· Dudley Moore, an accomplished jazz pianist as well as an actor and comic, became one of Hollywood's most unlikely heartthrobs in the 1980s with cuddly characters and unique charm in 10 and Arthur.

· Born in the east London suburb of Dagenham in 1935 to a typist and a railway electrician, Moore took up violin and piano at the age of six, and later became a choirboy.

· As a teenager he was awarded a scholarship to Magdalen College, Oxford, to study the organ.

· Beyond the Fringe led to Moore and Cook's legendary 1960s BBC TV show Not Only - But Also. The match worked again in the 1970s when the pair produced a series of recordings as the foul-mouthed Derek and Clive.

· Moore was also a dedicated pianist who had performed concerts across America.

· In the late 1970s he became an instant hit in the comedy 10, playing opposite Bo Derek. He then received an Oscar nomination for his role as a hard-drinking millionaire in the 1981 film Arthur.

· He starred in numerous successful Hollywood and British films, appeared on Broadway and in the West End, and in Royal Command Performances. He also appeared with some of the top jazz bands, including John Dankworth's.

· The 5ft 2in star married four times. When his third marriage collapsed in ruins, Moore vowed never to wed again. "I find women a very dangerous race," he said.

· Latterly, Moore underwent open-heart surgery and suffered a series of strokes. He was suffering the effects of a degenerative brain problem, progressive supranuclear palsy. He made his condition public in September 1999.

· Moore made a rare public outing last year to collect his CBE at Buckingham Palace.