| Try typing "Dudley Moore, piano" into an Internet | | | | in the mid-60's, he invited Peter to appear as one of |
| search engine. Yes, that Dudley Moore. Before the | | | | the characters. The chemistry between them was so |
| biographies and his life and trials as an actor, you'll find | | | | good that Peter's character became a regular fixture. |
| video clips of the actor sitting in front of a piano. | | | | The show, called "Not Only But Also", became |
| Dudley Moore played the piano; he wasn't just a star | | | | enormously popular, and soon the duo moved into |
| tinkering with a bit of music in his spare time either. | | | | feature films. They co-starred in Bedazzled in 1967, for |
| Besides being a screen legend, Dudley Moore was a | | | | which Dudley also wrote the musical soundtrack. |
| truly accomplished pianist who released 11 albums as | | | | Dudley then moved to Hollywood and starred in |
| part of the Dudley Moore Trio. | | | | movies alongside big-screen greats like Goldie Hawn, |
| Dudley's childhood wasn't easy. He was a lot shorter | | | | Liza Minelli and Geraldine Fitzgerald. During the 70's and |
| than friends of the same age. He was born with a | | | | 80's, Dudley became the movie star and Hollywood |
| clubfoot, which was also a source of ridicule before it | | | | legend that his fans know today. |
| was surgically corrected. The shy Dudley found solace | | | | Music never took a backseat in Dudley's life. Besides |
| in music, quickly taking to the piano and then the violin | | | | writing soundtracks for Hollywood movies and taking |
| at a remarkably young age. He loved the piano and | | | | major roles in many of them, he continued recording |
| the organ, and by his early teens, he was playing solo | | | | and performing with the Dudley Moore Trio. Their first |
| for church weddings. His talent for music was further | | | | album, The Other Side of Dudley Moore, was released |
| nurtured at the music school he attended on the | | | | in 1966 and was quickly followed by their second |
| weekends. Dudley proved an excellent student by the | | | | album, called Genuine Dud, released in the same year. |
| end of high school, winning a scholarship to the | | | | Dudley's love for pianist Oscar Peterson shone through |
| Magdelen College at Oxford University. | | | | in the music. |
| It was during this time that he met Peter Cook, his | | | | The early albums combined Dudley's classically trained |
| friend and co-star in Beyond the Fringe which became | | | | piano with the more free-spirited feel of jazz and |
| a hugely successful comedy show at the beginning of | | | | blues. On the soundtrack album for Bedazzled, Dudley |
| the 1960's. While taking classes in Music and | | | | showcased his talents as an incredible pianist and |
| Composition at Magdelin College, Dudley also became | | | | composer. He brought in the additional talents of Roy |
| a big fan of jazz music, so he joined a little jazz outfit | | | | Willox on flute, Bob Efford on tenor sax, Harry Klein on |
| to hone his skills as a jazz pianist and composer. | | | | baritone sax, Jock Bain on trombone and John Sharp |
| Dudley's Beyond the Fringe co-star Peter Cook | | | | on violin. His last album, The Music of Dudley Moore, |
| invested in some property in the early 60's, converting | | | | was released in 1978 as a compilation of songs from |
| a building into a cabaret club called The Establishment. | | | | the trio's albums and music from Bedazzled. |
| There Dudley played in a jazz band with Chris Karan | | | | After starring in 24 movies with a glittering career as |
| and Pete McGurk. The three of them eventually | | | | one of the most accomplished jazz pianists in |
| formed the famed Dudley Moore Trio with Dudley on | | | | Hollywood, Dudley Stuart John Moore died in 2002 |
| piano, Chris on drums and Pete on the bass guitar. | | | | after suffering degenerative brain disorder. He was 66 |
| Dudley carried on with his acting career alongside | | | | years old. |
| Peter Cook. When Dudley was offered his own show | | | | |