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Harry Carey

Harry Carey

Birthday: 1878-01-16 | 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."

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Known For

Acting

Year
Title

Role

1948
Red River

as    Mr. Melville

1947
The Sea of Grass

as    Doc J. Reid

1947
Angel and the Badman

as    Marshal Wistful McClintock

1946
Duel in the Sun

as    Lem Smoot

1945
China's Little Devils

as    Doc Temple

1943
Air Force

as    Crew Chief

1943
Happy Land

as    Edward "Gramp" Marsh

1942
The Spoilers

as    Dextry

1941
Parachute Battalion

as    Bill Richards

1941
The Shepherd of the Hills

as    Daniel Howitt

1941
Sundown

as    Dewey

1941
Among the Living

as    Dr. Ben Saunders

1940
Beyond Tomorrow

as    George Vale Melton

1940
They Knew What They Wanted

as    The Doctor

1939
Code of the Streets

as    Detective Lieutenant John Lewis

1939
Burn 'Em Up O'Connor

as    P.G. Delano

1939
My Son is Guilty

as    Police Officer Tim Kerry

1939
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington

as    President of the Senate

1938
Sky Giant

as    Col. Cornelius Stockton

1938
You and Me

as    Mr. Morris

1938
The Law West of Tombstone

as    William 'Bill' Barker

1937
Souls at Sea

as    Captain of the William Brown

1937
Annapolis Salute

as    Chief Martin

1937
Born Reckless

as    Dad Martin

1937
Danger Patrol

as    Sam Street

1937
Kid Galahad

as    Silver Jackson

1937
Racing Lady

as    Tom Martin

1936
Ghost Town

as    Cheyenne Harry Morgan

1936
The Prisoner of Shark Island

as    Commandant

1936
The Accusing Finger

as    Sen. Nash