03-27-2002, 07:35 PM
LONDON, England -- British comedian and actor Dudley Moore has died aged 66 at his home in New Jersey after a long illness.
Moore died of pneumonia as a complication of progressive supranuclear palsy at 11 a.m. EST on Wednesday, publicist Michelle Bega in Los Angeles told The Associated Press.
He was last seen in public in Britain in November last year when he travelled to London to receive a honour from the Queen.
The frail-looking star of "10" and "Arthur" remained seated in a wheelchair as he received his CBE (Commander of the British Empire) from Prince Charles.
Moore's illness robbed him of his speech and rendered him virtually immobile.
In a career spanning more than 30 years, the often-married and often-divorced Moore won Tony awards, a Grammy, two Golden Globes, as well as the Oscar nomination.
He set up the Dudley Moore Research Fund, dedicated to finding a cure for PSP and the charity Music for All Seasons, which takes live music into hospitals, homes for the elderly and prisons.
Moore was a musical prodigy as a child and won a music scholarship to Magdalen College, Oxford, to study the organ.
He left university an accomplished jazz pianist and performed widely before finding fame with "Beyond The Fringe," a comedy revue with Peter Cook, Jonathan Miller and Alan Bennett.
In his native Britain, Moore is still best known for his comedy partnership with the late Cook in the 1960s and 1970s.
Their collaboration on the legendary TV shows "Not Only -- But Also" and "Derek and Clive" paved the way for Moore's Hollywood career as an unlikely romantic leads.
Moore died of pneumonia as a complication of progressive supranuclear palsy at 11 a.m. EST on Wednesday, publicist Michelle Bega in Los Angeles told The Associated Press.
He was last seen in public in Britain in November last year when he travelled to London to receive a honour from the Queen.
The frail-looking star of "10" and "Arthur" remained seated in a wheelchair as he received his CBE (Commander of the British Empire) from Prince Charles.
Moore's illness robbed him of his speech and rendered him virtually immobile.
In a career spanning more than 30 years, the often-married and often-divorced Moore won Tony awards, a Grammy, two Golden Globes, as well as the Oscar nomination.
He set up the Dudley Moore Research Fund, dedicated to finding a cure for PSP and the charity Music for All Seasons, which takes live music into hospitals, homes for the elderly and prisons.
Moore was a musical prodigy as a child and won a music scholarship to Magdalen College, Oxford, to study the organ.
He left university an accomplished jazz pianist and performed widely before finding fame with "Beyond The Fringe," a comedy revue with Peter Cook, Jonathan Miller and Alan Bennett.
In his native Britain, Moore is still best known for his comedy partnership with the late Cook in the 1960s and 1970s.
Their collaboration on the legendary TV shows "Not Only -- But Also" and "Derek and Clive" paved the way for Moore's Hollywood career as an unlikely romantic leads.