Charles Coleman | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Colemanc.1910 | |
| Born | Charles Pearce Coleman (1885-12-22)December 22, 1885 Sydney, New South Wales, Australia |
| Died | March 8, 1951(1951-03-08) (aged 65) Woodland Hills, California, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1915–1949 |
| Spouse | Beatrice[1] |
Charles Pearce Coleman (December 22, 1885 – March 8, 1951) was an Australian-born American character actor of thesilent andsound film eras.
Coleman was born in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, on December 22, 1885.[2]
Coleman began his film career in the 1915 silent film,The Mummy and the Humming Bird, which was also the screen debut ofCharles Cherry, a noted stage actor.[3] In more than half of his 200 performances in films, he appeared as a butler, doorman/concierge, valet, or waiter.[4] In the 1930s, Coleman appeared in such films asBeyond Victory (1931), starringBill Boyd andJames Gleason,[5] theWheeler & Woolsey comedyDiplomaniacs (1933),[6] 1934'sBorn to Be Bad which starredLoretta Young andCary Grant,[7] the 1934 version ofOf Human Bondage starringBette Davis andLeslie Howard,[8] the first film to star the pairing ofFred Astaire andGinger Rogers,The Gay Divorcee (1935),[9] the first feature-length film to be shot entirely in Technicolor,Becky Sharp,[10] 1936'sMagnificent Obsession starringIrene Dunne andRobert Taylor,[11] theSpencer Tracy vehicle,Captains Courageous (1937),[12]The Prince and the Pauper (1937), starringErrol Flynn andClaude Rains,[13] and theReginald Owen version ofA Christmas Carol (1938).[14]
In the 1940s, Coleman's films included:Buck Privates (1941), the first film starring the comedy duo ofAbbott and Costello;[15] 1943'sDu Barry Was a Lady, starringRed Skelton,Lucille Ball, andGene Kelly;[16]Orson Welles andJoan Fontaine in the 1944 version ofJane Eyre;[17] the 1945 filmThe Picture of Dorian Gray, withGeorge Sanders,Donna Reed,Angela Lansbury, andPeter Lawford;[18] and the 1949 comedyA Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, starringBing Crosby andRhonda Fleming.[19]
The last film Coleman worked on was theGene Autry vehicle,The Blazing Sun, (1950).[20]Double Dynamite (1951), starringJane Russell,Groucho Marx, andFrank Sinatra, was the final film released in which he appeared. Coleman had worked on the film in 1948, but it was shelved for several years byHoward Hughes, and not released until after Coleman's death.[21]
Coleman's work on stage included being leading man forPauline Frederick in productions that toured Australia and the United States.[22] On Broadway, he performed inPorgy and Bess (1943),Amourette (1933),Face the Music (1932),Nina Rosa (1930),Colonel Newcome (1917),The Merry Wives of Windsor (1916),The Adventure of Lady Ursula (1915), andSecret Strings (1914).[23]
Coleman died of a stroke at theMotion Picture Country Home in Los Angeles[22] on March 8, 1951,[24] at age 66[22]and was cremated and interred atChapel Of The Pines Crematory in Los Angeles.[citation needed]
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
| People | |
| Other | |
