Photoplay (Jan - Jun 1943)

Contrary to your idea of him, Ronald Colman's a careless dresser. He's a lot of other "contrary" things, too Portrait of a Casual Sophisticate BY JOSEPH HENRY STEELE HE arrived in New York in 1920 with fifty-seven dollars, three clean collars and two letters of introduction. He looks more Latin than English. He is characterized by an earnestness which is tempered with a keen sense of humor; is "regular" without verging on the professional good fellow; reserved without being affected. He never smokes a pipe; likes starchy foods, and dislikes being chauffeured. He made his first professional appearance at the age of seventeen as a banjo player at a Masonic smoker. His full name is Ronald Charles Colman. His next-door neighbor is Jack Benny, both are lively friends, and he would rather have been a writer or singer, could he have excelled in these arts. He was married to Benita Hume, English actress, at Santa Barbara, California, on September 30, 1934. He speaks deliberately, decisively, and clips his sentences sharply. He taught himself the piano which he plays only indifferently and when alone. He was born at Richmond, Surrey, England, and never wore a moustache until he went into the movies. He loathes being interviewed and is reputedly the best "careless dresser" in Hollywood. He dislikes using an electric razor. He takes life in stride, is strongly introspective, and never takes a cigarette before eleven in the morning. He likes wearing sport shirts of blue, beige and tan, and his viewpoints are direct, forthright, well thought out. He prefers biographical novels and has a very special affection for Remarque's "The Road Back" and Ald 30 ington's "Death Of A Hero." His eyes are frank, penetrating and brown. He has an innate aversion for routine and order. He is not considered a wit by his friends. He is specially fond of French and Italian cooking, is very punctilious in personal matters, and swims only fairly. He responds readily to satire and broad burlesque in literature or drama, does not play golf, and seldom experiences moments of depression. If Ronald Colman had to spend the rest of his life on a desert isle and could choose only two authors he would elect Dickens and Shakespeare. His early youth was strongly influenced by the essays and letters of Robert Louis Stevenson. He goes shopping only under duress. He wears high-ankled shoes when playing tennis, due to his war injury. He seldom goes to Hollywood parties and when he does he is usually the last to leave. He wears no jewelry. He rarely wears a hat when formally attired, is fond of wire-haired terriers and attends a prize fight and a football game about once a year. Ronald Colman loves leaving a port and hates arriving at one. He has never worn spats. He has never had a physical trainer, his clothes are tailored wherever he happens to be, and he considers "Beau Geste" his best picture. He is a fatalist. He considers his first year in the United States the most valuable from the standpoint of lessons learned. He dreads personal appearances and thinks good health and a decent philosophy the most important things in life. His favorite silent picture was "In tolerance" and he is convinced that good breaks have played a more important part in shaping his life than his own premeditated plans. He speaks a smattering of French, German and Italian. He has been happiest in California and does not care for Mexican food. He has a strong aversion to killing animals, never goes hunting, and is inordinately fond of oysters and clams. He has never been in the Metropolitan Museum in New York, once made a futile attempt to read James Joyce's "Ulysses," and confesses that life has given him far more than he ever expected from it. HE is both an idealist and cynic, sentimentalist and realist. His birthplace was a small country town on the edge of a river. He is intolerant of neurotics. He prefers playing in comedies, dislikes talking about himself and as a boy dreamed of becoming an engineer. He is always tanned and prefers wearing comfortable tweeds. He took singing lessons for one year at Guildhall School of Music, London, but his vocal talents never jelled. He does not indulge in the British custom of afternoon tea except when entertaining English friends. He is genial, cautious and prudent. He has not varied more than five pounds in weight during the last fifteen years. He has never had a nickname. He smokes cigarettes. He never carries a cane and believes Edinburgh, Scotland, has the most beautiful main street in the world. He has no hobbies. He is Scotch-English, considers "The Unholy Garden" his worst picture and believes life was pleasantest in the Gay (Continued on page 78) photoplay combined with movie mirror