Dudley Moore Biography

Fast Facts

• Has a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for Motion Pictures, which was awarded in 1987
• Was awarded the CBE for his services to Anglo-American film and theatre in the 2001 Queen's Birthday Honours List and traveled to the ceremony despite poor health
• Studied the organ at Magdalen College, Oxford on a scholarship, but turned down a job as organist at King's College, Cambridge to become a musician and actor in a satirical comedy revue called "Beyond the Fringe․"
• Quote: "I have a very ribald sense of humor, which is conventionally known as obscene․"
• Quote: "The confidence I now have is rooted in the discovery that who I am is okay․"
• Quote: "The things I love most of all in comedy are desperation, madness, and everything concerned with fear and non-comprehension․"
• Had an ongoing comedic partnership with Peter Cook, but later broke off the relationship to pursue a film career in romantic comedies like "Arthur" in 1981 and 1979's "10․"
• Throughout his career, he worked as a composer and pianist, writing scores for films and giving playful piano concerts that included parodies of popular songs
• Rumors that he had problems with alcohol like some of his notable characters proved unfounded, as strange behavior in the late '90s was actually early symptoms of progressive supranuclear palsy, a terminal degenerative brain disorder
• Co-owned a restaurant in Venice, California, and whenever he would visit the premises, he would play piano for its patrons
• Rena Fruchter, who was his caretaker through his final moments, reported that his last words were "I can hear the music all around me․"