Coleman, Ronald

Ronald Coleman was born in Richmond , Surrey , England to a silk industrialist. At a closed school in Littlehampton, he discovered the theater. Ronald was going to study at the Faculty of Engineering in Cambridge , but the sudden death of his father from pneumonia made this impossible for financial reasons.

He became a well-known amateur actor and was a member of the East Middlesex Theater Society in 1908-1909. As a professional actor, he first appeared on the scene in 1914 . After working for some time as a clerk in London, he joined the London Scottish Regiment in 1909 and was in the front ranks of the British Territorial Army during World War I. During the war, he served with such famous actors as Claude Raines , Herbert Marshall , Cedric Hardwick and Basil Rathbone . On October 31, 1914, in the Battle of Flanders, Coleman was seriously injured by shrapnel in his leg. After that, he limped his whole life, although he sought to hide it on stage. In 1916, he retired due to disability.

Theater

On June 19, 1916, he successfully acted as Sheikh Rakhmat in the play “Maharani from Arakan” on the stage of the London Coliseum theater with Lena Ashwell, then in December of that year at the Playhouse Theater in the role of Stephen Weatherby in the play of Charles Goddard "Deceiving lady." At the Royal Court Theater in March 1917, he played Weber in Partnership, the following year in the play Damaged Goods. At the Ambassador Theater in February 1918, he played George Lubin in The Younger Brother, and in 1918 , David Goldsmith in The Bubble.

In 1920, Coleman emigrated to America and toured with Robert Warwick with the play "The Dauntless Three", then with Fay Beynter in "East is West"; at the Booth Theater in New York, in January 1921 he played a priest in William Archer 's play The Green Goddess with George Arliss . At the 39 Street Theater in August 1921, he plays Charles in The Nightcap; and in September 1922 he successfully performed at the Empire Theater in the New York theater in the play Tenderness.

Cinema

Ronald Coleman first appeared on movie screens in England in 1917 and 1919 with film producer Cecil Hepworth , and later with Broadwest Film Company in The Snow of the Desert. After a performance in New York in the play "Tenderness" he was noticed by producer Henry King and invited him to star in the film " White Sister " (1923) along with actress Lillian Guiche . The film was a resounding success. Since then, Coleman has acted exclusively in films.

He became a popular silent film actor in melodramas and westerns, among others, The Dark Angel (1925), Stella Dallas (1926), Beau Geste (1927) and The Winning of Barbara Worth (1926). A black-eyed brunette with an athletic appearance, an excellent rider who himself performed most stunt stunts in his films until the end of his career, was a favorite of the public, and critics compared him to Rudolf Valentino , the universally recognized sex symbol of America. Until the end of the silent movie era, he starred with Hungarian actress Wilma Banky from producer Samuel Goldwin , competing in popularity with another famous pair, Greta Garbo and John Gilbert .

After 1928, Coleman decides to begin a solo career. But, despite his success in silent cinema, he could not fully reveal his talent to the public before the sound. His voice was called enchanting and caressing hearing, along with Greta Garbo and Charlie Chaplin, he was one of the few silent film actors whose popularity was only growing. In 1930, the first major achievement was the Oscar nomination for Best Actor in two films: Convict and Bulldog Drummond .

In 1933, he broke up with Samuel Goldwin and works for several movie studios. No less famous films followed: “Raffles”, “The Masquerader”, “ Indian Cleave ”, “ A Tale of Two Cities ” based on the novel by Charles Dickens in 1935, “Under Two Flags”, “ Prisoner of the Zenda Fortress ” and “The Lost Horizon ” by Frank Capra in 1937, “ If I were a King ” in 1938, and “ The Whole City Says ” by George Stevens in 1941. For the film “ Double Life ” (1947), he received the Academy Award for Best Actor.

Shortly before his death, Coleman signed a contract with MGM for the lead role in the movie Village of the Damned . Later, his role and wife Benita Hume received actor George Sanders .

Radio and television

Since 1945, Coleman has been a regular contributor to The Jack Benny Program along with his wife, actress Benita Hume. Then came their own comedy show, The Halls of Ivy (1950–1952), which was then shot on television in 1954–1955.

Ronald Coleman died on May 19, 1958 at the age of 67 from a pulmonary infection in Santa Barbara and was buried in a local cemetery.

The first wife is Thelma Rey. The second wife of Benita Hume , daughter of Juliet.

Ronald Coleman was nominated for an Oscar three times: for the films Bulldog Drummond (1929) and Convict (1929), Random Harvest (1942) by Mervyn Leroy and Double Life (1947) by George Cukor . The latter brought him the Oscars (1948) and Golden Globes (1947) for his role as Anthony John, a dramatic actor who lived in the role of Othello.

In 2002, his gold Oscar statuette was sold at Christie auction for $ 174,500.

Coleman also has two stars: one on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for outstanding achievements in cinema No. 6801, and the second for achievements on television on Vine Street No. 1625.

• 1923: The White Sister
• 1924: Romola
• 1925: A Thief in Paradise
• 1925: Her Sister from Paris
• 1925: Kiki
• 1925: The Dark Angel
• 1925: Lady Windermere Fan / Lady Windermere's Fan
• 1926: Beau Geste
• 1926: The Winning of Barbara Worth
• 1927: The Night of Love
• 1927: The Magic Flame
• 1928: Two Lovers
• 1929: The Rescue
• 1929: Bulldog Drummond
• 1929: Condemned
• 1930: Lottery / Raffles
• 1930: The Devil To Pay
• 1931: Dr. Arrowsmith
• 1932: Chinara Cynara
• 1934: Bulldog Drummond Strikes Back
• 1935: A Tale of Two Cities / A History of Two Cities / A Tale of two cities
• 1935: Clive of India
• 1935: Under Two Flags
• 1937: Lost Horizon
• 1937: The Prisoner of Zenda / The Prisoner of Zenda
• 1938: If I Were King
• 1939: The Light That Failed
• 1940: Lucky Partners / Lucky Partners
• 1941: My Life with Caroline
• 1941: The Talk of the Town
• 1942: " Random Harvest " / Random Harvest
• 1944: Kismet
• 1947: The Late George Apley
• 1947: A Double Life
• 1950: Champagne for Caesar
• 1956: “ Around the World in 80 Days ” / Around the World in 80 Days
• 1957: The Story of Mankind

• Ronald Coleman - a gentleman of cinema