Harry Carey
Born
January 16, 1878
Died
September 21, 1947 (69 years old)
Known For
Acting
Place of Birth
The Bronx, New York City, New York, USA
Henry DeWitt Carey II (January 16, 1878 - September 21, 1947) was an American actor and one of silent film's earliest superstars, usually cast as a Western hero. One of his best known performances is as the president of the United States Senate in the drama film Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939), for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.
He was the father of Harry Carey Jr., who was also a prominent actor. Born in New York City to a Judge of Special Sessions who was also president of a sewing machine company. Grew up on City Island, New York. Attended Hamilton Military Academy and turned down an appointment to West Point to attend New York University, where his law school classmates included future New York City mayor James J. Walker. After a boating accident which led to pneumonia, Carey wrote a play while recuperating and toured the country in it for three years, earning a great deal of money, all of which evaporated after his next play was a failure.
In 1911, his friend Henry B. Walthall introduced him to director D.W. Griffith, for whom Carey was to make many films. Carey married twice, the second time to actress Olive Fuller Golden (aka Olive Carey, who introduced him to future director John Ford. Carey influenced Universal Studios head Carl Laemmle to use Ford as a director, and a partnership was born that lasted until a rift in the friendship in 1921. During this time, Carey grew into one of the most popular Western stars of the early motion picture, occasionally writing and directing films as well. In the '30s he moved slowly into character roles and was nominated for an Oscar for one of them, the President of the Senate in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939). He worked once more with Ford, in The Prisoner of Shark Island (1936), and appeared once with his son, Harry Carey Jr., in Howard Hawks' Red River (1948). He died after a protracted bout with emphysema and cancer. Ford dedicated his remake of 3 Godfathers (1948) "To Harry Carey--Bright Star Of The Early Western Sky."
Known For
Golden Saddles, Silver Spurs
(archive footage)
2000
Legends of the West
Ed Brandt in 'Law and Order'
1992
Hollywood: The Dream Factory
Self (archive footage)
1972
Directed by John Ford
(archive footage)
1971
Film Fun
(archive footage)
1955
So Dear to My Heart
Head Judge at County Fair
1948
Red River
Mr. Melville
1948
The Sea of Grass
Doc J. Reid
1947
Angel and the Badman
Marshal Wistful McClintock
1947
Duel in the Sun
Lem Smoot
1946
China's Little Devils
Doc Temple
1945
The Great Moment
Professor John C. Warren
1944
Happy Land
Edward "Gramp" Marsh
1943
Air Force
Crew Chief
1943
The Spoilers
Dextry
1942
Among the Living
Dr. Ben Saunders
1941
Sundown
Dewey
1941
Parachute Battalion
Bill Richards
1941
The Shepherd of the Hills
Daniel Howitt
1941
They Knew What They Wanted
The Doctor
1940
Beyond Tomorrow
George Vale Melton
1940
Outside the Three-Mile Limit
Captain Bailey
1940
My Son Is Guilty
Police Officer Tim Kerry
1939
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
President of the Senate
1939
Land of Liberty
(archive footage)
1939
Inside Information
Captain Bill Dugan
1939
Street of Missing Men
Charles Putnam
1939
Code of the Streets
Detective Lieutenant John Lewis
1939
Burn 'Em Up O'Connor
P.G. Delano
1939
The Law West of Tombstone
William 'Bill' Barker
1938
King of Alcatraz
Captain Glennan
1938
Gateway
Commissioner Nelson
1938
Sky Giant
Col. Cornelius Stockton
1938
You and Me
Mr. Morris
1938
Port of Missing Girls
Captain Josiah Storm
1938
Danger Patrol
Sam "Easy" Street
1937
Annapolis Salute
Chief Martin
1937
Souls at Sea
Captain of the William Brown
1937
Born Reckless
Dad Martin
1937
Border Cafe
Tex Stevens
1937
Kid Galahad
Silver Jackson
1937
Lest We Forget
Himself
1937
Racing Lady
Tom Martin
1937
Aces Wild
Cheyenne Harry Morgan
1936
The Accusing Finger
Sen. Nash
1936
Valiant Is the Word for Carrie
Phil Yonne
1936
The Last Outlaw
Dean Payton
1936
Little Miss Nobody
John Russell
1936
Sutter's Gold
Kit Carson
1936
The Prisoner of Shark Island
Commandant
1936
Ghost Town
Cheyenne Harry Morgan
1936
The Last of the Clintons
Trigger Carson
1935
Wild Mustang
Joe 'Wild Mustang' Norton
1935
Barbary Coast
Jed Slocum
1935
Powdersmoke Range
Tucson Smith
1935
Rustler's Paradise
Cheyenne Kincaid
1935
Wagon Trail
Sheriff Clay Hartley
1935
Man of the Forest
Jim Gayner
1933
Sunset Pass
John Hesbitt
1933
Buffalo Stampede
Clark Sprague
1933
The Film Parade
(archive footage) (uncredited)
1933
The Devil Horse
Bob Norton / Roberts
1932
The Night Rider
John Brown / Jim Blake
1932
The Last of the Mohicans
Hawkeye
1932
Border Devils
Jim Gray
1932
Law and Order
Ed Brandt
1932
Without Honor
Pete Marlan
1932
Cavalier of the West
Captain John Allister
1931
Bad Company
McBaine
1931
The Vanishing Legion
'Happy' Cardigan
1931
Trader Horn
Aloysius "Trader" Horn
1931
The Border Patrol
Bill Storm
1928
Burning Bridges
Jim Whitely / Bob Whitely
1928
The Trail of '98
Jack Locasto
1928
Slide, Kelly, Slide
Tom Munson
1927
A Little Journey
Alexander Smith
1927
Satan Town
Bill Scott
1926
The Frontier Trail
Jim Cardigan
1926
The Seventh Bandit
David Scanlon
1926
Driftin' Thru
Daniel Brown
1926
The Man from Red Gulch
Alexander 'Sandy' Morton
1925
The Prairie Pirate
Brian 'The Yellow Seal' Delaney
1925
The Bad Lands
Patrick Angus O'Toole
1925
The Texas Trail
Pete Grainger
1925
Beyond the Border
Bob Smith
1925
Silent Sanderson
Joel Parsons / Silent Sanderson
1925
Soft Shoes
Pat Halahan
1925
The Flaming Forties
Bill Jones
1924
Roaring Rails
Big Bill Benson
1924
Tiger Thompson
Tiger Thompson
1924
The Lightning Rider
Phlip Morgan
1924
The Night Hawk
'The Hawk'
1924
The Miracle Baby
Neil Allison
1923
Desert Driven
Bob
1923
Crashin' Thru
Blake
1923
Canyon of the Fools
Bob
1923
Good Men and True
J. Wesley Pringle
1922
The Kickback
White Horse Harry
1922
Man to Man
Steve Packard
1922
The Fox
Ol' Santa Fe
1921
Desperate Trails
Bart Carson
1921
The Wallop
John Wesley Pringle
1921
The Freeze-Out
Ohio, the Stranger
1921
Hearts Up
David Brent
1921
West Is West
Dick Rainboldt
1920
Sundown Slim
Sundown Slim
1920
Blue Streak McCoy
Job McCoy
1920
'If Only' Jim
Jim Golden
1920
Human Stuff
James 'Jim' Pierce
1920
Bullet Proof
Pierre Winton
1920
Overland Red
Overland Red
1920
Marked Men
Cheyenne Harry
1919
A Gun Fightin' Gentleman
Cheyenne Harry
1919
Rider of the Law
Jim Kyneton
1919
The Ace of the Saddle
Cheyenne Harry Henderson
1919
The Outcasts of Poker Flat
Square Shootin' Harry Lanyon / John Oakhurst
1919
Riders of Vengeance
Cheyenne Harry
1919
Bare Fists
Cheyenne Harry
1919
A Fight For Love
Cheyenne Harry
1919
Roped
Cheyenne Harry
1919
Three Mounted Men
Cheyenne Harry
1918
A Woman's Fool
Lin McLean
1918
Hell Bent
Cheyenne Harry
1918
The Scarlet Drop
Harry Ridge
1918
Thieves' Gold
Cheyenne Harry
1918
Wild Women
Cheyenne Harry
1918
The Phantom Riders
Cheyenne Harry
1918
Bucking Broadway
Cheyenne Harry
1917
A Marked Man
Cheyenne Harry
1917
The Secret Man
Cheyenne Harry
1917
Straight Shooting
"Cheyenne" Harry
1917
Cheyenne's Pal
Cheyenne Harry
1917
The Soul Herder
Cheyenne Harry
1917
Six-Shooter Justice
Cheyenne Harry
1917
The Wrong Man
Jack Wilson
1917
The Golden Bullet
Jack
1917
The Mysterious Outlaw
Buck Lessen
1917
The Almost Good Man
Dick Glenning
1917
A 44-Calibre Mystery
Sheriff Cheyenne Harry
1917
The Honor of an Outlaw
Cheyenne Harry
1917
Hair-Trigger Burke
Hair Trigger Burke
1917
The Fighting Gringo
William 'Red' Saunders
1917
Goin' Straight
Cheyenne Harry
1917
The Drifter
Cheyenne Harry
1917
The Outlaw and the Lady
Cheyenne Harry
1917
The Bad Man of Cheyenne
Cheyenne Harry
1917
Blood Money
Cheyenne Harry
1917
Guilty
Ramon Valentine
1916
The Conspiracy
Dick Olney
1916
Behind the Lines
Dr. Ralph Hamlin
1916
The Devil's Own
Shifty
1916
A Woman's Eyes
Tom Horn
1916
Love's Lariat
Sky High
1916
For the Love of a Girl
Black La Rue
1916
The Committee on Credentials
Ballaret Bill
1916
The Jackals of a Great City
Tom Wayne
1916
The Three Godfathers
Bob Sangster
1916
The Wedding Guest
The Squarest Sheriff Alive
1916
The Passing of Hell's Crown
Blaze
1916
The Harbor Transportation Trust
Tom Larnigan
1916
A Knight of the Range
Cheyenne Harry
1916
The Insurance Swindlers
Tom Larnigan
1916
Secret Love
Fergus Derrick
1916
Old King Coal
Tom Larnigan
1916
America Saved from War
Tom Larnigan
1916
The Railroad Monopoly
Tom Larnigan
1916
Grinding Life Down
Tom Larnigan
1916
The Power of the People
Tom Larnigan
1916
Graft
Tom Larnigan (Episodes 4-12)
1915
Judge Not; or The Woman of Mona Diggings
Miles Rand
1915
Just Jim
Jim
1915
As It Happened
The New Foreman
1915
Old Offenders
Norris
1915
Her Convert
The Converted Cracksman
1915
The Way Out
The Bandit
1915
Her Dormant Love
Dandy Dick - The Fugitive
1915
Truth Stranger Than Fiction
Crook
1915
The Canceled Mortgage
1st Road Agent
1915
A Day's Adventure
Hogan - Leader of the Crooks
1915
A Double Winning
2nd Sportsman
1915
The Gambler's I.O.U.
Dave Dawson
1915
The Miser's Legacy
Jackson - The Crook
1915
The Sheriff's Dilemma
The Sheriff
1915
The Love Transcendent
The Prospector
1915
His Desperate Deed
Burleigh
1915
The Heart of a Bandit
Texas Pete - the Bandit
1915
McVeagh of the South Seas
Cyril Bruce McVeagh
1914
The Master Cracksman
Gentleman Joe, the Cracksman
1914
Brute Force
In Womanless Tribe (The Old Days) (uncredited)
1914
Her Hand
Ivan
1914
Judith of Bethulia
Assyrian Traitor
1914
Her Father's Silent Partner
1914
A Nest Unfeathered
The Foreman
1914
His Fireman's Conscience
Engineer Daily
1914
Waifs
1914
Concentration
First Son
1914
The Abandoned Well
The Adopted Son
1913
For Her Government
1913
All for Science
The Young Man
1913
The Detective's Stratagem
Keene, the Detective
1913
The Stopped Clock
The Detective
1913
Madonna of the Storm
1913
The Van Nostrand Tiara
Society Detective
1913
A Tender-Hearted Crook
The Thief
1913
The Law and His Son
Manning
1913
The Stolen Treaty
The Detective
1913
A Modest Hero
1913
The Strong Man's Burden
Bob - the Younger Brother
1913
Black and White
1913
The Crook and the Girl
The Crook
1913
The Work Habit
The Son-in-Law
1913
Under the Shadow of the Law
The Convict
1913
When Love Forgives
Second Criminal
1913
I Was Meant for You
Luke
1913
The Vengeance of Galora
A Prospector
1913
A Misappropriated Turkey
The Bartender
1913
The Mirror
First Tramp
1913
A Gambler's Honor
The Gambler
1913
A Gamble with Death
The Cowpuncher
1913
In Diplomatic Circles
The Butler
1913
The Switchtower
1913
The Well
Giuseppe, the Farmhand
1913
The Enemy's Baby
Miller
1913
Red Hicks Defies the World
In Crowd (uncredited)
1913
The Sorrowful Shore
The Widowed Father
1913
The Ranchero's Revenge
The Schemer
1913
A Dangerous Foe
The 'Bull'
1913
Olaf—An Atom
Olaf, an Atom
1913
The Stolen Loaf
The Butler
1913
The Tenderfoot's Money
The Gambler
1913
If We Only Knew
The Sailor
1913
The Left-Handed Man
The Left-Handed Thief
1913
A Frightful Blunder
The Superintendent
1913
The Stolen Bride
The Husband
1913
The Hero of Little Italy
Tony
1913
The Sheriff's Baby
Second Bandit
1913
Near To Earth
1913
The Unwelcome Guest
The Sheriff
1913
Broken Ways
The Sheriff
1913
The Wrong Bottle
1913
Love in an Apartment Hotel
The Thief
1913
A Chance Deception
Raffles
1913
Oil and Water
The Stage Manager / At Dinner
1913
Brothers
The Mother's Favorite Son
1913
An Adventure in the Autumn Woods
Third Thief
1913
Pirate Gold
1913
The Telephone Girl and the Lady
The Thief
1913
A Cry for Help
The Thief
1912
The Burglar’s Dilemma
Older Crook
1912
My Hero
Indian
1912
Brutality
At Theatre
1912
The Informer
The Confederate Corporal
1912
Heredity
The White Renegade Father
1912
The Musketeers of Pig Alley
Snapper's Sidekick
1912
The Painted Lady
At Ice Cream Festival
1912
The One She Loved
The Neighbor's Friend
1912
In the Aisles of the Wild
Bob Cole
1912
A Feud in the Kentucky Hills
2nd Clan Member
1912
So Near, Yet So Far
A Thief
1912
Friends
Bob Kyne - the Prospector
1912
Two Daughters of Eve
In Audience
1912
An Unseen Enemy
The Safecracker
1912
Bill Sharkey's Last Game
1910
Gentleman Joe
1910