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ROSEMARY'S BABY was a 1968 horror movie directed by Roman Polanski and based on the novel by Ira Levin.  The movie is notable for having so many old character actors and actresses.   Mia Farrow was cast in the lead as Rosemary Woodhouse, a newlywed.  The notable John Cassavetes, the cynical and ambitious young actor, plays her husband.   The couple decides to move to a more upscale apartment building (The Dakota in real life) and encounter pleasant but odd elderly neighbors. 

The neighbors, the Castevets, are portrayed by veteran stage and film stars Ruth Gordon and Sidney Blackmer.  The young couple has another older friend in "Hutch," played by Maurice Evans.   Tony Curtis gives an uncredited voice performance.  Ryan O'Neal's mother, Patricia  O'Neal, is one of the guests at the New Years' Party thrown by the Castevets.  George Savalas, the brother of Telly Savalas, is a curious workman drilling a hole, watching the young couple as they enter the building.

Among the others who appear in the movie are no less than six alumni of The Andy Griffith Show.  They were Hope Summers, Walter Baldwin, Jean Inness, Lillian Sessions, Roy Barcroft, and Pearl S. Cooper. 

Double asterisks after the name means there is an exemplar shown within this discussion.

CREDITED CAST:

Mia Farrow  (Rosemary Woodhouse) **

John Cassevettes (Guy Woodhouse) **

Ruth Gordon (Minnie Castevets) **

Sidney Blackmer (Roman Castevets)

Maurice Evans (Hutch) **

Angelia Dorian (Victoria Vetri)

Patsy Kelly (Laura Louise)

Elisha Cook, Jr. (Mr. Nicklas)

Emmaline Henry (Ellse Dunstan)

Marianne Gordon (Rosemary's friend)

Charles Grodin (Dr. Hill)

Hanna Landy (Grace Cardiff the friend of Hutch)

Philip Leeds (Dr. Shand)

D'Urille Martin (Diego, the elevator operator)

Hope Summers (Mrs. Gilmore)

Ralph Bellamy (Dr. Abraham "Abe" Saperstein)

Wendy Wagner (Rosemary's friend.  Closing credits only)

Tags: Baby, Bellamy, Blackmer, Cassavetes, Evans, Farrow, Gordon, John, Maurice, Mia, More…Ralph, Rosemary's, Ruth, Sidney, Vetri, Victoria

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I forgot about that !!!   I remember Dean Stockwell from The Boy With Green Hair when Kukla, Fran and Ollie had their movie show.  He was also in The Werewolf of Washington.

Yep, "The Boy With The Green Hair."   TCM airs it a few times a year.

SIDNEY BLACKMER (1895-1973) was a great veteran actor who portrayed Theodore Roosevelt seven times in films. Among the movies, he appeared in was Charlie Chan in Monte Carlo, Thank You Mr. Moto, The Lady and Monster, Wilson, Buffalo Bill, and How to Murder Your Wife. On television, he appeared in The Outer Limits, Bonanza, Daniel Boone, Gentle Ben, and Alfred Hitchcock Presents. Blackmer played the role of the Roman Castevet with great effect giving him grandfatherly normality. The chemistry between Blackmer and Ruth Gordon was superb. Sadly, when the sequel to the movie Look What's Happened to Rosemary's Baby was filmed in 1976, Blackmer was deceased. His role was filled effectively by Ray Milland.

MAURICE EVANS (1901-1989) was a Shakespearean actor who appeared in scores of movies and television both in England and America.   He never turned acting jobs even though they might not be up to his early-stage standards.  He was the villain  "The Puzzler" in two episodes of Batman.  Horror or Sci-Fi fans will recognize his voice if not his appearance as "Dr. Zaius" in Planet of the Apes and Beneath the Planet of the Apes.  Evans was also in a favorite made-for-television movie of mine, Brotherhood of the Bell , starring Glen Ford.  He played Samantha's father, Maurice, in a dozen episodes of Bewitched.   In Rosemary's Baby he plays the inquisitive "Hutch," the friend of Rosemary.  Below is a 1937, typed letter signed.

TONY CURTIS (1925-2010) was a surprise cameo voice in Rosemary's Baby as Donald Baumgart the actor who was blinded so Guy Woodhouse could get his big break.  Tony Curtis while I would not call him rare is less common that people thing.  The "stacked" Tony/Curtis signed material is secretarial.  So if the Tony is over the Curtis I personally have never seen a legitimate one.  This is a 1954 postcard.

Hi Scott!

I ran across this thread again. I have something new to add. My upgraded Ruth Gordon :-)

Original still, as Minnie, photo by Don Willoughby:

Wow that is a wonderful, signed photograph of her.  Never saw that still before.  The whole movie would have been so different without her.  Do you know who the photo was inscribed to?

Other than "Aunt Mary" No, I don't.

I wondered but I suspect she had someone ask for her autograph for their Aunt who had been an extra in the 1930s.  Ruth Gordon indeed was an extra in 1915 but then it was years before she did another movie.  She did so much stage work.

Agreed. Much more likely! But still a nice inscription. She was great in Harold and Maude as well. And beautiful.

ELISHA COOK, JR.  (1903-1995) a versatile character actor who appeared in some great movies like THE MALTESE FALCON, ROSEMARY'S BABY and THE HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL.  He was often cast as a shady character early on in his career.  He found steady work in both movies and television.  He appeared a classic Star Trek episode "The Court Martial" playing Captain Kirk's folksy lawyer.   Other television included Batman, The Odd Couple, The Wild, Wild West, Death Valley Days, Wagon Train, Thriller and among his last work was on 13 episodes of Magnum, P. I.   This is an 8x10 black and white photograph I got from Jared Gendron (JGAutographs) it has a JSA stamp on the reverse.  Somewhat amusingly on the reverse he wrote "Lost by a former secretary."

D'URVILLE MARTIN(1939-1984) best known for his appearances in several 1970s blaxploitation features  He appeared earlier Black Like Me (1964), Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967) and Rosemary's Baby (1968).  In the latter he played Diego, the elevator operator.  His autograph is scarce.  This is a John Verzi in-person example.

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