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Ronald Colman ( February 9, 1891 - May 19, 1958) was an English actor. Born in Richmond, Surrey, England, Colman discovered acting while at school. He intended to attend Cambridge University to study engineering, but his father's death put an end to that. He served in World War I, where he was seriously wounded at the Battle of Messines. Following the war, he began to appear on the London stage. In 1922, he appeared on Broadway in the hit play La Tendresse.Director Henry King saw him, and cast him in the 1923 film The White Sister , opposite Lillian GishLillian Gish ( October 14, 1893 February 27, 1993), was an American actress. Born Lillian Diana de Guiche in Springfield, Ohio, she was the sister of actress Dorothy Gish. The Gish sisters' mother Mary began acting in order to support the family after her. He became a very popular silent filmA silent film is a film which has no accompanying soundtrack. The idea of combining motion pictures with recorded sound is nearly as old as the motion picture itself, but before the late 1920s, most films were silent. The years before sound came to the mo star in both romantic and adventure films. He successfully transitioned to talkies because of his powerful speaking voice.
His first major talkie success was in 19301930 is the common year starting on Wednesday. see link for calendar) Events January-February January 6 The first diesel-engine automobile trip is completed ( Indianapolis, Indiana, to New York City). January 27 Miguel Primo de Rivera resigns January 30 G, when he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best ActorThe Academy Award for Best Actor is one of the awards given to people working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences; nominations are made by Academy members who are actors and actresses. The winners are chosen b for two roles -- CondemnedCondemned is a 1929 melodrama film. It stars Ronald Colman, Ann Harding, Dudley Digges, Louis Wolheim, William Elmer and Wilhelm von Brincken. The movie was adapted by Sidney Howard from the novel by Blair Niles. It was directed by Wesley Ruggles. It was and Bulldog DrummondBulldog Drummond is a 1929 detective film which tells the story of Captain Hugh "Bulldog" Drummond, a British officer bored with civilian life, who investigates an extortion case for a beautiful girl. It stars Ronald Colman, Claud Allister, Lawrence Grant. He appeared in The Prisoner of ZendaThe Prisoner of Zenda is an adventure novel by Anthony Hope, first published in 1894. It tells the story of a man who has to impersonate a king, who he happens to closely resemble, when the king is abducted by enemies on the eve of his coronation. The vil and Lost HorizonLost Horizon is a 1937 film in which a group of travelers find a utopian society in the Himalayan mountains. The film is based upon the James Hilton novel of the same name. It stars Ronald Colman, Jane Wyatt, John Howard, Margo, Thomas Mitchell, Edward Ev in 1937, and won the Oscar in 1948 for A Double Life.
In the late 1940s, Colman starred in a radio series, The Halls of Ivy, which transitioned to television in 1954.
Academy Awards and Nominations
He has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, one for motion pictures at 6801 Hollywood Blvd. and one for television at 1625 Vine Street.
Ronald Colman died on May 19, 1958 in Santa Barbara, California and was interred in the Santa Barbara Cemetery.
