Dudley Moore, We Miss You Trivia Quiz

Answer: Barking and Dagenham

Dudley Moore was born on 19 April 1935 in Charing Cross and was raised on the Becontree estate, a huge housing estate in the eastern part of London. He had physical problems with club feet, which could only partly be fixed and was also short in stature, at only five feet two inches in height, or 1.57 metres if you prefer metric.

In later years he was nicknamed 'the sex thimble' to reflect his lack of height, which did not hinder his popularity with the ladies.

Answer: Oxford

Dudley won a scholarship to Oxford, based on his musical ability, where he attended Magdalen College. He met Alan Bennett and the two of them became members of the Oxford Revue, a comedy group set up by students from the various Oxford colleges. This set Dudley on a career path of combining his musical ability with comedy and performing.

The Oxford Revue has spawned so much talent, I can mention only a few. Alan Bennett himself became a successful playwright and other former members include Dame Maggie Smith, Rowan Atkinson and both Michael Palin and Terry Jones, of Monty Python fame.

Answer: Edinburgh Festival

Often cited as the start of the satirical humour which became a mainstay of later comedy, this combination of the talents of Oxford (Moore and Bennett) and Cambridge (Miller and Cook) first hit the stage in Scotland, at the Edinburgh Festival. The idea of caricaturing the 'establishment', such as Members of Parliament and other leading figures, was controversial at the time.

The revue established the quartet as entertainers, with all of them going on to become very well known. Bennett, as already mentioned, made his name as a playwright and Miller became a renowned theatre director. Moore and Cook formed a partnership which lasted until the latter part of the 1970s.

Answer: Jazz

His music scholarship to Oxford had been on another keyboard, the organ, but Dudley developed an interest in jazz while at university. He played with John Dankworth and Cleo Laine and released several albums. He performed regularly in cabaret as a trio with a bass player and drummer.

As if his talents as comedian, musician and actor weren't enough, Dudley also wrote the scores for several films, with 'Bedazzled' from 1967 probably the best known. It's worth searching out some of his musical works on the internet to help understand what a multi-talented man he was.

Answer: Peter Cook

Moore was originally going to do this as a solo project, with the name 'Not Only Dudley Moore, But Also His Guests'. He invited Peter Cook along as one of his guests for the pilot and the duo worked so well together Cook became a permanent fixture. The show was usually referred to by the shortened version mentioned in the question. Guests included John Lennon who enjoyed the opportunity to show his comedic skills.

The duologues between Moore and Cook were a mainstay of the show, a feature picked up by later comedians like Ronnies Barker and Corbett and Mel Smith and Griff Rhys Jones.

Dudley and Peter also created Derek and Clive whose duologues were littered with crudities and pushed the boundaries of good taste way beyond anything I could quote in this quiz.

Answer: 10

Directed by Blake Edwards, '10' involved George Webber (Moore) becoming besotted with the bride (Bo Derek) he sees on her wedding day, despite already having a girlfriend (Andrews). Having tracked her down on her honeymoon, he manages to spend time with her before realising that he is just a fling to her. George returns to his girlfriend having, belatedly, grown up.

The film was popular at the time and Bo Derek's beaded hairstyle was even more of a trendsetter.

All the options listed are real films featuring numbers, but Dudley Moore only appeared in one of them.

Answer: Tuesday Weld

Sadly, none of his marriages lasted long. Dudley married actress Suzy Kendall in 1968 with the marriage ending in divorce in 1972. Moore remained friends with Suzy and became a family friend when she re-married, becoming godfather to her daughter. Tuesday Weld, an American actress, was his second wife, with their marriage lasting from 1975 until 1980. Their son, named Patrick, was born in 1976.

The marriage to Brogan Lane took place in 1988 with divorce ending it only three years later. Dudley's final marriage came in 1994 when he married Nicole Rothschild, a turbulent liaison which ended in 1998. The couple had one son, Nicholas, born in 1995. Nicole was the only ex-wife with whom Dudley could not maintain a friendship.

Answer: Arthur

Dudley portrays the title character, a millionaire named Arthur Bach who lives in luxury and an alcoholic haze. He is cared for, physically and emotionally, by his valet, Hobson, portrayed by John Gielgud. Arthur is about to go through an arranged marriage to ensure his inheritance when he falls in love with a lower class girl (Liza Minnelli). Eventually Arthur follows his heart, finds some maturity (there seems to be a theme of this in his films) and still retains his riches.

The film was extremely successful with Gielgud winning the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his role and the theme song winning the Oscar for Best Original Song. This was 'Arthur's Theme (Best That You Can Do)', which had an impeccable pedigree - Burt Bacharach composed the music and Carole Bayer Sager, Peter Allen and Christopher Cross, who also sang it, provided the lyrics. Moore's nomination was the closest he got to an Oscar.

Answer: Progressive supranuclear palsy

Progressive supranuclear palsy is a rare brain disorder caused by a build up of proteins. The symptoms include problems with balance, and Dudley was assumed to be drunk on occasions when he was actually ill. He also had difficulty in retaining information, and was fired from a film when he couldn't remember his lines, which he described as 'devastating'. Even his ability as a pianist was taken from him.

Dudley eventually disclosed his condition in 1999 to end public speculation.

Answer: New Jersey

Dudley lived in California, mainly in Los Angeles, for much of his time in America, but his illness and a messy divorce from Nicole Rothschild meant he needed an escape. As well as the disease which would eventually kill him, heart problems, requiring bypass surgery, and strokes had left him debilitated.

He was 'rescued' by Rena Fruchter and her husband Brian Dallow, classical musicians and long term friends who had helped him when Dudley decided to focus on his music again. He asked if he could stay with them in New Jersey when life was becoming too difficult to cope with, and they opened their home to him. Dudley later bought the neighbouring bungalow where he eventually died.

A journey which began in a working class borough ended in suburban USA, in Plainfield, New Jersey, where he is buried.