete and Dud. They wore raincoats and caps and talked about politics and art. They also created many other characters. Moore often played the interviewer, while Cook played funny, upper-class characters.

They had a unique way of writing their material. They would record themselves making up jokes and then write them down. This meant they didn't have much time to practice. So, they often used cue cards. Moore was known for laughing during live shows. Cook would sometimes try to make him laugh on purpose to get a bigger reaction from the audience.

In 1966, Moore and Cook appeared in the British comedy film The Wrong Box. Then, they wrote and starred together in Bedazzled (1967) with Eleanor Bron. This film was directed by Stanley Donen. They also appeared in other films like Monte Carlo or Bust and The Bed Sitting Room. In 1968 and 1969, Moore did two solo comedy projects. One was the film 30 is a Dangerous Age, Cynthia, and the other was a play called Play It Again, Sam in London.

Moore (right) with Peter Cook in 1969. Their success came from the funny difference between Moore’s silly actions and Cook’s serious jokes.

In the 1970s, the friendship between Moore and Cook became harder. However, in 1971, they combined old and new jokes to create a stage show called Beyond the Fringe. This show toured Australia in 1972 and then went to New York City in 1973, renamed Good Evening. The show was very popular and won Tony and Grammy Awards.

When Good Evening finished its run in New York, Moore stayed in the U.S. to try to become a film actor in Hollywood. But the pair reunited to host Saturday Night Live on January 24, 1976. They performed some of their famous comedy routines.

Their last big appearance together was in the 1978 film The Hound of the Baskervilles. Moore played Dr. Watson to Cook's Sherlock Holmes. He also played three other characters in the film and wrote the music for it. The film was not very successful.

Moore and Cook later reunited for charity events like Comic Relief in 1987 and an Amnesty International benefit in 1989.

Dudley Moore was very sad when Peter Cook died in 1995. For weeks, he would call Cook's home just to hear his friend's voice on the answering machine.

Music Career

In the 1960s, Dudley Moore started the Dudley Moore Trio. The group included drummer Chris Karan and bassist Pete McGurk. After McGurk passed away in 1968, Peter Morgan joined the group.

Moore said his main musical inspirations were Oscar Peterson and Erroll Garner. He once remembered how excited he was when he finally learned a special piano technique from Erroll Garner. His early recordings included songs like "My Blue Heaven" and "Autumn Leaves".

The trio often performed on British television and made many recordings. They also had a long-running show at Peter Cook's London nightclub, the Establishment. Some of their albums were The Dudley Moore Trio and Genuine Dud.

Moore was a good friend of music producer Christopher Gunning. He played piano (without being credited) on the 1969 song "Broken Hearted Pirates." In 1981, he recorded Smilin' Through with singer Cleo Laine.

He also wrote the music for several films, including Bedazzled (1967), 30 is a Dangerous Age, Cynthia (1968), and Six Weeks (1982).

Later Film and TV Work

In the late 1970s, Moore moved to Hollywood. He had a supporting role in the popular film Foul Play (1978) with Goldie Hawn. The next year, he had a breakthrough role in Blake Edwards's film 10. This movie became one of the biggest hits of 1979 and made him a romantic leading man. Moore then starred in the comedy film Wholly Moses!, which was not as successful.

In 1981, Moore starred in the comedy Arthur, which was an even bigger hit than 10. He starred with Liza Minnelli and Sir John Gielgud. The film was very popular and praised by critics. Moore was nominated for an Oscar for Best Actor, and Gielgud won an Oscar for his role. Moore won a Golden Globe award for Best Actor in a Musical/Comedy for Arthur.

His next films, Six Weeks (1982), Lovesick (1983), Romantic Comedy (1983), and Unfaithfully Yours (1984), had moderate success. He won another Golden Globe in 1984 for his role in Micki & Maude, directed by Blake Edwards.

Later films like Santa Claus: The Movie (1985), Like Father Like Son (1987), and Arthur 2: On the Rocks (1988) had mixed reviews. Moore later said he didn't like the Arthur sequel.

In 1986, he hosted Saturday Night Live again, this time by himself.

Moore continued to work as a composer and pianist. He wrote music for films and gave piano concerts. He was known for his funny versions of classical music. He also worked with conductor Sir Georg Solti on a TV series called Orchestra! (1991), which taught people about symphony orchestras. He later worked with Michael Tilson Thomas on a similar series called Concerto! (1993).

Moore appeared in two TV series for CBS, Dudley (1993) and Daddy's Girls (1994). However, both shows were canceled early.

By 1995, Moore's film career was slowing down. He started having trouble remembering his lines, which was new for him. This was due to a medical condition that would later lead to his death. He decided to focus on playing the piano. He performed with pianist Rena Fruchter in the US and Australia. However, his illness began to affect his playing, and his fingers didn't always do what he wanted. Other symptoms like slurred speech and trouble balancing were sometimes mistaken by the public for drunkenness. Moore himself didn't understand what was happening.

Restaurant

In 1983, Dudley Moore and Tony Bill opened a restaurant called 72 Market Street Oyster Bar and Grill in Venice, California. It closed in 2000.

Personal Life

Dudley Moore was married four times and had two sons, Patrick and Nicholas.

Illness and Passing

In 1997, after some time in a hospital, Dudley Moore learned he had a serious brain disorder called progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP). This illness affects movement, balance, and speech.

Dudley Moore passed away on March 27, 2002, at the age of 66, due to pneumonia caused by his illness. Rena Fruchter, his friend, was with him. She said his last words were, "I can hear the music all around me." Moore was buried at Hillside Cemetery in Scotch Plains, New Jersey.

Awards and Recognition

In 1981, Moore won the Golden Globe for Best Actor for his role in Arthur. He was also nominated for an Oscar for this role. In November 2001, Moore was made a Commander of the Order of The British Empire (CBE). Even though he was very ill, he attended the ceremony at Buckingham Palace in a wheelchair to receive his honor. This was his last public appearance.

Filmography

Discography

UK chart singles

• "Goodbye-ee", 1965, Peter Cook and Dudley Moore
• "The Ballad of Spotty Muldoon", 1965, Peter Cook and Dudley Moore

Jazz discography

• "Strictly for the Birds" b/w "Duddly Dell", 1961 (Parlophone R 4772) - The Dudley Moore Trio (Derek Hogg, drums; Hugo Boyd, double bass)
• The Other Side of Dudley Moore, 1965 (Decca LK 4732 Mono) The Dudley Moore Trio (Pete McGurk - double bass, Chris Karan - drums)
• Genuine Dud, 1966 (Decca LK 4788 Mono) The Dudley Moore Trio (Pete McGurk - double bass, Chris Karan - drums) [reissued as The World of Dudley Moore, vol 2, 1973]
• From Beyond The Fringe, 1966 (Atlantic RecordsStandard 2 017)
• The Dudley Moore Trio, 1969 (Decca Records (UK) / London Records (US) PS558)
• Dudley Moore plays the Theme from Beyond the Fringe and All That Jazz, 1962 (Atlantic 1403)
• The World of Dudley Moore, (Decca SPA 106)
• The Music of Dudley Moore, (EMI Australia (Cube Records) TOOFA.14-1/2)
• Dudley Down Under, (Cube ICS 13)
• Dudley Moore at the Wavendon Festival, (Black Lion Records BLP 12151)
• Smilin' Through – Cleo Laine and Dudley Moore, (Finesse Records FW 38091)
• "Strictly for the Birds" – Cleo Laine and Dudley Moore, (CBS A 2947)
• The Theme from Beyond The Fringe and All That Jazz, (Collectibles COL 6625)
• Live from an Aircraft Hangar (Martine Avenue Productions MAPI 8486)
• Songs Without Words, 1991 (GRP/BMG LC 6713)
• The First Orchestrations – Dudley Moore and Richard Rodney Bennett, played by John Bassett and his Band, (Harkit Records HRKCD 8054)
• Jazz Jubilee, (Martine Avenue Productions MAPI 1521)
• The Dudley Moore Trio at Sydney Town Hall, 2 May 1978 (with Peter Morgan on bass and Chris Karan on drums). Produced by Peter Wall.
• Today, The Dudley Moore Trio - again with Morgan and Karan (see above) recorded at United Sound, Sydney, in 1971, with some mono tracks added from a 1961 London session. No details.

Comedy discography

• Beyond The Fringe (West End recording) (1961)
• Beyond The Fringe (Broadway recording) (1962)
• Not Only Peter Cook But Also Dudley Moore (1965)
• Once Moore with Cook (1966)
• Peter Cook and Dudley Moore Cordially Invite You to Go to Hell! (1967)
• Goodbye Again (1968)
• Not Only But Also (1971)
• Behind the Fridge (1971) AUS #35
• The World of Pete & Dud (1974)
• Good Evening (1974)
• Derek and Clive (Live) (1976)
• Derek and Clive Come Again (1977)
• Derek and Clive Ad Nauseam (1978)

See also

In Spanish: Dudley Moore para niños