March 28, 2002
The friends and former colleagues of Dudley Moore have paid tribute to the celebrated entertainer who died at his New Jersey home yesterday from a rare brain condition.
The degenerative supranuclear palsy which had plagued the final years of his life had led to pneumonia. He was 66.
Jazz singer Dame Cleo Laine, who knew the comedian, actor and musician for almost 40 years, said: ‘In lots of ways it's a release for him.
‘He had to be fed and washed and looked after like a baby.’ Like many of those close to Moore she spoke of his humour, adding: ‘I remember him as somebody who could make you laugh, he was very easy going he just loved people and was very warm.’
Film critic Barry Norman described ‘cuddly Dudley's’ reputation as a sex symbol, saying: ‘He had a tremendous personality, very amusing. A very nice bloke and, of course, he was funny and women do like men to be funny.’
Chat show host Michael Parkinson said: ‘He had a little boy lost quality about him, which women loved, and there was always something slightly forlorn about Dudley, even when he was being funny.’
Gifted musician
The diminutive Moore described himself as ‘more of a sex thimble than a sex symbol!’
Born into a working-class family in Dagenham, east London, Moore’s gift for music won him an organ scholarship to Oxford's Magdalen College.
But he gained attention for writing incidental music for the stage and TV, and performing in cabaret.
He left Oxford in 1958 as an accomplished jazz pianist, performing with Johnny Dankworth and touring the US for a year with the Vic Lewis band.
On his return he met the late Peter Cook and was asked to join Beyond The Fringe, a comedy revue at the Edinburgh Festival.
The show also featured Alan Bennett and Jonathan Miller and ran for four years in London and New York after the festival finished.
His partnership with the Peter Cook led to the creation of the classic comic characters Dud and Pete, comedy icons on both sides of the Atlantic.
Moore then went on to pursue a successful career in Hollywood, starring in a number of hit screen comedies and movies.
Most notably, he played alongside Bo Derek in the movie 10 in 1979.
His role as a hard-drinking millionaire in the 1981 film Arthur then won him an Oscar nomination.
Rare condition
Moore suffered from a number of illnesses and was fired from Barbra Streisand's film The Mirror Has Two Faces when he could not remember his lines.
Despite rumours of drug use, he was found to have developed the rare condition Progressive Supranuclear Palsy.
He told the public of his condition in September 1999, saying that his vision had become hazy, his walking was impaired and speech slurred.
He spoke of his frustrations at the disease, saying: ‘It's totally mysterious the way this illness attacks, and eats you up, and then spits you out.
Last November Moore, pictured right, flew to the UK to be made a CBE by Prince Charles at Buckingham Palace.
The ailing star, who received his award in a wheelchair, had been honoured in the overseas and diplomatic Birthday Honours list in June of that year.
He leaves two sons, one from his second marriage, the other from his fourth.
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