BIO

Ronald Colman was born Ronald Charles Colman in Richmond, London, England in 1891.   He attended boarding school and was intending to continue his studies at the University of Cambridge when his father’s death from pneumonia forced him to enter the workforce earlier than the family had planned.

While employed as a clerk at a steamship company in London, Colman acted on the side.

He joined the London Scottish regiment in 1909 and was among the first to fight in World War I.   His regiment included fellow actors Claude Rains, Herbert Marshall and Basil Rathbone.   In 1914, he was seriously wounded by shrapnel, causing a limp that he tried to hide for the rest of his acting career.

Colman made his silent film debut in a starring role for a George Dewhurst short-reel in 1917.

In 1920, as part of a British touring play, Colman traveled to America.   He stayed and made his Broadway debut in 1921.   That same year he appeared in his first U.S. film for Selznick Pictures.   By 1923, he was starring as a romantic lead opposite silent film star Lillian Gish.

By the end of the silent era, Colman was a top romantic star.   The sound era only enhanced his stature.

Colman won the Academy Award for Actor for his performance in A Double Life (1947).   He also received Actor Oscar nominations for his work in:

• Bulldog Drummond (1929),
• Condemned (1929) and
• Random Harvest (1942).

After more than 55 films, his last movie was released in 1957.

Colman married the actress Thelma Raye in 1920.   They were divorced in 1934.   His second marriage to the actress Benita Hume in 1938 lasted to the end of his life.   They raised one child.

Colman died of a lung infection in Santa Barbara, California in 1958.   He was 67 years old.

Additional Broadway stage history is available at:

Additional biographical information is available at:

NOTED FILMS

Complete filmography at:

TV SERIES

The Halls of Ivy