Sidney Alderman Blackmer (July 13, 1895 – October 6, 1973) was an American Broadway and film actor active between 1914 and 1971, usually in major supporting roles.

Biography

Blackmer was born and raised in

Salisbury, North Carolina Salisbury ( ) is a city in the Piedmont (United States), Piedmont region of North Carolina, United States; it has been the county seat of Rowan County, North Carolina, Rowan County since 1753 when its territory extended to the Mississippi River. ...

, the son of Clara Deroulhac (née Alderman) and Walter Steele Blackmer. He started in the insurance and financial counseling business but abandoned it. While working as a construction laborer on a new building, he saw a

Pearl White Pearl Fay White (March 4, 1889 – August 4, 1938) was an American stage and film actress. She began her career on the stage at age 6, and later moved on to silent films appearing in a number of popular serial film, serials. Dubbed the "Queen ...

serial being filmed and immediately decided to pursue acting as a career. He attended the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC, UNC–Chapel Hill, or simply Carolina) is a public university, public research university in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States. Chartered in 1789, the university first began enrolli ...

. Blackmer had a role in the highly popular serial '' The Perils of Pauline'' (1914), his film debut. In 1929, he returned to motion pictures and went on to appear as a major character actor in more than 120 films. He won the 1950

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ce ...

for Best Actor (Drama) for his role in the Broadway play '' Come Back, Little Sheba'', co-starring with

Shirley Booth Shirley Booth (born Marjory Ford; August 30, 1898October 16, 1992) was an American actress. One of 24 performers to achieve the Triple Crown of Acting, Booth was the recipient of an Academy Award, two Primetime Emmy Awards and three Tony Awards. ...

. In film, Blackmer had a role as the conniving Manhattan warlock Roman Castevet in the guise of one of many overly solicitous elderly neighbors of the pregnant titular character (played by

Mia Farrow Maria de Lourdes Villiers "Mia" Farrow ( ; born February 9, 1945) is an American actress. She first gained notice for her role as Allison MacKenzie in the television soap opera ''Peyton Place (TV series), Peyton Place'' and gained further recogn ...

) in the

Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...

-winning 1968

Roman Polanski Raymond Roman Thierry Polański (; born 18 August 1933) is a Polish and French filmmaker and actor. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Roman Polanski, numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, three Britis ...

film, '' Rosemary's Baby''. A humanitarian, Blackmer served as the national vice president of the United States

Muscular Dystrophy Association Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) is an American nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting people living with muscular dystrophy, ALS, and related Neuromuscular disease, neuromuscular diseases. Founded in 1950 by Paul Cohen, who lived wi ...

. He also helped found the North Carolina School of the Arts. In 1972, he was honored with the North Carolina Award in the Fine Arts category. It is the State of North Carolina's highest civilian award. On his death in 1973, Blackmer was interred in the Chestnut Hill Cemetery in his hometown of

Personal life

For his contributions to the film industry, Blackmer has a motion pictures star on the

Hollywood Walk of Fame The Hollywood Walk of Fame is a landmark which consists of 2,813 five-pointed terrazzo-and-brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along 15 blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in the Hollywood, Los Angeles, Hollywood dist ...

at 1625

Vine Street Vine Street is a street in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, that runs north–south between Franklin Avenue, Los Angeles, and Melrose Avenue. The intersection of Hollywood and Vine being symbolic of Hollywood itself. The intersection has be ...

Filmography

SidneyBlackmerHighandMightyTrailerScreenshot1954

* ''Beating Back'' (1914) * '' A Most Immoral Lady'' (1929) as Humphrey Sergeant * '' The Love Racket'' (1929) as Fred Masters * '' Strictly Modern'' (1930) as Heath Desmond * '' Sweethearts and Wives'' (1930) as Anthony Peel * '' The Bad Man'' (1930) as Morgan Pell * '' Kismet'' (1930) as Wazir Mansur * '' Mothers Cry'' (1930) as Mr. Gerald Hart * '' Little Caesar'' (1931) as Big Boy * '' Woman Hungry'' (1931) as Geoffrey Brand * '' It's a Wise Child'' (1931) as Steve * '' The Lady Who Dared'' (1931) as Charles Townsend * '' From Hell to Heaven'' (1933) as Cliff Billings * '' Cocktail Hour'' (1933) as William Lawton * '' The Wrecker'' (1933) as Tom Cummings * ''

Deluge A deluge is a large downpour of rain, often a flood. The Deluge refers to the flood narrative in the biblical book of Genesis. Deluge or Le Déluge may also refer to: History *Deluge (history), the Swedish and Russian invasion of the Polish-L ...

'' (1933) as Martin Webster * '' Goodbye Love'' (1933) as Chester Hamilton * '' This Man Is Mine'' (1934) as Mort Holmes * ''

The Count of Monte Cristo ''The Count of Monte Cristo'' () is an adventure novel by the French writer Alexandre Dumas. It was serialised from 1844 to 1846, and published in book form in 1846. It is one of his most popular works, along with ''The Three Musketeers'' (184 ...

'' (1934) as Mondego * '' Down to Their Last Yacht'' (1934) as Barry Forbes * '' Transatlantic Merry-Go-Round'' (1934) as Lee Lother * '' The President Vanishes'' (1934) as D.L. Voorman * '' A Notorious Gentleman'' (1935) as Clayton Bradford * '' The Little Colonel'' (1935) as Swazey * ''

Behind the Green Lights ''Behind the Green Lights'' is a 1935 American crime film directed by Christy Cabanne and starring Norman Foster, Judith Allen and Sidney Blackmer.Goble p.685 Partial cast * Norman Foster as Detective Lt. Dave Britten * Judith Allen as Mary K ...

'' (1935) as Raymond Cortell * '' Great God Gold'' (1935) as John Hart * '' The Girl Who Came Back'' (1935) as Bill Rhodes * '' Shadows of the Orient'' (1935) as King Moss * '' Smart Girl'' (1935) as Harry Courtland * ''

Streamline Express ''Streamline Express'' is a 1935 American comedy drama film directed by Leonard Fields, starring Victor Jory, Evelyn Venable and Esther Ralston, distributed by Mascot Pictures. The film is an adaptation of '' Twentieth Century'', released the ...

'' (1935) as Gilbert Landon * '' False Pretenses'' (1935) as Kenneth Alden * '' The Fire-Trap'' (1935) as Cedric McIntyre * ''

Forced Landing A forced landing is a landing by an aircraft made under factors outside the pilot's control, such as the failure of engines, systems, components, or weather which makes continued flight impossible. However, the term also means a landing that has ...

'' (1935) as Tony Bernardi * '' Heart of the West'' (1936) as John Trumbull * '' Woman Trap'' (1936) as Riley Ferguson * '' Florida Special'' (1936) as Jack Macklyn * '' Early to Bed'' (1936) as Rex Daniels * '' Missing Girls'' (1936) as Dan Collins * '' The President's Mystery'' (1936) as George Sartos * '' House of Secrets'' (1936) as Tom Starr * '' Girl Overboard'' (1937) as Alex LeMaire * '' A Doctor's Diary'' (1937) as Dr. Anson Ludlow * '' John Meade's Woman'' (1937) as Rodney * '' Michael O'Halloran'' (1937) as Jim Mintum * '' This Is My Affair'' (1937) as President

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. (October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), also known as Teddy or T.R., was the 26th president of the United States, serving from 1901 to 1909. Roosevelt previously was involved in New York (state), New York politics, incl ...

* ''

The Women Men Marry ''The Women Men Marry'' is a 1937 American drama film directed by Errol Taggart and starring George Murphy, Josephine Hutchinson, Claire Dodd and Toby Wing. The film's script is credited to Donald Henderson Clarke. Plot Cast * George Murphy as ...

'' (1937) as Walter Wiley * '' Wife, Doctor and Nurse'' (1937) as Dr. Therberg * ''

Heidi ''Heidi'' (; ) is a work of children's fiction published between 1880 and 1881 by Swiss author Johanna Spyri, originally published in two parts as ''Heidi: Her Years of Wandering and Learning'' () and ''Heidi: How She Used What She Learned'' ( ...

'' (1937) as Sesemann * '' The Last Gangster'' (1937) as Editor * '' Charlie Chan at Monte Carlo'' (1937) as Victor Karnoff * '' Thank You, Mr. Moto'' (1937) as Herr Eric Koerger * '' In Old Chicago'' (1937) as General Phil Sheridan * '' Speed to Burn'' (1938) as Hastings * '' Straight, Place and Show'' (1938) as 'Lucky' Braddock * '' Down on the Farm'' (1938) as Political Boss (uncredited) * ''

Suez Suez (, , , ) is a Port#Seaport, seaport city with a population of about 800,000 in north-eastern Egypt, located on the north coast of the Gulf of Suez on the Red Sea, near the southern terminus of the Suez Canal. It is the capital and largest c ...

'' (1938) as Marquis Du Brey * ''

Sharpshooters A sharpshooter is one who is highly proficient at firing firearms or other projectile weapons accurately. Military units composed of sharpshooters were important factors in 19th-century combat. Along with "marksman" and "expert", "sharpshooter" i ...

'' (1938) as Baron Orloff * '' Orphans of the Street'' (1938) as Parker * '' While New York Sleeps'' (1938) as Ralph Simmons * ''

Trade Winds The trade winds or easterlies are permanent east-to-west prevailing winds that flow in the Earth's equatorial region. The trade winds blow mainly from the northeast in the Northern Hemisphere and from the southeast in the Southern Hemisphere ...

'' (1938) as Thomas Bruhme II * '' Convict's Code'' (1939) as Gregory Warren * '' Fast and Loose'' (1939) as 'Lucky' Nolan * '' Within the Law'' (1939) as George Demarest * '' It's a Wonderful World'' (1939) as Al Mallon * '' Unmarried'' (1939) as Cash Enright * '' Trapped in the Sky'' (1939) as Mann * ''

Hotel for Women ''Hotel for Women'' (or ''Elsa Maxwell's Hotel for Women'') is a 1939 American drama film directed by Gregory Ratoff and starring Ann Sothern, Linda Darnell, and James Ellison (actor), James Ellison. It was Darnell's screen debut. As work publish ...

'' (1939) as McNeil * ''The Monroe Doctrine'' (1939) as Theodore Roosevelt * '' Law of the Pampas'' (1939) as Ralph Merritt * '' Framed'' (1940) as Tony Bowman * ''

Teddy, the Rough Rider ''Teddy, the Rough Rider'' is a 1940 American short film, short drama film directed by Ray Enright. It won an Academy Awards, Oscar at the 13th Academy Awards for Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film, Best Short Subject (Two-Reel). Ca ...

'' (1940) as Theodore Roosevelt * ''

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

'' (1940) as Spencer Danfield * '' Dance, Girl, Dance'' (1940) as Puss in Boots * '' I Want a Divorce'' (1940) as Erskine Brandon * '' Third Finger, Left Hand'' (1940) as Hughie Wheeler * '' Cheers for Miss Bishop'' (1941) as John Stevens * '' Murder Among Friends'' (1941) as Mr. Wheeler * '' The Great Swindle'' (1941) as Dave Lennox * '' Rookies on Parade'' (1941) as Augustus Moody * '' Love Crazy'' (1941) as George Renny * '' Angels with Broken Wings'' (1941) as Guy Barton * '' Ellery Queen and the Perfect Crime'' (1941) as Anthony Rhodes * '' The Feminine Touch'' (1941) as Freddie Bond * '' The Officer and the Lady'' (1941) as Blake Standish * '' Down Mexico Way'' (1941) as Ellery Gibson * '' Nazi Agent'' (1942) as Arnold Milbar * '' Obliging Young Lady'' (1942) as Henry, George's Attorney * '' Always in My Heart'' (1942) as Philip Ames * '' The Panther's Claw'' (1942) as Police Commissioner Thatcher Colt * '' Gallant Lady'' (1942) as Steve Carey * '' Sabotage Squad'' (1942) as Carlyle Harrison * '' Quiet Please, Murder'' (1942) as Martin Cleaver * '' Murder in Times Square'' (1943) as George Nevins * ''

I Escaped from the Gestapo ''I Escaped from the Gestapo'' is a 1943 film from King Brothers Productions, directed by Harold Young (director), Harold Young about a forger forced to work for Nazi spies. It stars Dean Jagger, Mary Brian and John Carradine. The film was also ...

'' (1943) as Bergen * '' In Old Oklahoma'' (1943) as Teddy Roosevelt * '' Broadway Rhythm'' (1944) as Press Agent (uncredited) * ''

Buffalo Bill William Frederick Cody (February 26, 1846January 10, 1917), better known as Buffalo Bill, was an American soldier, bison hunter, and showman. One of the most famous figures of the American Old West, Cody started his legend at the young age ...

'' (1944) as Theodore Roosevelt (uncredited) * '' The Lady and the Monster'' (1944) as Eugene Fulton * '' Wilson'' (1944) as Josephus Daniels * '' Duel in the Sun'' (1946) as The Lover * '' My Girl Tisa'' (1948) as Theodore Roosevelt * '' A Song Is Born'' (1948) as Adams * '' People Will Talk'' (1951) as Arthur Higgins * '' Saturday's Hero'' (1951) as T. C. McCabe * '' The San Francisco Story'' (1952) as Andrew Cain * '' Washington Story'' (1952) as Philip Emery * '' The High and the Mighty'' (1954) as Humphrey Agnew * '' Johnny Dark'' (1954) as James Fielding * ''

Alfred Hitchcock Presents ''Alfred Hitchcock Presents'' is an American television anthology series created, hosted and produced by Alfred Hitchcock, airing on CBS and NBC, alternately, between 1955 and 1965. It features dramas, thrillers, and mysteries. Between 1962 ...

'' (1955) (Season 1 Episode 4: "Don't Come Back Alive") as Frank Partridge * '' The View from Pompey's Head'' (1955) as Garvin Wales * ''

High Society High society, sometimes simply Society, is the behavior and lifestyle of people with the highest levels of wealth, power, fame and social status. It includes their related affiliations, social events and practices. Upscale social clubs were open ...

'' (1956) as Seth Lord * ''

Beyond a Reasonable Doubt Beyond (a) reasonable doubt is a legal standard of proof required to validate a criminal conviction in most adversarial legal systems. It is a higher standard of proof than the standard of balance of probabilities (US English: preponderance of t ...

'' (1956) as Austin Spencer * ''

Accused of Murder ''Accused of Murder'' is a 1956 American film noir crime film directed by Joseph Kane and starring David Brian, Vera Ralston and Sidney Blackmer. Plot Nightclub singer Ilona Vance is accused of murder because she was the last person to see croo ...

'' (1956) as Frank Hobart * ''

Tammy and the Bachelor ''Tammy and the Bachelor'' is a 1957 American romantic comedy film directed by Joseph Pevney and starring Debbie Reynolds as Tambrey "Tammy" Tyree, Walter Brennan as Grandpa Dinwitty and Leslie Nielsen as Peter Brent. It is the first of the four ...

'' (1957) as Professor Brent * ''

'' (1962) (Season 7 Episode 17: "The Faith of Aaron Menefee") as Reverend Otis Jones * '' How to Murder Your Wife'' (1965) as Judge Blackstone * '' Joy in the Morning'' (1965) as Dean James Darwent * '' A Covenant with Death'' (1967) as Colonel Oates * '' Rosemary's Baby'' (1968) as Roman Castevet * ''Revenge Is My Destiny'' (1971) as Gregory Mann (final film role) Blackmer also appeared in television roles, such as ''Don't Come Back Alive'' episode of the 1955 TV series ''

'' and " The Premature Burial" episode of the 1961 TV series '' Thriller''. Blackmer also guest starred twice in the western TV series ''

Bonanza ''Bonanza'' is an American Western television series that ran on NBC from September 12, 1959, to January 16, 1973. Lasting 14 seasons and 431 episodes, ''Bonanza'' is NBC's longest-running Western, the second-longest-running Western series on ...

'' in the episodes "The Dream Riders" (1961) and "The Late Ben Cartwright" (1968). Among his most notable roles was the character of presidential candidate William Lyons Selby in the '' Outer Limits'' episode " The Hundred Days of the Dragon".

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Blackmer, Sidney 1895 births 1973 deaths American male film actors American military personnel of World War I American male stage actors Male actors from North Carolina People from Salisbury, North Carolina Military personnel from North Carolina 20th-century American male actors Tony Award winners