Hey folks, Harry here... My personal favorite Dudley Moore roles were BEDAZZLED, FOUL PLAY, 10 and ARTHUR. I adored his version of UNFAITHFULLY YOURS, until I discovered the original Preston Sturges version... which was such a stronger production on so many levels that it dimmed my enthusiasm quite a bit for Dudley's remake. But folks... Dudley Moore was such a part of my years growing up. His seduction of Goldie Hawn in FOUL PLAY.... or his voice of the fly in BEDAZZLED (and pretty much every other scene with Peter Cook there... sigh)... Then in 10... he embodied every awkward geek that wanted the dream woman... Fantastic. His work lives, though he may not. Here's Dorky St. Clair with a wonderful personal account of a fan's life with Dudley Moore...
Hi there Harry and friends. Dorky St. Clair here. I've sent in a few reviews in the past.
I am certain you know by now that Dudley Moore has passed on, a victim of pneumonia as a complication of progressive supranuclear palsy, which left this gifted comic and pianist without the ability to either be funny or tickle his beloved ivories.
I am putting these thoughts down, and it is up to you if you choose to use them in some way. I think every one of us at some point becomes emotionally attached to soem performer, for a myriad of reasons. For me it was Dudley Moore. As a child, one of my first cable television experiences was watching the original BEDAZZLED on the local movie channel. The local cable company played it ad nauseum in continuous rotation, and soon the image of Dud in nun's habit bouncing on a trampoline alongside many other nun's was embedded in my then wee brain forever.
Within a few years all of America had fallen in love with Dud via first FOUL PLAY, as the highly-sexed symphony conductor chasing Goldie Hawn, then with leading-man status in Blake Edwards' 10 and ARTHUR. He never really found success in films after that, and as far as 99-percent of America was concerned he would always be the tipsy Arthur Bach asking where the rest of that moose was.
Of course across the great pond, while he was being discovered by Americans, Dudley had already been a comedy legend for almost 20 years, first as part of the BEYOND THE FRINGE revue, then on television alongside longtime partner PETER COOK on NOT ONLY...BUT ALSO. In college I discovered at a Tower Record, a cassette of Dud and Peter Cook performing live under the odd pseudonyms Derek and Clive. Investigation led me to discover 2 additional recordings by Derek and CLive (Pete and Dud) which contained some of the most-shocking, offensive comedy....things that would have made Lenny Bruce blush....I fell in love with it...and with them all over again. I found a BBC compilation tape of NOT ONLY...BUT ALSO, that featured a "leaping nuns of Norrich" sketch that was a precursor to the BEDAZZLED trampoline bit. I found a script of GOOD EVENING, a two-man show that they performed in the West End and on Broadway, which featured their most-famous sketch in which Peter as a Hollywood casting director must tell a one-legged auditioneer (Dudley) that audiences are not ready for the sight of a one-legged Tarzan. When MTV was showing old Saturday Night Live reruns, I found Pete and Dud hosting (probably right after their Broadway Sucess with Good Evening), and performing the Tarzan sketch, as well as the nauseating Frog and Peach sketch. A few years ago when EBay kicked in full force, I found a Russell (Highlander) Mulcahy film documenting the drunken, out-of-control recording sessions during which Pete and Dud recorded their best Derek and Clive material.
Peter Cook (who passed away in the mid 90's) never sought the kind of Hollywood-type stardom that Dud achieved, and the two parted ways for many years. When they reunited for the NOT ONLY...BUT ALSO video release, Peter (on camera) accused Dud of being the reason that they hadn't spoken in may years...which on tape you can see first surprises Dud, may have mildly infuriated him even, but then forms into a smile that tells you brilliantly how much these two men loved each other.
A few years ago, a good friend performed on stage with Dudley in a symphony/pops-type show. My friend told me that Dudley was drunk the entire day they worked together and barely made it through the performance. My dreams were shattered. Such sadness to think that this wonderful talent had fallen on hard times and had actually turned into Arthur Bach. 4 years later during a Barbara Walters interview the world would come to know that he had not been intoxicated at all, but was slowly, sadly being transformed from one of the world's most gifted performers into a penniless victim of a debilitating, mostly unknown disease. I remember watching Dud cry, his speech abilities severely disturbed by the palsy, telling us that what he missed most was the ability to play the piano. I cried too.
Last year a good friend of mine and I mounted a theatrical production of Good Evening and had the distinct honor of impersonating Messrs Cook and Moore in a variety of sketches. People really enjoyed it and it was a pleasure to introduce people to the material. I hope we did them justice. God knows it was a thrill to exist in their personas for a short 90 minutes at a time. I wish we could perform it for those of you out there who may know absolutely nothing about the debt to comedy that was owed them both. You all have computers, and I know you can find MP3's of the Derek and Clive stuff if you even care to.
If anyone wants to say hello or share some thoughts, I'd love to hear from you at Click HEre
Dorky St. Clair
