Who was Ronald Colman? Everything You Need to Know

Quick Facts

British Celebrities Born In February

Also Known As: Ronald Charles Colman

Died At Age: 67

Family:

Spouse/Ex-: Benita Hume, Thelma Raye

father: Charles Colman

mother: Marjory Read Fraser

siblings: Edith Colman, Eric Colman, Marjorie Colman

children: Juliet Colman

Actors British Men

Died on: May 19, 1958

place of death: Santa Barbara, California, United States

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Childhood & Early Life

Ronald Charles Colman was born on 9 February 1891, in Richmond, Surrey, England, United Kingdom, to Charles Colman, a silk merchant, and his wife, Marjory Read Fraser. He had four siblings.

He was educated at a boarding-school in Littlehampton, Sussex, where he discovered that he enjoyed acting. However, pursuing acting as a career did not occur to him and he planned to study engineering at Cambridge.

A family tragedy forced him to change his plans. His father died of an illness in 1907 making it impossible for Ronald to pursue a higher education.

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Career

Ronald Colman took up acting and soon became a well-known amateur actor. He joined the West Middlesex Dramatic Society as a member and made his professional stage appearance in 1914.

He had to sideline his budding acting career at the outbreak of the World War I. He joined the London Scottish Regiment and was sent to France in September 1914 to take part in the fighting on the Western Front. He got seriously injured by shrapnel at the Battle of Messines due to which he was invalidated out of the British Army in 1915. Even though he eventually recovered, the injury gave him a permanent limp.

He resumed his acting career in 1916 and played the role of Rahmat Sheikh in the drama ‘The Maharani of Arakan’ and that of Stephen Weatherbee in the play ‘The Misleading Lady.’ His stage roles got him noticed by a film producer and by 1919 he had appeared in three short silent dramas.

Ronald Colman went to America in 1920 along with Robert Warwick and performed in ‘The Dauntless Three’ and appeared in ‘East is West’ with Fay Bainter. He gained a following in the US owing to his good looks and acting skills, and enjoyed great success playing Alain Sergyll at the Empire Theatre (New York City) in ‘La Tendresse.’

His stage appearances led to film offers and director Henry King cast him as the leading man in the film ‘The White Sister’ in 1923. The movie was a success and effectively launched Colman’s Hollywood career. Before long he became a star of the silent cinema and was cast opposite some of the most glamorous ladies of the era like Vilma Banky.

Already a huge success in silent films, his career touched greater heights with the advent of the talkies. Blessed with a bewitching, resonant voice that greatly added to his sex appeal as a sophisticated and handsome Englishman, he found immense popularity with his initial talkies ‘Condemned’ and ‘Bulldog Drummond’, both released in 1929.

Continuing his streak of successes in the 1930s, he appeared in movies such as ‘The Masquerader’ in 1933, ‘Clive of India’ and ‘A Tale of Two Cities’ in 1935, ‘Under Two Flags’ and ‘Lost Horizon’ in 1937.

His film career was affected by the World War II following which he focused more on radio and television. During the 1940s he made many guest appearances on ‘The Jack Benny Program’ on radio and appeared as William Todhunter Hall, the president of small, Midwestern Ivy College, on the radio comedy ‘The Halls of Ivy’ from 1950 to 1952.

Major Works

Ronald Colman played the titular character in the film ‘Bulldog Drummond’ which was based on a play by Herman C. McNeile. His character of a demobilized British captain who helps a beautiful young woman in distress became one of the actor’s much beloved roles and earned him an Academy Award nomination.

His portrayal of Anthony John, a fictional actor who becomes a ruthless murderer, is probably Colman’s best known role. With his stellar performance of a mentally unstable man, he proved that he could play both positive and negative characters with the same élan.

Awards & Achievements

Thrice nominated for the coveted Academy Awards, he won an Academy Award for Best Actor for ‘A Double Life’ (1947). He also won the Golden Globe award for Best Actor for the same film.

He was a recipient of the George Eastman Award, given by George Eastman House for distinguished contribution to the art of film.

Personal Life & Legacy

Ronald Colman was twice married. His first marriage to Thelma Raye lasted from 1920 to 1934. His second marriage was to Benita Hume in 1938. He had one daughter.

He died on 19 May 1958, aged 67, from acute emphysema.

His daughter Juliet Benita Colman wrote his biography titled ‘Ronald Colman: A Very Private Person’ in 1975.

Ronald Colman Biography