Sidney Blackmer
Encyclopedia
Sidney Alderman Blackmer (13 July 1895 – 6 October 1973) was an American
actor
.
Blackmer was born and raised in Salisbury, North Carolina
. He started off in an insurance and financial business but gave up on it. While working as a builder's laborer on a new building, he saw a Pearl White
serial being filmed and immediately decided to go into acting. Blackmer went to New York
hoping to act on the stage. While in the city, he took jobs and extra work at various film studios at the then motion picture capital, Fort Lee, New Jersey
, including a bit part in the highly popular serial
, The Perils of Pauline
(1914).
He made his Broadway
debut in 1917, but his career was interrupted by service in the U.S. military in World War I
. After the war, he returned to the theatre and in 1929 returned to motion pictures and went on to be 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
.
In film, Blackmer is remembered for his more than a dozen portrayals of U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt
and for his role in the Academy Award-winning 1968 Roman Polanski
film about urban New York witches, Rosemary's Baby
, in which he played an over-solicitous neighbor.
A humanitarian, Blackmer served as the national vice president of the United States Muscular Dystrophy Association
. 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 passing in 1973, Blackmer was interred in the Chestnut Hill Cemetery in his hometown of Salisbury, North Carolina
.
For his contribution to the motion picture industry, Sidney Blackmer has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
at 1625 Vine Street.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
.
Blackmer was born and raised in Salisbury, North Carolina
Salisbury, North Carolina
Salisbury is a city in Rowan County in North Carolina, a state of the United States of America. The population was 33,663 in the 2010 Census . It is the county seat of Rowan County...
. He started off in an insurance and financial business but gave up on it. While working as a builder's laborer on a new building, he saw a Pearl White
Pearl White
Pearl Fay White was an American film actress, the so-called "Stunt Queen" of silent films, most notably in The Perils of Pauline.-Early life:...
serial being filmed and immediately decided to go into acting. Blackmer went to New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
hoping to act on the stage. While in the city, he took jobs and extra work at various film studios at the then motion picture capital, Fort Lee, New Jersey
Fort Lee, New Jersey
Fort Lee is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 35,345. Located atop the Hudson Palisades, the borough is the western terminus of the George Washington Bridge...
, including a bit part in the highly popular serial
Serial (film)
Serials, more specifically known as Movie serials, Film serials or Chapter plays, were short subjects originally shown in theaters in conjunction with a feature film. They were related to pulp magazine serialized fiction...
, The Perils of Pauline
The Perils of Pauline (1914 serial)
The Perils of Pauline is a motion picture serial shown in weekly installments featuring Pearl White as the title character. Pauline has often been cited as a famous example of a damsel in distress, although some analyses hold that her character was more resourceful and less helpless than the...
(1914).
He made his Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
debut in 1917, but his career was interrupted by service in the U.S. military in World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. After the war, he returned to the theatre and in 1929 returned to motion pictures and went on to be a major character actor in more than 120 films. He won the 1950 Tony Award
Tony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...
for Best Actor (Drama) for his role in the Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
play, Come Back, Little Sheba
Come Back, Little Sheba (play)
Come Back, Little Sheba is a 1950 play by the American dramatist William Inge. The play was Inge's first, written while he was a teacher at Washington University in St...
.
In film, Blackmer is remembered for his more than a dozen portrayals of U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt was the 26th President of the United States . He is noted for his exuberant personality, range of interests and achievements, and his leadership of the Progressive Movement, as well as his "cowboy" persona and robust masculinity...
and for his role in the Academy Award-winning 1968 Roman Polanski
Roman Polanski
Roman Polanski is a French-Polish film director, producer, writer and actor. Having made films in Poland, Britain, France and the USA, he is considered one of the few "truly international filmmakers."...
film about urban New York witches, Rosemary's Baby
Rosemary's Baby (film)
Rosemary's Baby is a 1968 American horror film written and directed by Roman Polanski, based on the bestselling 1967 novel Rosemary's Baby by Ira Levin...
, in which he played an over-solicitous neighbor.
A humanitarian, Blackmer served as the national vice president of the United States Muscular Dystrophy Association
Muscular Dystrophy Association
The Muscular Dystrophy Association is an American organization which combats muscular dystrophy and diseases of the nervous system and muscular system in general by funding research, providing medical and community services, and educating health professionals and the general public...
. In 1972, he was honored with the North Carolina Award
North Carolina Award
The North Carolina Award is the highest civilian award bestowed by the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is awarded in the four fields of science, literature, the fine arts, and public service....
in the Fine Arts category. It is the state of North Carolina's highest civilian award. On his passing in 1973, Blackmer was interred in the Chestnut Hill Cemetery in his hometown of Salisbury, North Carolina
Salisbury, North Carolina
Salisbury is a city in Rowan County in North Carolina, a state of the United States of America. The population was 33,663 in the 2010 Census . It is the county seat of Rowan County...
.
Personal life
Blackmer was married to actress Lenore Ulric from 1928-1939. His second wife was Suzanne Kaaren to whom he was married from 1943 to his death in 1973. He and Kaaren had two sons.For his contribution to the motion picture industry, Sidney Blackmer has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
Hollywood Walk of Fame
The Hollywood Walk of Fame consists of more than 2,400 five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along fifteen blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in Hollywood, California...
at 1625 Vine Street.
Partial filmography
- The Perils of PaulineThe Perils of Pauline (1914 serial)The Perils of Pauline is a motion picture serial shown in weekly installments featuring Pearl White as the title character. Pauline has often been cited as a famous example of a damsel in distress, although some analyses hold that her character was more resourceful and less helpless than the...
(1914) - A Most Immoral Lady (1929)
- The Little ColonelThe Little ColonelThe Little Colonel is a 1935 American comedy drama film directed by David Butler. The screenplay by William M. Conselman was adapted from a novel of the same name by Annie Fellows Johnston, and focuses on the reconciliation of an estranged father and daughter in the years following the American...
(1935) - False PretensesFalse Pretenses (1935 film)False Pretenses is a 1935 comedy film directed by Charles Lamont and starring Irene Ware.-Cast:* Irene Ware - Mary Beekman* Sidney Blackmer - Kenneth Alden * Betty Compson - Clarissa Stanhope* Russell Hopton - Pat Brennan...
(1935) - The President's MysteryThe President's MysteryThe President's Mystery is a 1936 American film directed by Phil Rosen.The film is also known as One for All in the United Kingdom.- Cast :*Henry Wilcoxon as James Blake*Betty Furness as Charlotte Brown*Sidney Blackmer as George Sartos...
(1936) - HeidiHeidi (1937 film)Heidi is a 1937 American dramatic film directed by Allan Dwan. The screenplay by Julien Josephson and Walter Ferris was based on the 1880 children's story of the same name by Swiss author Johanna Spyri. The film is about an orphan named Heidi who is taken from her grandfather to live as a...
(1937) Shirley TempleShirley TempleShirley Temple Black , born Shirley Jane Temple, is an American film and television actress, singer, dancer, autobiographer, and former U.S. Ambassador to Ghana and Czechoslovakia... - In Old ChicagoIn Old ChicagoIn Old Chicago is a 1937 American drama film directed by Henry King. The screenplay by Sonya Levien and Lamar Trotti was based on the Niven Busch story, "We the O'Learys." The film is a fictionalized account about the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 and stars Alice Brady as Mrs. O'Leary, the owner of...
(1937) Alice BradyAlice BradyAlice Brady was an American actress who began her career in the silent film era and survived the transition into talkies. She worked up until six months before her death from cancer in 1939... - The Last GangsterThe Last GangsterThe Last Gangster is a 1937 crime drama film, directed by Edward Ludwig and starring Edward G. Robinson, James Stewart and Rose Stradner.-Plot:...
(1937) - Trade WindsTrade Winds (1938 film)Trade Winds is a 1938 comedy film distributed by United Artist. It was directed by Tay Garnett, and starred Fredric March and Joan Bennett. The screenplay was written by Dorothy Parker, Alan Campbell and Frank R...
(1938) - Fast and LooseFast and Loose (1939 film)Fast and Loose is a 1939 American thriller film directed by Edwin L. Marin and starring Robert Montgomery, Rosalind Russell and Reginald Owen. It was a sequel to the 1938 film Fast Company...
(1939) - Teddy, the Rough RiderTeddy, the Rough RiderTeddy, the Rough Rider is a 1940 short drama film directed by Ray Enright. It won an Academy Award in 1941 for Best Short Subject .-Cast:* Sidney Blackmer - Theodore Roosevelt* Pierre Watkin - Senator Platt...
(1940) - Third Finger, Left HandThird Finger, Left HandThird Finger, Left Hand is a 1940 romantic comedy film. A woman pretends to be married to fend off would-be suitors and jealous wives, then regrets her deception when she meets an artist.-Plot:...
(1940) - Cheers for Miss BishopCheers for Miss BishopCheers for Miss Bishop is a film based on the novel Miss Bishop by Bess Streeter Aldrich. It was directed by Tay Garnett and stars Martha Scott in the title role. The other cast members include William Gargan, Edmund Gwenn, Sterling Holloway, Dorothy Peterson, Marsha Hunt, Don Douglas, and Sidney...
(1941) - Nazi AgentNazi AgentNazi Agent is a 1942 spy film directed by Jules Dassin. It stars Conrad Veidt playing identical twins, one loyal to the United States , the other a dedicated German Nazi....
(1942) - In Old OklahomaIn Old OklahomaIn Old Oklahoma is a 1943 American film starring John Wayne, Martha Scott, Albert Dekker, Gabby Hayes, Marjorie Rambeau, and Dale Evans. The movie was directed by Albert S. Rogell and is usually shown under the title War of the Wildcats...
(1943) - Duel in the Sun (1946)
- People Will TalkPeople Will TalkPeople Will Talk is a romantic comedy/drama directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz and produced by Darryl F. Zanuck from a screenplay by Mankiewicz, based on the German play by Curt Goetz, which had been made into a movie in Germany...
(1951) - The San Francisco Story (1952)
- The High and the MightyThe High and the Mighty (film)The High and the Mighty is a 1954 American "disaster" film directed by William A. Wellman and written by Ernest K. Gann who also wrote the novel on which his screenplay was based. The film's cast was headlined by John Wayne, who was also the project's co-producer...
(1954) - High Society (1956)
- Tammy and the BachelorTammy and the BachelorTammy and the Bachelor is a 1957 romantic comedy film and is the first of the four Tammy films. It stars Debbie Reynolds as Tambrey "Tammy" Tyree, Walter Brennan as Grandpa Dinwitty and Leslie Nielsen as Peter Brent...
(1957) - How to Murder Your WifeHow to Murder Your WifeHow to Murder Your Wife is a 1965 American comedy film starring Jack Lemmon and Virna Lisi. It was directed by Richard Quine, who also directed Lemmon in My Sister Eileen, It Happened to Jane, Operation Mad Ball and Bell, Book and Candle....
(1965) - Rosemary's BabyRosemary's Baby (film)Rosemary's Baby is a 1968 American horror film written and directed by Roman Polanski, based on the bestselling 1967 novel Rosemary's Baby by Ira Levin...
(1968)