Director Henry King saw him, and cast him in the 1923 film The White Sister, opposite Lillian Gish. He became a very popular silent film 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 1930, when he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor for two roles -- Condemned and Bulldog Drummond. He appeared in The Prisoner of Zenda and Lost Horizon 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. He died in Santa Barbara, California.
Academy Awards and Nominations
Ronald Colman died on May 19, 1958 and was interred in the Santa Barbara Cemetery, Santa Barbara, California.