Ronald Charles Colman (9 February 1891 – 19 May 1958) was an English actor who started his career in theatre and silent film in his native country, then emigrated to the United States, where he had a highly successful Hollywood film career. Colman starred in silent films and successfully transitioned to sound, aided by his distinctive, pleasing voice. He was most popular during the 1930s and 1940s. Colman received Oscar nominations for Bulldog Drummond (1929), Condemned (1929), and Random Harvest (1942). He starred in several classic films, including A Tale of Two Cities (1935), Lost Horizon (1937), and The Prisoner of Zenda (1937). Colman also played the starring role in the Technicolor classic Kismet (1944), with Marlene Dietrich. In 1947, he won an Academy Award for Best Actor and Golden Globe Award for Best Actor for his performance in the film A Double Life.
Colman received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his work in motion pictures and later was awarded a second star for his television work.
Early years Ronald Charles Colman was born on 9 February 1891 at Woodville, 156 Sandycombe Road (renamed and renumbered 7 Broomfield Road),Foster, Allan. The Movie Traveller. A Film Fan's Travel Guide to the UK and Ireland. Edinburgh: Polygon 2000, p. 186. in Richmond, Surrey, England, the third son (his eldest brother died in infancy in 1882) and fifth child of Charles Colman, a silk merchant and mantle manufacturer, and his wife Marjory Read Fraser.Frank, Sam (1997). Ronald Colman: A Bio-Bibliography. Greenwood Press. p. 1; His surviving siblings were Gladys, Edith, Eric, and Freda.Colman, Juliet Benita (1975). Ronald Colman: A Very Private Person. W. H. Allen. p. 2; He was a cousin of the Labour politician Grace Colman. In the subsequent years, the family moved to Ealing, first to 27 Inglis RoadStamford Mercury, 23 March 1900, p. 8. and then to 44 Inglis Road,Middlesex County Times, 2 March 1907, p. 5. Later, Georgie Wood lived in this house. Variety, November 25, 1925, p. 2. a corner house at the end of the street. In 1911Kelly's Ealing, Acton, Hanwell, Brentford, Gunnersbury and Chiswick Directory for 1911, p. 94. and 1914Ealing Gazette and West Middlesex Observer, 19. September 1914, p. 6. - It cannot have been the present house No. 27, as this part of the street was still undeveloped at the time, see the 1888-1913 Ordnance Survey map., the family is recorded at 27 Denbigh Road.
Colman attended Hadleigh House School in LittlehamptonHe is recorded here in 1901, see UK 1901 census via SteveMorse.org. 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 Later, Colman was educated at Rolandseck School in Ealing under German-born headmaster Ernst Felix Marx."College of Preceptors. Local Examinations", Uxbridge and W. Drayton Gazette, 22 August 1903, p. 7. - See also J. C. Bristow-Noble, "Ronald Colman's School-Days", The Picturegoer, 1 March 1931, 34. He intended to study engineering at Cambridge, but his father's sudden death from pneumonia in 1907 made it financially impossible.Smith, R. Dixon (1991). Ronald Colman, Gentleman of the Cinema. McFarland & Company. pp. 2–3;
First World War While working as a clerk with Watts, Watts & Co., Ltd. (managers of the Britain Steamship Company) in the City of London,PRO WO 364/742, Private Ronald Colman - Attestation Form E.501, reproduced in Fowler, Spencer and Tamblin 1997, p. 7, fig. 1. Colman joined the London Scottish Regiment in 1909 for four years. At the outbreak of the First World War, he quit his job the next day and rejoined his regiment. Colman was Private No. 2148 with the 1/14th (County of London) Battalion of the London Regiment (London Scottish).
On 15 September 1914, the battalion embarked at Southampton in the SS Winifred and arrived the next day at Le Havre.Nigel Cave, Battleground Europe: A Guide to Battlefields in France and Flanders, Barnsley: Wharncliffe Publishing Ltd, 1990 p, 56. Six weeks later, the London Scottish were driven to Ypres to reinforce the front. At Ypres on 30 October, Colman was said to have "had the decidedly unpleasant experience of being buried alive by the explosion of a shell", but was dug out unharmed.Elinor Hughes, Famous Stars of Filmdom: Men, Boston: L. C. Page & Company, 1931, p. 135-136. Later that day, the battalion was moved to Wytschaete, where it engaged in the Battle of Messines on the next day. Colman was seriously wounded in the right ankle, which gave him a limp that he sought to hide throughout his acting career: "Disability. Fracture of Ankle (Rt.) In action near Ypres 31-10-14. Man states that when advancing a shell burst near him, and he was thrown heavily injuring his right foot either by the fall or his foot being struck. There is considerable thickening of Rt. ankle. There is also some tenderness and after walking any distance there is pain and lameness."PRO WO 364/742, Private Ronald Colman - Royal Hospital Chelsea, Pension form, reproduced in Fowler, Spencer and Tamblin 1997, p. 9, fig. 3. Colman was treated at the field ambulance and was transferred to England the next day.PRO WO 365/742, Private Ronald Colman, Casualty Form B.193, reproduced in Fowler, Spencer and Tamblin 1997, p.9, fig. 4. He was admitted to St. Bartholomew's Hospital in London, where he stayed from 6 to 11 November. Having sufficiently recovered, Colman was transferred to the 3/14 Battalion of the London Scottish and was sent to Perth, where he did light clerical duty and lived at Strathview (No. 75–77), Muirton Place. On 6 May 1915, Colman was declared "No longer fit physically for war service" and discharged.PRO WO 364/742, Private Ronald Colman - Medical History Form B.178, reproduced in Fowler, Spencer and Tamblin 1997, p. 8, fig. 2.
Colman's military character was given as "Very good. Honest, sober and trustworthy."PRO WO 364/742, Private Ronald Colman - Proceedings on Discharge Form B.268A, reproduced in Fowler, Spencer and Tamblin 1997, p. 11, fig. 6. He was awarded a pension, as well as the Victory Medal, the British War Medal, the 1914 Star with clasps and roses,PRO WO 329/1928, medal roll entry for Ronald Colman, reproduced in Fowler, Spencer and Tamblin 1997 p. 47, fig. 12, and p. 48. and the Silver War Badge. In 1928, Colman was made an honorary life member of the London Scottish.Daily Record, 8 June 1928, p. 12.
Fellow Hollywood actors Claude Rains, Herbert Marshall, Cedric Hardwicke, and Basil Rathbone all saw service with the London Scottish in the war.
Career Concert parties and amateur stage
About the same time Colman joined the London Scottish, he took to the stage and soon established himself as a member of the performing community in Ealing. Between 1909 and 1914, Colman appeared solo and with various concert parties and amateur dramatics groups. He began with banjo solos at benefit concertsHe was said to have made his first appearance on the stage at the age of seventeen in a masonic smoker, see Steele 1937, p. 94. The first recorded performance took place at the Chiswick Town Hall in aid of the Chiswick Soup kitchen: "… and a banjo solo by Mr. R. C. Colman, each of which were [sic] much appreciated." Chiswick Times, 16 April 1909, p. 6. and two years later, joined the short-lived Pierrot troupes The Tangerines"Lifeboat Concert", Northampton Mercury, 10 February 1911, p.12: "… a party of entertainers from Ealing, London, who dress attractively in black with orange coloured trimmings, pierrot fashion." and The Summer 'Uns, who only had one performance.Middlesex County Times, 4 May 1912, p. 7. In 1912, while on the Isle of Wight, Colman and some friends formed the Mad Medicos, R. O. Mackay, "Ronald Colman - Pierrot", Picturegoer, 1 July 1930, p. 17; P. L. Mannock, "They all came from Concert Parties", Britannia and Eve, 1. July 1937, p. 17. who performed under his direction."Our Amateurs", The Era, 2 November 1912, p. 13. A part of this troupe then became the Popinjays, again under Colman's direction, until George Denby (1892-1951)"Death of George Denby", The Stage, 8 February 1951, p. 3. Denby's real name was John Collier Buckbarrow. took over.In the early months of 1913, Colman's sister Freda accompanied the Popinjays at the piano. Forest Hill & Sydenham Examiner, 28 March 1913, p. 3. In January 1916, Noël Coward appeared with the Popinjays at the Park Pavilion in Eastbourne. Eastbourne Gazette, 19 January 1916, p. 8. In April and July of the same year, Goodie Reeve was a member of the Popinjays under the name of Goodie Cotton. Munster News, 26 July 1916, p. 3. Besides banjo solos and duets, Colman's repertoire included songs and duets such as "Two Little Sausages" (Lionel Monckton) and musical monologues, recitals of poems such as The Green Eye of the Little Yellow God, funny stories, and above all, character sketches from Dickens such as Uriah Heep, John Brodie, and Martin Chuzzlewit. At "An Evening with Dickens", Colman played Charles Darnay in three scenes from A Tale of Two Cities."An Evening with Dickens", Middlesex County Times, 6 April 1912, p. 5. He also staged three pieces of his own: the duologues "My Pierrot""Amateur Dramatics at Hayes. Fine Performance for the Cottage Hospital", The Uxbridge & Drayton Gazette, 29 April 1911, p. 3. and "A Knotty Problem""A Triple Bill. Mrs. Hodges' Dramatic Entertainment", Middlesex County Times, 16 December 1911, p. 1. and the miniature revue "Come Inside".Hampstead News, 23 October 1913, p. 4. When Colman rejoined the Popinjays in July 1916 for performances at the Pavilion in Derby, between theatre engagements, a marked change in his repertoire occurred; the character sketch was now of a Chelsea Pensioner, and he recited Spotty, a Tale of the Trenches."Amusements in Derby", Derby Daily Telegraph, 11 July 1916, p. 2.