Ronald Charles Colman (9 February 1891 – 19 May 1958) was an English-born actor, starting his career in theatre and
silent film
A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, when ...
in his native country, then immigrating to the United States and having a successful
Hollywood film career. He was most popular during the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s.
He received Oscar nominations for ''
Bulldog Drummond
Hugh "Bulldog" Drummond is a fictional character, created by H. C. McNeile and published under his pen name "Sapper". Following McNeile's death in 1937, the novels were continued by Gerard Fairlie. Drummond is a First World War veteran who, ...
'' (1929), ''
Condemned
Condemned or The Condemned may refer to:
Legal
* Persons awaiting execution
* A condemned property, or condemned building, by a local authority, usually for public health or safety reasons
* A condemned property seized by power of eminent domain
...
'' (1929) and ''
Random Harvest
''Random Harvest'' is a novel written by James Hilton, first published in 1941. Like previous Hilton works, including '' Lost Horizon'' and '' Goodbye, Mr. Chips'', the novel was immensely popular, placing second on ''Publishers Weekly'' li ...
'' (1942). Colman starred in several classic films, including ''
A Tale of Two Cities
''A Tale of Two Cities'' is a historical novel published in 1859 by Charles Dickens, set in London and Paris before and during the French Revolution. The novel tells the story of the French Doctor Manette, his 18-year-long imprisonment in the ...
'' (1935), ''
Lost Horizon
''Lost Horizon'' is a 1933 novel by English writer James Hilton. The book was turned into a film, also called '' Lost Horizon'', in 1937 by director Frank Capra. It is best remembered as the origin of Shangri-La, a fictional utopian lamas ...
'' (1937) and ''
The Prisoner of Zenda
''The Prisoner of Zenda'' is an 1894 adventure novel by Anthony Hope, in which the King of Ruritania is drugged on the eve of his coronation and thus is unable to attend the ceremony. Political forces within the realm are such that, in order ...
'' (1937). He also played the starring role in the Technicolor classic ''
Kismet'' (1944), with
Marlene Dietrich
Marie Magdalene "Marlene" DietrichBorn as Maria Magdalena, not Marie Magdalene, according to Dietrich's biography by her daughter, Maria Riva ; however Dietrich's biography by Charlotte Chandler cites "Marie Magdalene" as her birth name . (, ; ...
, which was nominated for four
Academy Awards
The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
. In 1947, he won an
Academy Award for Best Actor
The Academy Award for Best Actor is an award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is given to an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance in a leading role in a film released that year. The ...
and
Golden Globe Award for Best Actor for the film ''
A Double Life''.
Colman was an inaugural recipient of a star on the
Hollywood Walk of Fame
The Hollywood Walk of Fame is a historic landmark which consists of more than 2,700 five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along 15 blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in Hollywood, Californ ...
for his work in motion pictures. He was awarded a second star for his television work.
Early years
Ronald Charles Colman was born in
Richmond
Richmond most often refers to:
* Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States
* Richmond, London, a part of London
* Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England
* Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada
* Richmond, California, ...
,
Surrey
Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...
, England, the third son (his eldest brother died in infancy in 1882)
and fifth child of Charles Colman, a silk merchant, and his wife Marjory Read Fraser.
[Frank, Sam (1997). ''Ronald Colman: A Bio-Bibliography''. ]Greenwood Press
Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc. (GPG), also known as ABC-Clio/Greenwood (stylized ABC-CLIO/Greenwood), is an educational and academic publisher (middle school through university level) which is today part of ABC-Clio. Established in 1967 as Gr ...
. p. 1; His surviving siblings were Gladys, Edith, Eric and Freda. He was educated at
boarding school
A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. As they have existed for many centuries, and now exten ...
in
Littlehampton
Littlehampton is a town, seaside resort, and pleasure harbour, and the most populous civil parish in the Arun District of West Sussex, England. It lies on the English Channel on the eastern bank of the mouth of the River Arun. It is south sout ...
, where he discovered that he enjoyed acting, despite his shyness.
["Shelley Winters." Britannica Book of the Year, 2007. Encyclopædia Britannica Online Academic Edition. Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2013. Web. 16 September 2013] He intended to study
engineering
Engineering is the use of scientific method, scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad rang ...
at
Cambridge
Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...
, but his father's sudden death from
pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severity ...
in 1907 made it financially impossible.
He became a well-known amateur actor, and was a member of the West
Middlesex
Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, historic county in South East England, southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the Ceremonial counties of ...
Dramatic Society in 1908–09. He made his first appearance on the professional stage in 1914.
World War I
While working as a clerk at the British Steamship Company in the
City of London
The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London fr ...
,
he joined the
London Scottish Regiment
The London Scottish was a reserve infantry regiment then a company of the British Army. In its final incarnation it was A (The London Scottish) Company, the London Regiment until, on 1 April 2022, soldiers in the company transferred to foo ...
in 1909 as a
Territorial Army soldier. At the outbreak of
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, he was mobilised, and sent to France in September 1914. On 31 October 1914, at the
Battle of Messines,
[ Colman was seriously wounded by ]shrapnel
Shrapnel may refer to:
Military
* Shrapnel shell, explosive artillery munitions, generally for anti-personnel use
* Shrapnel (fragment), a hard loose material
Popular culture
* ''Shrapnel'' (Radical Comics)
* ''Shrapnel'', a game by Adam C ...
in his ankle, which gave him a limp that he would attempt to hide throughout the rest of his acting career. As a consequence, he was mustered out as invalid in 1915. His fellow Hollywood actors Claude Rains, Herbert Marshall
Herbert Brough Falcon Marshall (23 May 1890 – 22 January 1966) was an English stage, screen and radio actor who starred in many popular and well-regarded Hollywood films in the 1930s and 1940s. After a successful theatrical career in the Uni ...
, Cedric Hardwicke
Sir Cedric Webster Hardwicke (19 February 1893 – 6 August 1964) was an English stage and film actor whose career spanned nearly 50 years. His theatre work included notable performances in productions of the plays of Shakespeare and Shaw, and ...
, and Basil Rathbone
Philip St. John Basil Rathbone MC (13 June 1892 – 21 July 1967) was a South African-born English actor. He rose to prominence in the United Kingdom as a Shakespearean stage actor and went on to appear in more than 70 films, primarily costume ...
all saw service with the London Scottish in the war.
Career
Theatre
Colman had sufficiently recovered from wartime injuries to appear at the London Coliseum
The London Coliseum (also known as the Coliseum Theatre) is a theatre in St Martin's Lane, Westminster, built as one of London's largest and most luxurious "family" variety theatres. Opened on 24 December 1904 as the London Coliseum Theatre ...
on 19 June 1916, as Rahmat Sheikh in ''The Maharani of Arakan'', with Lena Ashwell
Lena Margaret Ashwell, Lady Simson ( Pocock; 28 September 1872 – 13 March 1957) was a British actress and theatre manager and producer, known as the first to organise large-scale entertainment for troops at the front, which she did during Wo ...
; at the Playhouse in December that year as Stephen Weatherbee in the Charles Goddard/Paul Dickey
Paul Dickey (12 May 1882 – 7 January 1933), was an American playwright and silent screen writer. He wrote 17 films between years 1914 in film, 1914 and 1953 in film, 1933.
He was born in Chicago, Illinois and died in New York City, New Y ...
play ''The Misleading Lady''; and at the Court Theatre in March 1917, as Webber in ''Partnership''. At the same theatre the following year he appeared in Eugène Brieux
Eugène Brieux (; 19 January 18586 December 1932), French dramatist, was born in Paris of poor parents.
Biography
Works
A one-act play, ''Bernard Palissy'', written in collaboration with M. Gaston Salandri, was produced in 1879, but he h ...
's ''Damaged Goods''. At the Ambassadors Theatre in February 1918, he played George Lubin in ''The Little Brother
''The Little Brother'' is a 1917 American silent drama directed by Charles Miller and starring William Garwood and Australian actress Enid Bennett. The scenario was written by Lambert Hillyer based on a story by Lois Zellner.
Cast
*Enid Bennett ...
''. In 1918, he toured the UK as David Goldsmith in ''The Bubble''.
In 1920, Colman went to America and toured with Robert Warwick in ''The Dauntless Three'' and subsequently toured with Fay Bainter
Fay Okell Bainter (December 7, 1893 – April 16, 1968) was an American film and stage actress. She won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for ''Jezebel'' (1938) and has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Early life
Bainter wa ...
in ''East Is West''. He married his first wife, Thelma Raye, in 1920; they divorced in 1934. At the Booth Theatre
The Booth Theatre is a Broadway theater at 222 West 45th Street ( George Abbott Way) in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Opened in 1913, the theater was designed by Henry Beaumont Herts in the Italian Renaissance ...
in New York City in January 1921, he played the Temple Priest in William Archer William or Bill Archer may refer to:
* William Archer (British politician) (1677–1739), British politician
* William S. Archer (1789–1855), U.S. Senator and Representative from Virginia
* William Beatty Archer (1793–1870), Illinois politician ...
's play '' The Green Goddess''. With George Arliss
George Arliss (born Augustus George Andrews; 10 April 1868 – 5 February 1946) was an English actor, author, playwright, and filmmaker who found success in the United States. He was the first British actor to win an Academy Award – which he ...
at the 39th Street Theatre in August 1921, he appeared as Charles in ''The Nightcap''. In September 1922, he had great success as Alain Sergyll at the Empire Theatre (New York City) in ''La Tendresse'', which was to be his final stage work.
Film
Colman had first appeared in films in Britain in 1917 and 1919 for director Cecil Hepworth
Cecil Milton Hepworth (19 March 1874 – 9 February 1953) was a British film director, producer and screenwriter. He was among the founders of the British film industry and continued making films into the 1920s at his Hepworth Studios. In ...
, and he subsequently acted for the old Broadwest Film Company in ''Snow in the Desert
''Snow in the Desert'' is a 1919 British silent drama film directed by Walter West and starring Violet Hopson, Stewart Rome and Poppy Wyndham. The film featured an early performance from Ronald Colman before he went to Hollywood. It was ba ...
''. While appearing on stage in New York City in ''La Tendresse'', director Henry King saw him and engaged him as the leading man in the 1923 film ''The White Sister
''The White Sister'' is a play in four acts by Francis Marion Crawford and Walter C. Hackett. The play was originally written by Crawford in 1907 and he later adapted the play into a serialized novel which was first published over a six month p ...
'', opposite Lillian Gish
Lillian Diana Gish (October 14, 1893February 27, 1993) was an American actress, director, and screenwriter. Her film-acting career spanned 75 years, from 1912, in silent film shorts, to 1987. Gish was called the "First Lady of American Cinema", ...
. He was an immediate success. Thereafter, Colman virtually abandoned the stage for film. He became a very popular silent film
A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, when ...
star in both romantic and adventure films, among them '' The Dark Angel'' (1925), '' Stella Dallas'' (1926), ''Beau Geste
''Beau Geste'' is an adventure novel by British writer P. C. Wren, which details the adventures of three English brothers who enlist separately in the French Foreign Legion following the theft of a valuable jewel from the country house of a rel ...
'' (1926), and ''The Winning of Barbara Worth
''The Winning of Barbara Worth'' is a 1926 American silent Western film directed by Henry King, and starring Ronald Colman, Vilma Bánky and Gary Cooper (who replaced Monte Blue). Based on Harold Bell Wright's novel ''The Winning of Barbara W ...
'' (1926). His dark hair and eyes and his athletic and riding ability (he did most of his own stunts until late in his career) led reviewers to describe him as a " Valentino type". He was often cast in similar, exotic roles. Towards the end of the silent era, Colman was teamed with Hungarian actress Vilma Bánky
Vilma Bánky (born Vilma Koncsics;Hungarian civil registration document from Nagydorog, available through LDS records; film number 1793002 Items 4–5 9 January 1901 – 18 March 1991) was a Hungarian-American silent film actress. Although her ...
under Samuel Goldwyn
Samuel Goldwyn (born Szmuel Gelbfisz; yi, שמואל געלבפֿיש; August 27, 1882 (claimed) January 31, 1974), also known as Samuel Goldfish, was a Polish-born American film producer. He was best known for being the founding contributor a ...
; the two were a popular film team rivalling Greta Garbo
Greta Garbo (born Greta Lovisa Gustafsson; 18 September 1905 – 15 April 1990) was a Swedish-American actress. Regarded as one of the greatest screen actresses, she was known for her melancholic, somber persona, her film portrayals of tragedy, ...
and John Gilbert.
Although he was a huge success in silent films, he was unable to capitalise on one of his chief assets until the advent of the talking picture – "his beautifully modulated and cultured voice" also described as "a bewitching, finely modulated, resonant voice". Colman was often viewed as a suave English gentleman, whose voice embodied chivalry and mirrored the image of a "stereotypical English gentleman". Commenting on Colman's appeal, English film critic David Shipman stated that Colman was "the dream lover – calm, dignified, trustworthy. Although he was a lithe figure in adventure stories, his glamour – which was genuine – came from his respectability; he was an aristocratic figure, without being aloof."
His first major talkie success was in 1930, when he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor
The Academy Award for Best Actor is an award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is given to an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance in a leading role in a film released that year. The ...
for two roles – ''Condemned
Condemned or The Condemned may refer to:
Legal
* Persons awaiting execution
* A condemned property, or condemned building, by a local authority, usually for public health or safety reasons
* A condemned property seized by power of eminent domain
...
'' and ''Bulldog Drummond
Hugh "Bulldog" Drummond is a fictional character, created by H. C. McNeile and published under his pen name "Sapper". Following McNeile's death in 1937, the novels were continued by Gerard Fairlie. Drummond is a First World War veteran who, ...
''. He thereafter appeared in a number of notable films: '' Raffles'' in 1930, '' The Masquerader'' in 1933, ''Clive of India
Robert Clive, 1st Baron Clive, (29 September 1725 – 22 November 1774), also known as Clive of India, was the first British Governor of the Bengal Presidency. Clive has been widely credited for laying the foundation of the British ...
'' and ''A Tale of Two Cities
''A Tale of Two Cities'' is a historical novel published in 1859 by Charles Dickens, set in London and Paris before and during the French Revolution. The novel tells the story of the French Doctor Manette, his 18-year-long imprisonment in the ...
'' in 1935, '' Under Two Flags'' in 1936, ''The Prisoner of Zenda
''The Prisoner of Zenda'' is an 1894 adventure novel by Anthony Hope, in which the King of Ruritania is drugged on the eve of his coronation and thus is unable to attend the ceremony. Political forces within the realm are such that, in order ...
'' and ''Lost Horizon
''Lost Horizon'' is a 1933 novel by English writer James Hilton. The book was turned into a film, also called '' Lost Horizon'', in 1937 by director Frank Capra. It is best remembered as the origin of Shangri-La, a fictional utopian lamas ...
'' in 1937, ''If I Were King
''If I Were King'' is a 1938 American biographical and historical film starring Ronald Colman as medieval poet François Villon, and featuring Basil Rathbone and Frances Dee. It is based on the 1901 play and novel, both of the same name, by Jus ...
'' in 1938, and ''Random Harvest
''Random Harvest'' is a novel written by James Hilton, first published in 1941. Like previous Hilton works, including '' Lost Horizon'' and '' Goodbye, Mr. Chips'', the novel was immensely popular, placing second on ''Publishers Weekly'' li ...
'' and '' The Talk of the Town'' in 1942. He won the Best Actor Oscar in 1948 for '' A Double Life''. He next starred in a screwball comedy, 1950's ''Champagne for Caesar
''Champagne for Caesar'' is a 1950 American comedy film about a quiz show contestant. It was directed by Richard Whorf and written by Fred Brady and Hans Jacoby. The movie stars Ronald Colman, Celeste Holm, Vincent Price, Barbara Britton and ...
''.
At the time of his death, Colman was contracted by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by amazon (company), Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded o ...
for the lead role in '' Village of the Damned''. After Colman's death, however, the film became a British production starring George Sanders
George Henry Sanders (3 July 1906 – 25 April 1972) was a British actor and singer whose career spanned over 40 years. His heavy, upper-class English accent and smooth, bass voice often led him to be cast as sophisticated but villainous chara ...
, who married Colman's widow, Benita Hume
Benita Hume (14 October 1907 – 1 November 1967) was an English theatre and film actress. She appeared in more than 40 films between 1925 and 1955.
Life and career
She was married to film actor Ronald Colman from 1938 to his death in 1958 ...
.
Fame
Colman has been mentioned in many novels, but he is specifically mentioned in Ralph Ellison
Ralph Waldo Ellison (March 1, 1913 – April 16, 1994) was an American writer, literary critic, and scholar best known for his novel ''Invisible Man'', which won the National Book Award in 1953. He also wrote ''Shadow and Act'' (1964), a collecti ...
's ''Invisible Man
''Invisible Man'' is a novel by Ralph Ellison, published by Random House in 1952. It addresses many of the social and intellectual issues faced by African Americans in the early twentieth century, including black nationalism, the relationship b ...
'' because of his charming, well-known voice. The main character of this novel says that he wishes he could have a voice like Colman's because it is charming, and relates the voice to that of a gentleman or a man from ''Esquire
Esquire (, ; abbreviated Esq.) is usually a courtesy title.
In the United Kingdom, ''esquire'' historically was a title of respect accorded to men of higher social rank, particularly members of the landed gentry above the rank of gentlema ...
'' magazine. Colman was indeed very well known for his voice. ''Encyclopædia Britannica
The (Latin for "British Encyclopædia") is a general knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It is published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.; the company has existed since the 18th century, although it has changed ownership various time ...
'' says that Colman had a "resonant, mellifluous speaking voice with a unique, pleasing timbre". Along with his charming voice, Colman had a very confident performing manner that helped make him a major star of sound films.
Radio and television
As early as 1942, Colman joined forces with several other Hollywood luminaries to inaugurate international broadcasts by the CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...
radio network over La Cadena de las Americas (The Network of the Americas) under the supervision of the Office of the Coordinator of Inter-American Affairs
The Office of the Coordinator of Inter-American Affairs, later known as the Office for Inter-American Affairs, was a United States agency promoting inter-American cooperation (Pan-Americanism) during the 1940s, especially in commercial and econ ...
chaired by Nelson Rockefeller
Nelson Aldrich Rockefeller (July 8, 1908 – January 26, 1979), sometimes referred to by his nickname Rocky, was an American businessman and politician who served as the 41st vice president of the United States from 1974 to 1977. A member of t ...
. In the process, he contributed substantially to the implementation of President Franklin Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...
's cultural diplomacy
Cultural diplomacy is a type of public diplomacy and soft power that includes the "exchange of ideas, information, art, language and other aspects of culture among nations and their peoples in order to foster mutual understanding". The purpose ...
initiatives throughout South America during World War II.
Colman's vocal talents contributed to National Broadcasting Company programming on D-Day
The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as D ...
, 6 June 1944. On that day, Colman read "Poem and Prayer for an Invading Army" written by Edna St. Vincent Millay
Edna St. Vincent Millay (February 22, 1892 – October 19, 1950) was an American lyrical poet and playwright. Millay was a renowned social figure and noted feminist in New York City during the Roaring Twenties and beyond. She wrote much of he ...
for exclusive radio use by NBC.
Beginning in 1945, Colman made many guest appearances on ''The Jack Benny Program
''The Jack Benny Program'', starring Jack Benny, is a radio-TV comedy series that ran for more than three decades and is generally regarded as a high-water mark in 20th century American comedy. He played one role throughout his radio and televis ...
'' on radio, alongside his second wife, stage and screen actress Benita Hume, whom he married in 1938. Their comedy work as Benny's perpetually exasperated next-door neighbors led to their own radio comedy Radio comedy, or comedy, comedic radio programming, is a radio broadcast that may involve variety show, sitcom elements, sketch comedy, sketches, and various types of comedy found in other media. It may also include more surreal or fantastic element ...
''The Halls of Ivy
''The Halls of Ivy'' is an American situation comedy that ran from 1950 to 1952 on NBC radio, created by '' Fibber McGee & Molly'' co-creator/writer Don Quinn. The series was adapted into a CBS television comedy (1954–55) produced by ITC Entert ...
'' from 1950 to 1952, created by '' Fibber McGee & Molly'' mastermind Don Quinn
Don Quinn (November 18, 1900 – December 30, 1967) was an American comedy writer who started out as a cartoonist based in Chicago. According to sources, Quinn's career as a cartoonist was short-lived but his career as a writer began after he rea ...
, on which the Colmans played the literate, charming president of a middle American college and his former-actress wife. Listeners were surprised to discover that the episode of 24 January 1951, "The Goya Bequest" – a story examining the bequest of a Goya painting that was suspected of being a fraud hyped by its late owner to avoid paying customs duties when bringing it to the United States – was written by Colman himself, who poked fun at his accomplishment while taking a rare turn giving the evening's credits at the show's conclusion.
''The Halls of Ivy'' ran on NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...
radio from 1950 to 1952, then moved to CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...
television for the 1954–55 season.
Colman was also the host and occasional star of the syndicated anthology ''Favorite Story
''Favorite Story'' is an American old-time radio dramatic anthology. It was nationally syndicated by the Ziv Company from 1946 to 1949. The program was "advertised as a show that 'stands head and shoulders above the finest programs on the air'". ...
'' (1946–49). Of note was his narration and portrayal of Scrooge in a 1948 adaptation of ''A Christmas Carol
''A Christmas Carol. In Prose. Being a Ghost Story of Christmas'', commonly known as ''A Christmas Carol'', is a novella by Charles Dickens, first published in London by Chapman & Hall in 1843 and illustrated by John Leech. ''A Christmas C ...
''.
Death
Colman had an operation in 1957 for a lung infection, and suffered from ill health afterwards.[ He died on 19 May 1958, aged 67, from acute ]emphysema
Emphysema, or pulmonary emphysema, is a lower respiratory tract disease, characterised by air-filled spaces ( pneumatoses) in the lungs, that can vary in size and may be very large. The spaces are caused by the breakdown of the walls of the alve ...
in Santa Barbara, California
Santa Barbara ( es, Santa Bárbara, meaning "Saint Barbara") is a coastal city in Santa Barbara County, California, of which it is also the county seat. Situated on a south-facing section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coas ...
, and was interred in the Santa Barbara Cemetery. He had a daughter, Juliet Benita (born 1944), by his second wife Benita Hume.
Awards, honours and legacy
Colman was nominated three times for the Academy Award for Best Actor. At the 3rd Academy Awards ceremony he received a single nomination for his work in two films; ''Bulldog Drummond
Hugh "Bulldog" Drummond is a fictional character, created by H. C. McNeile and published under his pen name "Sapper". Following McNeile's death in 1937, the novels were continued by Gerard Fairlie. Drummond is a First World War veteran who, ...
'' (1929) and ''Condemned
Condemned or The Condemned may refer to:
Legal
* Persons awaiting execution
* A condemned property, or condemned building, by a local authority, usually for public health or safety reasons
* A condemned property seized by power of eminent domain
...
'' (1929). He was nominated again for ''Random Harvest
''Random Harvest'' is a novel written by James Hilton, first published in 1941. Like previous Hilton works, including '' Lost Horizon'' and '' Goodbye, Mr. Chips'', the novel was immensely popular, placing second on ''Publishers Weekly'' li ...
'' (1942) before winning for '' A Double Life'' (1947), in which he played the role of Anthony John, an actor playing Othello
''Othello'' (full title: ''The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice'') is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare, probably in 1603, set in the contemporary Ottoman–Venetian War (1570–1573) fought for the control of the Island of Cypru ...
who comes to identify with the character. He also won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in 1947 for his role in '' A Double Life''. In 2002, Colman's Oscar statuette was sold at auction by Christie's
Christie's is a British auction house founded in 1766 by James Christie (auctioneer), James Christie. Its main premises are on King Street, St James's in London, at Rockefeller Center in New York City and at Alexandra House in Hong Kong. It is ...
for US$174,500.
Colman was a recipient of the George Eastman Award The George Eastman Award for distinguished contribution to the art of film was established by the George Eastman Museum in 1955 as the first film award given by an American archive and museum to honor artistic work of enduring value.
The award was ...
, given by George Eastman House
The George Eastman Museum, also referred to as ''George Eastman House, International Museum of Photography and Film'', the world's oldest museum dedicated to photography and one of the world's oldest film archives, opened to the public in 1949 in ...
for distinguished contribution to the art of film.
Colman has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
The Hollywood Walk of Fame is a historic landmark which consists of more than 2,700 five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along 15 blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in Hollywood, Californ ...
in Los Angeles, one for motion pictures at 6801 Hollywood Boulevard and one for television at 1623 Vine Street.
He is the subject of a biography written by his daughter Juliet Benita Colman in 1975, ''Ronald Colman: A Very Private Person''.
The Dublin
Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...
slang term "ronnie", referring to a moustache
A moustache (; en-US, mustache, ) is a strip of facial hair grown above the upper lip. Moustaches have been worn in various styles throughout history.
Etymology
The word "moustache" is French, and is derived from the Italian ''mustaccio'' ...
, derives from Colman's thin moustache.
Filmography
See also
* List of actors with Academy Award nominations
References
Bibliography
* Parker, John, editor, ''Who's Who in the Theatre'', 10th edition revised, London, 1947, p. 437.
External links
*
*
*
*
Ronald Colman
at Virtual History
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Colman, Ronald
1891 births
1958 deaths
Military personnel from Surrey
Best Actor Academy Award winners
Best Drama Actor Golden Globe (film) winners
British Army personnel of World War I
English male film actors
English male silent film actors
English male stage actors
English male television actors
People from Richmond, London
London Scottish soldiers
20th-century English male actors
Deaths from emphysema
Deaths from lung disease
British expatriate male actors in the United States
Burials at Santa Barbara Cemetery
United Service Organizations entertainers