Sidney Blackmer

Sidney Alderman Blackmer (July 13, 1895 – October 6, 1973) was an American actor born and raised in Salisbury, North Carolina, the son of Clara Deroulhac (née Alderman) and Walter Steele Blackmer. Before pursuing a career in performance, Blackmer worked in insurance and financial counseling, later taking work as a construction laborer. It was during that period, while observing a Pearl White serial being filmed on location, that he resolved to become an actor. He had attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and his professional career ultimately spanned from 1914 to 1971 across stage, film, and television.

Blackmer made his film debut in the popular serial The Perils of Pauline in 1914. After a period away from the screen, he returned to motion pictures in 1929 and went on to accumulate more than 120 film appearances, frequently in major supporting roles. Among his recurring screen assignments was the role of President Theodore Roosevelt, which he portrayed in multiple productions. His most widely recognized film role came late in his career, when he played Roman Castevet, a conniving Manhattan warlock concealed among the solicitous elderly neighbors of the pregnant title character played by Mia Farrow, in Roman Polanski's Academy Award-winning 1968 film Rosemary's Baby. His final film appearance came in 1971 in Revenge Is My Destiny, in which he played Gregory Mann.

On Broadway, Blackmer performed across more than four decades, with credits spanning from 1917 to 1963. His stage work included Not So Long Ago, Pretty Little Parlor, Portrait in Black, and Sweet Bird of Youth, among other productions. His most celebrated Broadway achievement came with Come Back, Little Sheba, in which he co-starred with Shirley Booth. That performance earned him the 1950 Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play.

Blackmer also maintained a presence in television, appearing in the Alfred Hitchcock Presents episode "Don't Come Back Alive" in 1955 and "The Premature Burial" episode of the 1961 series Thriller. He guest starred twice on the western series Bonanza, in the 1961 episode "The Dream Riders" and the 1968 episode "The Late Ben Cartwright." He also portrayed presidential candidate William Lyons Selby in the Outer Limits episode "The Hundred Days of the Dragon."

Beyond his performing career, Blackmer served as national vice president of the United States Muscular Dystrophy Association and was among the founders of the North Carolina School of the Arts. In 1972, the state of North Carolina honored him with the North Carolina Award in the Fine Arts category, the state's highest civilian honor. He died on October 6, 1973, and was interred at Chestnut Hill Cemetery in his hometown of Salisbury. For his contributions to film, Blackmer holds a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1625 Vine Street.