Post by butterscotchgreer on Jun 30, 2007 13:50:16 GMT -5
Date of Birth
9 February 1891, Richmond, Surrey, England, UK
Date of Death
19 May 1958, Santa Barbara, California, USA. (lung infection)
Birth Name
Ronald Charles Colman
Height
5' 10" (1.78 m)
Mini Biography
Born Richmond, Surrey, England on February 9, 1891. Height 5 feet 11 inches; dark brown hair and eyes; weight 158 pounds. Father: Charles Colman, not in the business. Educated at Littlehampton, Sussex, England. Hobbies: Tennis, motoring, reading and swiming. He was in the British Army during World War I. Two years on stage in England, UK
IMDb Mini Biography By:
Mini Biography
British leading man of primarily American films, one of the great stars of the Golden Age. Raised in Ealing, the son of a successful silk merchant, he attended boarding school in Sussex, where he first discovered amateur theatre. He intended to attend Cambridge and become an engineer, but his father's death cost him the financil support necessary. He joined the London Scottish Regionals and at the outbreak of World War I was sent to France. Seriously wounded at the battle of Messines, he was invalided out of service scarcely two months after shipping out for France. Upon his recovery, tried to enter the consular service, but a chance encounter got him a small role in a London play. He dropped other plans and concentrated on the theatre and was rewarded with a succession of increasingly prominent parts. He made extra money appearing in a few minor films, and in 1920 set out for New York in hopes of finding greater fortune there than in war- depressed England. After two years of impoverishment, he was cast in a Broadway hit, La Tendresse. Director 'Henry King' spotted him in the show and cast him as Lillian Gish's leading man in his film The White Sister (1923). His success in the film led to a contract with Samuel Goldwyn, and career as a Hollywood leading man was underway. He became a vastly popular star of silent films, in romances as well as adventure films. With the coming of sound, his extraordinarily beautiful speaking voice made him even more important to the film industry. He played sophisticated thoughtful characters of integrity with enormous aplomb, and swashbuckled expertly when called to do so in films like The Prisoner of Zenda (1937). A decade later he received an Academy Award for his splendid portrayal of a tormented actor in A Double Life (1947). Much of his later career was devoted to 'The Halls of Ivy', a radio show that later was transferred to television. He continued to work until nearly the end of his life, which came in 1958 after a brief lung illness. He was survived by his second wife, actress Benita Hume, and their daughter Juliet.
IMDb Mini Biography By: Jim Beaver
Spouse
Benita Hume (30 September 1938 - 19 May 1958) (his death) 1 child
Thelma Raye (18 September 1920 - 1 August 1934) (divorced)
Trade Mark
Rich, mellifluous voice.
Trivia
Daughter Juliet Benita Colman (b. 1944)
He made his film debut in an unreleased two-reel short made in 1919. Its title is unknown, and references to it as 'Live Wire, The (1917)' apparently erroneously connect it to a play of that title in which Colman appeared around the same time.
His recording of "A Christmas Carol", originally released in a Decca 78-RPM set in 1941, was the first recorded version to win wide acclaim. It appeared several times on LP, and has recently (October 2005) been released on CD by Deutsche Grammophon, along with its frequent companion piece on LP, "Mr. Pickwick's Christmas".
Portrayed Dr. William Hall on NBC Radio's "The Halls of Ivy" (1950-1952) with his wife Benita Hume.
Fought with the British Army in World War I, and was wounded during the Battle of Ypres.
In his early film career he was panned by many critics for his overtheatrics (used in the stage work he was doing at the time) and his pronounced limp (from a bad war injury). He credited working with greats such as George Arliss for overcoming those obstacles.
When he made his mark in Hollywood as a handsome young silent actor, there were some who doubted he would translate well to "talkies." His subsequent success in radio (he made a multi-volume recording of the Shakespeare sonnets, as well) proves them wrong with a vengeance.
Personal Quotes
"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."
[To his agent] "Before God I'm worth 35 dollars a week. Before the motion picture industry I'm worth anything you can get."
"They talk of the artist finding liberation in work, it is true. One can be someone else in another, more dramatic, more beautiful world."
"Whenever I hear of young actors down and out and broke in New York, (and what a cliche of show business it is supposed to be!) I remember my own experiences in 1921 - and find it no laughing matter by any criterion."
"I persevered in those English films, and persevered is the word, though I am the first to admit that I was a very bad actor in them."
"I loathe war. I'm inclined to be bitter about the politics of munitions and real estate which are the reasons of war. It certainly taught me to value the quiet life and strenghtened my conviction that to keep as far out of range of vision as possible is to to be as safe as possible." "I visited agents, knocked at producers' doors; no one was interested. I was just another stage actor on tour, on the outside of Hollywood looking in. I returned to New York depressed and disappointed."
"Why should I go to dull parties and say dull things just because I wear greasepaint and make love to beautiful women on the screen?"
(asked if "The Story of Mankind" was based on a book): "Yes. But they are using only the notes on the dust jacket."
9 February 1891, Richmond, Surrey, England, UK
Date of Death
19 May 1958, Santa Barbara, California, USA. (lung infection)
Birth Name
Ronald Charles Colman
Height
5' 10" (1.78 m)
Mini Biography
Born Richmond, Surrey, England on February 9, 1891. Height 5 feet 11 inches; dark brown hair and eyes; weight 158 pounds. Father: Charles Colman, not in the business. Educated at Littlehampton, Sussex, England. Hobbies: Tennis, motoring, reading and swiming. He was in the British Army during World War I. Two years on stage in England, UK
IMDb Mini Biography By:
Mini Biography
British leading man of primarily American films, one of the great stars of the Golden Age. Raised in Ealing, the son of a successful silk merchant, he attended boarding school in Sussex, where he first discovered amateur theatre. He intended to attend Cambridge and become an engineer, but his father's death cost him the financil support necessary. He joined the London Scottish Regionals and at the outbreak of World War I was sent to France. Seriously wounded at the battle of Messines, he was invalided out of service scarcely two months after shipping out for France. Upon his recovery, tried to enter the consular service, but a chance encounter got him a small role in a London play. He dropped other plans and concentrated on the theatre and was rewarded with a succession of increasingly prominent parts. He made extra money appearing in a few minor films, and in 1920 set out for New York in hopes of finding greater fortune there than in war- depressed England. After two years of impoverishment, he was cast in a Broadway hit, La Tendresse. Director 'Henry King' spotted him in the show and cast him as Lillian Gish's leading man in his film The White Sister (1923). His success in the film led to a contract with Samuel Goldwyn, and career as a Hollywood leading man was underway. He became a vastly popular star of silent films, in romances as well as adventure films. With the coming of sound, his extraordinarily beautiful speaking voice made him even more important to the film industry. He played sophisticated thoughtful characters of integrity with enormous aplomb, and swashbuckled expertly when called to do so in films like The Prisoner of Zenda (1937). A decade later he received an Academy Award for his splendid portrayal of a tormented actor in A Double Life (1947). Much of his later career was devoted to 'The Halls of Ivy', a radio show that later was transferred to television. He continued to work until nearly the end of his life, which came in 1958 after a brief lung illness. He was survived by his second wife, actress Benita Hume, and their daughter Juliet.
IMDb Mini Biography By: Jim Beaver
Spouse
Benita Hume (30 September 1938 - 19 May 1958) (his death) 1 child
Thelma Raye (18 September 1920 - 1 August 1934) (divorced)
Trade Mark
Rich, mellifluous voice.
Trivia
Daughter Juliet Benita Colman (b. 1944)
He made his film debut in an unreleased two-reel short made in 1919. Its title is unknown, and references to it as 'Live Wire, The (1917)' apparently erroneously connect it to a play of that title in which Colman appeared around the same time.
His recording of "A Christmas Carol", originally released in a Decca 78-RPM set in 1941, was the first recorded version to win wide acclaim. It appeared several times on LP, and has recently (October 2005) been released on CD by Deutsche Grammophon, along with its frequent companion piece on LP, "Mr. Pickwick's Christmas".
Portrayed Dr. William Hall on NBC Radio's "The Halls of Ivy" (1950-1952) with his wife Benita Hume.
Fought with the British Army in World War I, and was wounded during the Battle of Ypres.
In his early film career he was panned by many critics for his overtheatrics (used in the stage work he was doing at the time) and his pronounced limp (from a bad war injury). He credited working with greats such as George Arliss for overcoming those obstacles.
When he made his mark in Hollywood as a handsome young silent actor, there were some who doubted he would translate well to "talkies." His subsequent success in radio (he made a multi-volume recording of the Shakespeare sonnets, as well) proves them wrong with a vengeance.
Personal Quotes
"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."
[To his agent] "Before God I'm worth 35 dollars a week. Before the motion picture industry I'm worth anything you can get."
"They talk of the artist finding liberation in work, it is true. One can be someone else in another, more dramatic, more beautiful world."
"Whenever I hear of young actors down and out and broke in New York, (and what a cliche of show business it is supposed to be!) I remember my own experiences in 1921 - and find it no laughing matter by any criterion."
"I persevered in those English films, and persevered is the word, though I am the first to admit that I was a very bad actor in them."
"I loathe war. I'm inclined to be bitter about the politics of munitions and real estate which are the reasons of war. It certainly taught me to value the quiet life and strenghtened my conviction that to keep as far out of range of vision as possible is to to be as safe as possible." "I visited agents, knocked at producers' doors; no one was interested. I was just another stage actor on tour, on the outside of Hollywood looking in. I returned to New York depressed and disappointed."
"Why should I go to dull parties and say dull things just because I wear greasepaint and make love to beautiful women on the screen?"
(asked if "The Story of Mankind" was based on a book): "Yes. But they are using only the notes on the dust jacket."
