People who knew Dudley Moore only from his appearances in American films (“10,” “Arthur,” “Foul Play,” etc.) are surprised to learn what a talented musician he was. In fact, the piano played a central role in a number of his comedy routines, both solo and with his partner-in-crime, Peter Cook. Revisiting some of these on YouTube astounds, as I reflect, not for the first time, how far we’ve fallen as a society. Don’t get me wrong, Moore and Cook could be as foul as any comedians on the circuit today, but they were also intelligent and educated men who trusted their audiences to “get it” – in part because the audiences actually had the necessary tools.

Moore’s classic parody of a Beethoven sonata speaks for itself:

Here it is again, in 1988. Already, he feels a need to telegraph the jokes in order to hold an audience:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0l3hq4G1iHs

Nowadays, when fewer are familiar with “Colonel Bogey,” much less Beethoven, it would likely have to be “enhanced” by at least one flatulence joke.

Officer Cook stops pianist Moore for “speeding:”

Later in life, when Moore was afflicted with progressive supranuclear palsy, a rare degenerative disorder, he was asked what he missed doing the most. He replied, “Playing the piano.”