Sidney Blackmer

Biography

Sidney Blackmer, a versatile stage and screen performer whose career spanned seven decades, carved a niche as the go-to actor for portraying power-hungry elites, from his iconic role as warlock Roman Castevet in Roman Polanski’s *Rosemary’s Baby* (1968) to his uncanny impersonation of Theodore Roosevelt in over a dozen films. Born on July 13, 1895, in Salisbury, North Carolina, he initially aimed for a legal career at the University of North Carolina, but football and local theater pulled him toward a different path. By his teens, he’d relocated to New York, where he dipped his toes into the film industry with uncredited roles in Fort Lee, New Jersey’s burgeoning movie scene—then Hollywood East—before landing a minor part in the 1914 serial *The Perils of Pauline*. Blackmer burst onto Broadway in 1917 with *The Morris Dance*, a stage adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson’s novel, but World War I interrupted his theatrical ascent. After serving as a military officer, he returned to the stage in 1920 and skyrocketed to fame in 1921’s *The Mountain Man*, a comedic triumph that solidified his reputation. The 1920s saw him experimenting with radio broadcasts and pioneering television dramas, yet his true calling remained cinema. With the advent of talkies, Hollywood courted him as a polished speaker, launching his film career in 1929 with *The Love Racket*. His early sound-era roles—such as the menacing Big Boy in *Little Caesar* (1931)—showcased his knack for blending charm with menace. While he returned to Broadway intermittently, including notable turns in *The Social Register* (1931) and *Stop-Over* (1938), Hollywood remained his primary stage. He lent gravitas to films like *The President Vanishes* (1934) and the peculiar *The President’s Mystery* (1936), a best-selling mystery novel “co-written” by Franklin D. Roosevelt. In this satirical thriller, Blackmer embodied a cunning industrialist orchestrating his own disappearance to outwit crooked financiers—a role as convoluted as its plot. 1937 marked a prolific year: he co-starred with Shirley Temple in *Heidi*, portrayed Union General Philip Sheridan in *In Old Chicago*, and supported Warner Oland and Peter Lorre in mystery series. His late-1930s and 1940s filmography brimmed with Roosevelt impersonations, from the Oscar-winning short *Teddy the Rough Rider* (1940) to Westerns like *Buffalo Bill* (1944). Though his Broadway revival in the 1940s and 1950s included a Tony-winning turn as the alcoholic Doc in *Come Back, Little Sheba* (1950), film roles eluded him—despite originating a Tennessee Williams character in *Sweet Bird of Youth* (1962), the part ultimately went to Ed Begley Sr. Blackmer’s later years saw him balancing stage appearances with advocacy, notably as national vice president of the Muscular Dystrophy Association. Honored with a Hollywood Walk of Fame star in 1960 and North Carolina’s top civilian award in 1972, he remained a Southern icon. Married twice—first to actress Lenore Ulric (1928–1939), then to Suzanne Kaaren (1943–death)—he fathered two sons, Jonathan and Brewster. Sidney Blackmer passed away on October 6, 1973, in New York City, and was laid to rest in his hometown of Salisbury, North Carolina.