DUDLEY MOORE - DUDLEY HONOURED IN HOMETOWN

Late British funnyman DUDLEY MOORE has been honoured in his hometown of Dagenham, Essex with an auditorium named after him.

The ARTHUR star died in March 2002 following a bout of pneumonia in his Plainfield, New Jersey home.

To commemorate Dagenham's most famous man, bosses of the town's Broadway Theatre have officially dedicated an auditorium to the Oscar-nominated actor.

At the unveiling ceremony earlier this week (begs27JUN05), Moore's friend and biographer RENA FRUTHCER - who was with the star when he died - said, "Dudley loved being a mentor to young performers and musicians. He would have been overwhelmed."