In Loving Memory of Dudley Moore

Born April 19, 1935 - Passed Away March 27, 2002

This memorial website was created in the memory of Dudley Moore , born in Plainfield on April 19, 1935 and passed away on March 27, 2002 at 67 years of age.

Dudley Stuart John Moore, . Was an English actor, comedian, musician, and composer. Moore first came to prominence in the UK as a leading figure in the British satire boom of the 1960s. He was one of the four writer-performers in the comedy revue Beyond the Fringe from 1960. That created a boom in satiric comedy, and with one member of that team, Peter Cook, collaborated on the BBC television series Not Only... But Also. The double act worked on other projects until the mid-1970s, by which time Moore had settled in Los Angeles to concentrate on his film acting. His solo career as a comedy film actor was heightened by the success of hit Hollywood films, particularly Foul Play , 10 and Arthur . For Arthur, Moore was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor and won a Golden Globe Award. He received a second Golden Globe for his performance in Micki & Maude . Moore was born at the original Charing Cross Hospital in central London, the son of Ada Francis , a secretary, and John Moore, a railway electrician. His father was Scottish, from Glasgow. Moore was brought up in Dagenham, Essex. He was notably short at 5 ft 2 in and was born with club feet that required extensive hospital treatment and, coupled with his diminutive stature, made him the butt of jokes from other children. His right foot responded well to corrective treatment and had straightened itself by the time he was six, but his left foot became permanently twisted and consequently his left leg below the knee was withered. This was something of which he remained very self-conscious throughout his life. Moore became a choirboy at the age of six. At age eleven he earned a scholarship to the Guildhall School of Music, where he took up harpsichord, organ, violin, musical theory and composition. He rapidly developed into a highly talented pianist and organist and was playing the pipe organ at local church weddings by the age of 14. He attended Dagenham County High School where he received musical tuition from a dedicated teacher, who became a friend and confidant to Moore and continued to correspond with him until 1994. Moore's musical talent won him an organ scholarship to Magdalen College, Oxford, where he was tutored by the composer Bernard Rose. While studying music and composition there, he also performed with Alan Bennett in the Oxford Revue. During his university years, Moore had developed a love of jazz music and soon became an accomplished jazz pianist and composer. He began working with musicians such as John Dankworth and Cleo Laine. In 1960 he left Dankworth's band to work on Beyond the Fringe.