HARRY CAREY BIOGRAPHY & FILMOGRAPHY:

Henry DeWitt Carey, formally known as Harry Carey, was born on January 16, 1878 in The Bronx, New York. He grew up on City Island and went to the Hamilton Military Academy. Following, he attended New York University to study law, but was forced to quit his education-paying job after a boating accident when he was twenty one caused him to develop a case of pneumonia. While recuperating, he authored a play called “Montana” based on his love of horses and about the Western Frontier. He placed himself as the star, and it became successful, causing him to tour for three years. Carey wrote another play, “Heart of Alaska”, but it didn’t succeed in the way that his first did, so he decided to try and steal a spot in the up-and-coming film industry.

His first gig was the short “Bill Sharkey’s Last Game” (1909), and in 1911 he became a part of the Biograph stock company and began appearing as villains and thugs in numerous works by director D.W. Griffith. He continued to appear in copious quantities of short western features up until 1914. His first full length picture was “Judith of Bethulia” (1914). Many times he would be placed into roles that required his weathered, creased face, which were iconic features for western actors. Carey starred in additional shorts and a few films before signing on with Universal Studios in 1916. This would prove to be a smart career move.

While at Universal, he began a series of two-reel western films starring as the character ‘Cheyenne Harry’, the first of which was “Knight of the Range” (1916). The actor also appeared in a large quantity of other westerns like “Bucking Broadway” (1917), “Hell Bent” (1918), “Bare Fists” (1919), “The Outcasts at Poker Flat” (1919), “Marked Men” (1920), “Desperate Trails” (1921), and the notable early John Ford film “Straight Shooting” (1917). Carey’s representation of his characters in his early silent film career fit the mold of William Hart’s grittiness and realism, for he was neither fancy nor youthful in appearance; he looked like the real western deal.

In 1922, the actor left Universal, and although getting-up-there in age for an actor, continued to turn out great pictures with various companies. Some of his fine work includes “The Night Hawk”, “The Prairie Pirate”, and “The Man From Red Gulch”; all released in 1924 and proved that he still had it in him to be great. One of his best was “Satan Town” in 1926. After his participation in “The Border Patrol” (1928), Carey returned briefly to the stage, but came back to full time motion picture acting in 1931. He successfully integrated himself back into film, playing in flicks like the sound jungle classic “Trader Horn” (1931) and the gangster epic “Bad Company” (1931), as well as westerns such as “The Devil Horse” (1932) and “The Wagon Trail” (1935).

In 1939, Carey portrayed the vice president in “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington”, which won him an Oscar nomination, but no win. However, he did not falter in his commitment to help develop great movies, and persisted in giving great performances in a wide variety of pictures ranging from the film noir “Among the Living” (1941) to the action packed historical drama “Air Force” (1943). In between he also appeared memorably as The Duke’s Dad in the Technicolor piece “The Sheppard of the Hills” (1941) and John Wayne’s partner in “The Spoilers” (1942).

Carey additionally had a son, by the same name, and they got to act in one feature together, the western classic “Red River” (1948). Sadly, this was the only movie they were both involved in. The actor only performed in one more picture after the one with his son, called “So Dear to My Heart” (1948). Before these two films were even released, Carey passed away from emphysema, lung cancer, and coronary thrombosis. His date of death was September 21, 1947, and he was only sixty nine years old. His memory, however, was proven to be strong, for his funeral was comprised of over one thousand attendees.

To further commemorate the great actor, John Ford dedicated his movie “3 Godfathers” (1948) to Carey, which was a remake of the 1919 version starring him. In 1976, he was also inducted into the Western Performers Hall of Fame at the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. In 1991, a Golden Boot was awarded to him for his involvement in the western film genre by the Motion Picture & Television Fund Foundation. Additionally, you can find a star with his name on it on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, which was created for him due to his contributions to the motion picture industry.

Filmography
 
1948     So Dear to My Heart
1948     Red River
1947     The Sea of Grass
1947     Angel and the Badman
1946     Duel in the Sun
1945     China's Little Devils
1944     The Great Moment
1943     Happy Land
1943     Air Force
1942     The Spoilers
1941     Among the Living
1941     Sundown
1941     Parachute Battalion
1941     The Shepherd of the Hills
1940     They Knew What They Wanted
1940     Beyond Christmas
1940     Outside the Three-Mile Limit
1939     My Son Is Guilty
1939     Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
1939     Inside Information
1939     Street of Missing Men
1939     Code of the Streets
1939     Burn 'Em Up O'Connor
1938     The Law West of Tombstone
1938     King of Alcatraz
1938     Gateway
1938     Sky Giant
1938     You and Me
1938     Port of Missing Girls
1937     Danger Patrol
1937     Annapolis Salute
1937     Souls at Sea
1937     Born Reckless
1937     Border Cafe
1937     Kid Galahad
1937     Racing Lady
1936     The Accusing Finger
1936     Valiant Is the Word for Carrie
1936     Aces Wild
1936     The Last Outlaw
1936     Little Miss Nobody
1936     Sutter's Gold
1936     Ghost Town
1936     The Prisoner of Shark Island
1935     Last of the Clintons
1935     Wild Mustang
1935     Barbary Coast
1935     Powdersmoke Range
1935     Rustler's Paradise
1935     Wagon Trail
1933     Man of the Forest
1933     Sunset Pass
1933     The Thundering Herd
1932     The Devil Horse
1932     The Night Rider
1932     The Last of the Mohicans
1932     Border Devils
1932     Law and Order
1932     Without Honor
1931     Cavalier of the West
1931     Bad Company
1931     The Vanishing Legion
1931     Trader Horn
1928     The Border Patrol
1928     Burning Bridges
1928     The Trail of '98
1927     Slide, Kelly, Slide
1927     Johnny Get Your Hair Cut
1927     A Little Journey
1926     Satan Town
1926     The Frontier Trail
1926     The Seventh Bandit
1926     Driftin' Thru
1925     The Man from Red Gulch
1925     The Prairie Pirate
1925     The Bad Lands
1925     The Texas Trail
1925     Silent Sanderson
1925     Beyond the Border
1925     Soft Shoes
1924     The Flaming Forties
1924     Roaring Rails
1924     Tiger Thompson
1924     The Lightning Rider
1924     The Night Hawk
1924     The Man from Texas
1923     The Miracle Baby
1923     Desert Driven
1923     Crashin' Thru
1923     Canyon of the Fools
1922     Good Men and True
1922     The Kickback
1922     Man to Man
1921     The Fox
1921     Desperate Trails
1921     The Wallop
1921     The Freeze-Out
1921     Hearts Up
1920     West Is West
1920     Sundown Slim
1920     Blue Streak McCoy
1920     Human Stuff
1920     Bullet Proof
1920     Overland Red
1920     'If Only' Jim
1919     Marked Men
1919     A Gun Fightin' Gentleman
1919     Rider of the Law
1919     Ace of the Saddle
1919     The Outcasts of Poker Flat
1919     Riders of Vengeance
1919     Bare Fists
1919     A Fight for Love
1919     Roped
1918     Three Mounted Men
1918     A Woman's Fool
1918     Hell Bent
1918     The Scarlet Drop
1918     Thieves' Gold
1918     Wild Women
1918     The Phantom Riders
1917     Bucking Broadway
1917     A Marked Man
1917     The Secret Man
1917     The Texas Sphinx
1917     Straight Shooting
1917     Cheyenne's Pal
1917     The Soul Herder
1917     Six-Shooter Justice
1917     The Wrong Man
1917     The Golden Bullet
1917     The Mysterious Outlaw
1917     The Almost Good Man
1917     A 44-Calibre Mystery
1917     The Honor of an Outlaw
1917     Hair-Trigger Burke
1917     The Fighting Gringo
1917     Goin' Straight
1917     The Drifter
1917     The Outlaw and the Lady
1917     The Bad Man of Cheyenne
1917     Blood Money
1916     Guilty
1916     The Conspiracy
1916     Behind the Lines
1916     The Devil's Own
1916     A Woman's Eyes
1916     Love's Lariat
1916     For the Love of a Girl
1916     The Committee on Credentials
1916     The Jackals of a Great City
1916     The Three Godfathers
1916     The Wedding Guest
1916     The Passing of Hell's Crown
1916     The Night Riders
1916     A Knight of the Range
1916     Secret Love
1915     Graft
1915     Judge Not; or The Woman of Mona Diggings
1915     Just Jim
1915     As It Happened
1915     Old Offenders
1915     Her Convert
1915     The Way Out
1915     Her Dormant Love
1915     Truth Stranger Than Fiction
1915     The Canceled Mortgage
1915     A Day's Adventure
1915     A Double Winning
1915     The Gambler's I.O.U.
1915     The Miser's Legacy
1915     The Sheriff's Dilemma
1915     Perils of the Jungle
1915     The Love Transcendent
1915     His Desperate Deed
1915     The Heart of a Bandit
1914     McVeagh of the South Seas
1914     The Master Cracksman
1914     The Primitive Man
1914     Judith of Bethulia
1914     Her Father's Silent Partner
1914     A Nest Unfeathered
1913     The Abandoned Well
1913     The Battle at Elderbush Gulch
1913     All for Science
1913     The Detective's Stratagem
1913     The Stopped Clock
1913     Madonna of the Storm
1913     The Van Nostrand Tiara
1913     A Tender-Hearted Crook
1913     The Law and His Son
1913     The Stolen Treaty
1913     A Modest Hero
1913     The Strong Man's Burden
1913     Black and White
1913     The Crook and the Girl
1913     Two Men of the Desert
1913     I Was Meant for You
1913     Under the Shadow of the Law
1913     When Love Forgives
1913     The Vengeance of Galora
1913     The Mirror
1913     A Gambler's Honor
1913     The Mistake
1913     The Enemy's Baby
1913     The Sorrowful Shore
1913     A Gamble with Death
1913     In Diplomatic Circles
1913     The Switch Tower
1913     The Well
1913     Red Hicks Defies the World
1913     The Ranchero's Revenge
1913     A Dangerous Foe
1913     Olaf-An Atom
1913     The Stolen Loaf
1913     The Tenderfoot's Money
1913     The Wanderer
1913     If We Only Knew
1913     The Left-Handed Man
1913     A Frightful Blunder
1913     The Stolen Bride
1913     The Hero of Little Italy
1913     The Sheriff's Baby
1913     Near to Earth
1913     The Unwelcome Guest
1913     A Girl's Stratagem
1913     Broken Ways
1913     The Wrong Bottle
1913     Love in an Apartment Hotel
1913     A Chance Deception
1913     Oil and Water
1913     Brothers
1913     A Misappropriated Turkey
1913     An Adventure in the Autumn Woods
1913     Pirate Gold
1913     The Telephone Girl and the Lady
1913     Three Friends
1912     The God Within
1912     A Cry for Help
1912     The Burglar's Dilemma
1912     My Hero
1912     Brutality
1912     The Informer
1912     Gold and Glitter
1912     Heredity
1912     The Musketeers of Pig Alley
1912     The Painted Lady
1912     The One She Loved
1912     In the Aisles of the Wild
1912     A Feud in the Kentucky Hills
1912     So Near, Yet So Far
1912     Friends
1912     Two Daughters of Eve
1912     An Unseen Enemy
1910     Gentleman Joe
1909     Bill Sharkey's Last Game