For Dudley Moore, life ‘Bedazzled’

Hated to see Dudley Moore die at 66 last week of something called progressive supranuclear palsy. But the diminutive English movie star-comedian lived what appeared to be a very good life.

We all discovered Moore with pal Peter Cook on bootleg copies of the comedy troupe Beyond the Fringe in the early 1960s. We had the comedy bits memorized by the time the troupe landed on Broadway for the American debut. It was droll, understated English humor, just perfect for the snobbish Boston college crowd.

Moore was an Oxford graduate who joined Cambridge alums Cook, Jonathan Miller and Alan Bennett to form the irreverent Beyond the Fringe troupe, which led the way for the bizarre humor of Monty Python.

But the crowning achievement was the Cook-Moore production of the movie “Bedazzled” in 1967, which lampooned religion so scathingly that it was actually “banned in Boston.” We had to drive to Providence, R.I., to see it and fall in the aisles, laughing.

“Bedazzled” is my second-favorite movie of all time, behind “The Godfather,” of course. Warning: This movie is not to be confused with its very pale 2000 imitation starring Brendan Fraser and Elizabeth Hurley.

In the original, Cook is the Devil trying to win Moore’s soul by guaranteeing a sexual union with a charming female short-order cook. Moore’s character gets seven wishes, all of which are cunningly turned against him. The Devil lives in a London nightclub accompanied by the Seven Deadly Sins. Lust is played unforgettably by Raquel Welsh in a scene that will change your impression of marmalade forever.

It is the funniest movie ever made, even better than “Blazing Saddles,” if you ask me.

Moore was an unlikely movie star, standing only 5 foot 2, with a clubfoot. He was a prodigy with the piano and wrote several classical pieces. Cook was the tall, aristocratic member of the comedy team. If either were to become the movie star and legendary ladies man, most would have bet on Cook.

It has been reported that Cook could never understand Moore’s successful career while his own career floundered after “Bedazzled.”

Although Moore was the cosmic loser with women in “Bedazzled,” he was remarkably successful in real life.

Of course he cavorted in 1979 with Bo Derek in “10” and in 1981 with Liza Minnelli in “Arthur,” which got him an Academy Award nomination. But in real life, Moore was a legendary ladies man. He even married one of the all-time fantasy women, Tuesday Weld.

In the early days of television, a staple was the early sitcom “The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis.” A few might have tuned in to see the “star” of the show, the unforgettable Dwayne Hickman, or Bob Denver playing hippie Maynard G. Krebs, a generation before “Gilligan’s Island.” But most males of my age tuned in to moon over Weld, who played Thalia Menninger, Gillis’ girlfriend.

A television biography of Moore’s life indicated that the marriage with Weld failed because Moore refused to stop seeing other women. Cheating on Tuesday Weld.

Imagine.

He also was married to actress Suzy Kendall and model Brogan Lane and was involved with statuesque actress Susan Anton.

Not a bad life, if you ask me.