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.
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Biography
Blackmer was born and raised in Salisbury, North Carolina, 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 serial being filmed and immediately decided to pursue acting as a career. He attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. 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 for Best Actor (Drama) for his role in the Broadway play Come Back, Little Sheba, co-starring with Shirley Booth.
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) in the Academy Award-winning 1968 Roman Polanski film, Rosemary's Baby.
Blackmer also appeared in television roles, such as the "Don't Come Back Alive" episode of the 1955 TV series Alfred Hitchcock Presents and "The Premature Burial" episode of the 1961 TV series Thriller. Blackmer also guest starred twice in the western TV series Bonanza 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".
A humanitarian, Blackmer served as the national vice president of the United States Muscular Dystrophy Association. 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, 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.
Legacy
For his contributions to the film industry, Blackmer has a motion pictures star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1625 Vine Street.
Filmography
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 (1933) as Martin Webster
Goodbye Love (1933) as Chester Hamilton
This Man Is Mine (1934) as Mort Holmes
The Count of Monte Cristo (1934) as Mondego
Down to Their Last Yacht (1934) as Barry Forbes
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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 (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 (1935) as Gilbert Landon
False Pretenses (1935) as Kenneth Alden
The Fire-Trap (1935) as Cedric McIntyre
Forced Landing (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
The Women Men Marry (1937) as Walter Wiley
Wife, Doctor and Nurse (1937) as Dr. Therberg
Heidi (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 (1938) as Marquis Du Brey
Sharpshooters (1938) as Baron Orloff
Orphans of the Street (1938) as Parker
While New York Sleeps (1938) as Ralph Simmons
Trade Winds (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 (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 (1940) as Theodore Roosevelt
Maryland (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 (1943) as Bergen
In Old Oklahoma (1943) as Teddy Roosevelt
Broadway Rhythm (1944) as Press Agent (uncredited)
Buffalo Bill (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 (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 (1956) as Seth Lord
Beyond a Reasonable Doubt (1956) as Austin Spencer
Accused of Murder (1956) as Frank Hobart
Tammy and the Bachelor (1957) as Professor Brent
Alfred Hitchcock Presents (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)
