He has the sort of worn and rugged face that we not only associate with westerns but also called a "lived in face".
Harry Carey made his name in westerns, working for most of his silent career with a young director who had yet to make a name for himself, John Ford.
He was born on Jan. 16th (imagine that), 1878,
In 1911, his pal Henry Walthall introduced him to DW Griffith, most memorably in the Musketeers of Pig Alley. He made a number of films with Griffith and followed Griffith westward to Hollywood. His creased and weather beaten face was perfect for westerns.
He became a star in a series of "Cheyenne Harry" two-reel westerns. His co-stars were often a young woman named Olive Golden and Hoot Gibson. The producer/director was Francis Ford. When Harry started his own unit, he took Olive Golden and Francis' younger brother, Jack (John) to be director.
The first film Carey and John Ford made together was Straight Shooting in 1917. He married Olive (after divorcing his first wife, Fern) in 1920.
Harry and Olive started a ranch in Saugus, California in the San Francisquito Canyon. Today, that community is almost an hour trip by freeway to Hollywood. Back then, the trip was an all day affair and you stayed until the movie was over.
In 1921, Harry and Olive had a son, Harry Carey, Jr whom Harry soon nicknamed 'Dobey" due to his red hair.
Unlike Tom Mix and William Hart, Harry Carey's westerns were more true to life than the flashy well dressed western hero favored by the latter two. Universal decided to go with the flashy western heros and a rift between Carey and Ford brought their collaboration to an end.
Without a studio behind him, Carey drifted. His age was also a factor. In 1926, he made Satan's Town a reworking of Hell's Hinges. As the sound era dawned, he found it harder and harder to find good scripts. To make ends meet, he and Olive joined the vaudeville circuit.
While traveling, their ranch was destroyed in the terrible San Francisquito Canyon dam destruction. The dam broke and the wall of water flooded everything in its path. Bodies washed up on the beach in Ventura and pieces of buildings were found as far south as San Diego.
Carey found his second niche as a character actor in talkies. With his craggy good looks, he found a lot of work as a character actor. In 1931, he made Trader Horn for MGM. He was the second lead but quickly the home office realized he had more charisma than the lead, Duncan Reynaldo.
The success of the picture allowed him to rebuild his ranch. The ranch burned down shortly after that and again the Carey's rebuilt.
Trader Horn revitalized his career. In 1936, he and Ford put past differences behind them and Carey had a role in *The Prisoner of Shark Island*. In 1938, he starred in the Law West of Tombstone with a young Tim Holt.
In 1939, he received an Academy Award nomination for his supporting work as the Vice President who supports Jimmy Stewart in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.
There is evidence that Hitchcock wanted him for the Nazi ringleader in Saboteur but Olive pointed out to him that the role was not a believable one for him to play.
In 1941, he played John Wayne's dad in The Shepard of the Hills. The two bonded during the filming with Wayne saying for years afterwards that Carey and Yak Canutt were the two cowboys he had learned the most from. Wayne became part of the extended Carey family. He and Harry were also in The Spoilers and The Angel and the Badman.
He also appeared in Howard Hawks' Air Force in 1943.
Carey developed lung cancer and emphysema. He continued working, appearing in Red River, though he had no scenes with his son, Dobey, Duel in the Sun and Sea of Grass as well as Disney's So Dear to My Heart and The Babe Ruth Story.
Carey died on Sept. 21, 1947 at home in Brentwood.
John Ford dedicated his film Three Godfathers which featured Dobey Carey as one of the stars to Harry. Ford eulogized Harry as the "Bright star in the early western sky."
Carey has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In 1976, he was inducted to the Western Hall of Fame at the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City. He was also given, posthumously, a Golden Boot by the Motion Picture and Television Fund Foundation.
Today, the Carey Ranch is part of a historic park in Santa Clarita, California.
I adore him as western star, as a character actor and regardless of the genre, if he is in the cast, I am watching it.
