Full name, Dudley Stuart John Moore; born April 19, 1935, in Dagenham, Essex,England; died of complications due to progressive supranuclear palsy, March27, 2002, in Plainfield, NJ. Actor, composer, producer, and writer. A diminutive and vibrant British performer, Moore was best known for his comedic rolesin such films as 10 and Arthur. Moore began his entertainmentcareer as a music student at Magdalen College of Oxford University in the mid-1950s. Following graduation Moore worked as a musician, touring with the John Dankworth Band and the Vic Lewis Orchestra, and a composer, most notably for London's Royal Court Theatre. Moore made his stage debut at Scotland's Edinburgh Festival in the revue Beyond the Fringe in 1960. He made his London stage debut as well as his Broadway debut in Beyond the Fringe. Between 1965 and 1970 Moore appeared with collaborator Peter Cook on the BBC comedy series Not Only ... But Also. The pair also worked together on the 1967 feature film Bedazzled, which they cowrote and in which they costarred. Moore also composed the score. Moore and Cook continued to work together through the 1970s, appearing together in the stage revue Behind the Fridge and in the film The Hound of the Baskervilles, which they also cowrote and which Moore scored. In the meantime, Moore appeared without Cook in the television series It's Lulu ... Not to Mention Dudley Mooreand in the London stage production of Play It Again, Sam. Moore movedto Los Angeles in 1975 and appeared in a small but memorable role in the filmFoul Play in 1978. The following year he achieved celebrity in 10, and in 1981 he starred in Arthur as an obnoxious, wealthy man whofinally discovers love. Moore earned an Academy Award nomination for best actor for Arthur. Though Moore continued to appear in films and even incomedy television series such as Dudley and Daddy's Girls, he never forgot his musical roots. Moore performed with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and other orchestras and was executive producer and cohost of Orchestra!, a Showtime series. In the late 1990s Moore was diagnosed with progressive supranuclear palsy, a rare brain disorder that would eventually make itimpossible for him to play the piano. Moore became involved in raising awareness about the disease and founded the Dudley Moore Research Fund for PSP.
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