EARLY DAYS PRODUCTIONS
He was born on February 9, 1891 in Richmond, Surrey, England. He was educated at boarding school in Little hampton, where he discovered his love of acting. He intended to study engineering at Cambridge University, but his father's sudden death from pneumonia in 1907 made this financially impossible. He went on to become a well-known amateur actor, and was a member of the West Middlesex Dramatic Society in 1908-9. After working as a clerk at the British Steamship Company in the City of London, he joined the London Scottish Regiment in 1909 and was among the first of the Territorial Army to fight in World War I. On October 31, 1914 at the Battle of Messines, Colman was seriously wounded in his leg, by shrapnel, which gave him a limp that he would attempt to hide throughout the rest of his acting career. He was invalidated from the service in 1916.
1891 - 1958
Stats:
Birth Name:
Ronald Charles Colman
Height: 5' 10"
Eye Color: brown
Hair Color: brown
Nickname: none found
Quote: "Fame has robbed me of my freedom and shut me up in prison, and because the prison walls are gilded, and the key that locks me in is gold, does not make it any more tolerable."
Birth Name:
Ronald Charles Colman
Height: 5' 10"
Eye Color: brown
Hair Color: brown
Nickname: none found
Quote: "Fame has robbed me of my freedom and shut me up in prison, and because the prison walls are gilded, and the key that locks me in is gold, does not make it any more tolerable."
He had sufficiently recovered to appear at the London Coliseum on June 19, 1916, as Rahmat Sheikh in The Maharani of Arakan, with Lena Ashwell. He had first appeared in films in England in 1917 and 1919 for Cecil Hepworth, and subsequently with the old Broadwest Film Company. While appearing on stage in New York in La Tendress, Director Henry King saw him, and engaged him as the leading man in the 1923 film, "The White Sister", opposite Lillian Gish. He was an immediate success. Thereafter Colman virtually abandoned the stage for film. He became a very popular silent film star in both romantic and adventure films.
He became a very popular silent film star in both romantic and adventure films, among them The Dark Angel (1925), Stella Dallas (1926), Beau Geste (1927), and The Winning of Barbara Worth (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".
For more information about Ronald Coleman please visit: Wikipedia
Ronald Coleman's Selected Filmography
The Story of Mankind (1957)
Around the World in 80 Days (1956)
Champagne for Caesar (1950)
A Double Life (1947)
The Late George Apley (1947)
Kismet (1944)
Random Harvest (1942)
The Talk of the Town (1942)
My Life with Caroline (1941)
Lucky Partners (1940)
The Light That Failed (1939)
If I Were King (1938)
Lost Horizon (1937)
The Prisoner of Zenda (1937)
Under Two Flags (1936)
A Tale of Two Cities (1935)
Clive of India (1935)
The Man Who Broke the Bank
at Monte Carlo (1935)
Bulldog Drummond Strikes Back (1934)
The Masquerader (1933)
Cynara (1932)
Arrowsmith (1931)
The Unholy Garden (1931)
Raffles (1930)
The Devil to Pay (1930)
Bulldog Drummond (1929)
Condemned (1929)
The Rescue (1929)
Two Lovers (1928)
Magic Flame (1927)
The Night of Love (1927)
Beau Geste (1926)
Kiki (1926)
The Winning of Barbara Worth (1926)
Her Sister from Paris (1925)
His Supreme Moment (1925)
Lady Windermere's Fan (1925)
Romola (1925)
Sporting Venus (1925)
Stella Dallas (1925)
The Dark Angel (1925)
Thief in Paradise (1925)
20 Dollars a Week (1924)
Her Night of Romance (1924)
Tarnish (1924)
Eternal City (1923)
The White Sister (1923)
Handcuffs or Kisses? (1921)
A Son of David (1920)
Anna the Adventuress (1920)
Black Spider (1920)
A Daughter of Eve (1919)
Sheba (1919)
Snow in the Desert (1919)
The Toilers (1919)
The Live Wire (1917)
Around the World in 80 Days (1956)
Champagne for Caesar (1950)
A Double Life (1947)
The Late George Apley (1947)
Kismet (1944)
Random Harvest (1942)
The Talk of the Town (1942)
My Life with Caroline (1941)
Lucky Partners (1940)
The Light That Failed (1939)
If I Were King (1938)
Lost Horizon (1937)
The Prisoner of Zenda (1937)
Under Two Flags (1936)
A Tale of Two Cities (1935)
Clive of India (1935)
The Man Who Broke the Bank
at Monte Carlo (1935)
Bulldog Drummond Strikes Back (1934)
The Masquerader (1933)
Cynara (1932)
Arrowsmith (1931)
The Unholy Garden (1931)
Raffles (1930)
The Devil to Pay (1930)
Bulldog Drummond (1929)
Condemned (1929)
The Rescue (1929)
Two Lovers (1928)
Magic Flame (1927)
The Night of Love (1927)
Beau Geste (1926)
Kiki (1926)
The Winning of Barbara Worth (1926)
Her Sister from Paris (1925)
His Supreme Moment (1925)
Lady Windermere's Fan (1925)
Romola (1925)
Sporting Venus (1925)
Stella Dallas (1925)
The Dark Angel (1925)
Thief in Paradise (1925)
20 Dollars a Week (1924)
Her Night of Romance (1924)
Tarnish (1924)
Eternal City (1923)
The White Sister (1923)
Handcuffs or Kisses? (1921)
A Son of David (1920)
Anna the Adventuress (1920)
Black Spider (1920)
A Daughter of Eve (1919)
Sheba (1919)
Snow in the Desert (1919)
The Toilers (1919)
The Live Wire (1917)
Full Movie: Talk of the Town (1942)
An escaped prisoner and a stuffy law professor vie for the hand of a spirited schoolteacher. - Taken from IMDB
Although he was a huge success in silent films, he was unable to capitalize on one of his chief assets until the advent of the talking picture. His first major talkie success was in 1930, when he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor for two roles - "Condemned" and "Bulldog Drummond".
He thereafter appeared in a number of notable films including "Raffles", "The Masquerader", "Clive of India", "A Tale of Two Cities" in 1935, "Under Two Flags", "The Prisoner of Zenda" and "Lost Horizon" in 1937, "If I Were King" in 1938, and "The Talk of the Town" in 1941. He won the Best Actor Oscar in 1948 for A Double Life.
At the time of his death on May 19, 1958, from a lung infection, Colman was contracted by MGM for the lead role in "Village of the Damned". However, Colman died and the film became a British production starring George Sanders, who had married Colman's widow, Benita Hume.
Early Days Productions: Ronald Coleman 03/28/2012
