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's 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."
Movie | Hollywood: The Dream Factory | Self (archive footage) | 1972-01-10 |
Movie | Directed by John Ford | (archive footage) | 1971-09-06 |
Movie | Film Fun | (archive footage) | 1955-08-19 |
Series | The Oscars | Unknown | 1953-03-19 |
Movie | Red River | Mr. Melville | 1948-08-26 |
Movie | So Dear to My Heart | Head Judge at County Fair | 1948-11-29 |
Movie | Angel and the Badman | Marshal Wistful McClintock | 1947-02-15 |
Movie | The Sea of Grass | Doc J. Reid | 1947-04-25 |
Movie | Bacall to Arms | Rochester Soundalike (voice) | 1946-08-03 |
Movie | Duel in the Sun | Lem Smoot | 1946-12-31 |
Movie | China's Little Devils | Doc Temple | 1945-05-27 |
Movie | The Great Moment | Professor John C. Warren | 1944-07-18 |
Movie | Happy Land | Edward "Gramp" Marsh | 1943-11-10 |
Movie | Air Force | Crew Chief | 1943-03-20 |
Movie | The Spoilers | Dextry | 1942-06-11 |
Movie | The Shepherd of the Hills | Daniel Howitt | 1941-07-18 |
Movie | Parachute Battalion | Bill Richards | 1941-09-12 |
Movie | Among the Living | Dr. Ben Saunders | 1941-12-12 |
Movie | Sundown | Dewey | 1941-10-31 |
Movie | Beyond Tomorrow | George Vale Melton | 1940-05-10 |
Movie | They Knew What They Wanted | The Doctor | 1940-10-19 |
Movie | Code of the Streets | Detective Lieutenant John Lewis | 1939-04-13 |
Movie | Street of Missing Men | Charles Putnam | 1939-04-24 |
Movie | Burn 'Em Up O'Connor | P.G. Delano | 1939-01-13 |
Movie | My Son is Guilty | Police Officer Tim Kerry | 1939-12-28 |
Movie | Land of Liberty | (archive footage) | 1939-06-15 |
Movie | Mr. Smith Goes to Washington | President of the Senate | 1939-10-19 |
Movie | Port of Missing Girls | Captain Josiah Storm | 1938-02-24 |
Movie | You and Me | Mr. Morris | 1938-06-01 |
Movie | Sky Giant | Col. Cornelius Stockton | 1938-07-22 |
Movie | The Law West of Tombstone | William 'Bill' Barker | 1938-11-18 |
Movie | King of Alcatraz | Captain Glennan | 1938-09-30 |
Movie | Gateway | Commissioner Nelson | 1938-08-05 |
Movie | Kid Galahad | Silver Jackson | 1937-05-29 |
Movie | Racing Lady | Tom Martin | 1937-01-12 |
Movie | Border Cafe | Tex Stevens | 1937-06-04 |
Movie | Annapolis Salute | Chief Martin | 1937-09-10 |
Movie | Born Reckless | Dad Martin | 1937-06-25 |
Movie | Danger Patrol | Sam Street | 1937-11-18 |
Movie | Souls at Sea | Captain of the William Brown | 1937-09-03 |
Movie | Sutter's Gold | Kit Carson | 1936-03-01 |
Movie | The Prisoner of Shark Island | Commandant | 1936-02-28 |
Movie | Little Miss Nobody | John Russell | 1936-06-05 |
Movie | Ghost Town | Cheyenne Harry Morgan | 1936-02-15 |
Movie | The Last Outlaw | Dean Payton | 1936-06-19 |
Movie | Aces Wild | Cheyenne Harry Morgan | 1936-12-21 |
Movie | The Accusing Finger | Sen. Nash | 1936-11-17 |
Movie | Valiant Is the Word for Carrie | Phil Yonne | 1936-10-06 |
Movie | Wagon Trail | Sheriff Clay Hartley | 1935-04-08 |
Movie | Powdersmoke Range | Tucson Smith | 1935-09-27 |
Movie | Wild Mustang | Joe 'Wild Mustang' Norton | 1935-10-21 |
Movie | The Last of the Clintons | Trigger Carson | 1935-11-12 |
Movie | Barbary Coast | Jed Slocum | 1935-10-13 |
Movie | The Film Parade | (archive footage) (uncredited) | 1933-01-01 |
Movie | The Thundering Herd | Clark Sprague | 1933-03-01 |
Movie | Sunset Pass | John Hesbitt | 1933-05-26 |
Movie | Man of the Forest | Jim Gayner | 1933-08-24 |
Movie | Law and Order | Ed Brandt | 1932-02-09 |
Movie | Without Honors | Pete Marlan | 1932-01-02 |
Movie | Border Devils | Jim Gray | 1932-04-03 |
Movie | The Last of the Mohicans | Hawkeye | 1932-05-17 |
Movie | The Devil Horse | Bob Norton / Roberts | 1932-11-01 |
Movie | The Night Rider | John Brown / Jim Blake | 1932-08-22 |
Movie | Trader Horn | Aloysius "Trader" Horn | 1931-02-03 |
Movie | The Vanishing Legion | 'Happy' Cardigan | 1931-06-01 |
Movie | Cavalier of the West | Captain John Allister | 1931-11-15 |
Movie | Bad Company | McBaine | 1931-10-16 |
Movie | The Trail of '98 | Jack Locasto | 1928-03-20 |
Movie | Burning Bridges | Jim Whitely / Bob Whitely | 1928-09-30 |
Movie | A Little Journey | Alexander Smith | 1927-01-01 |
Movie | Slide, Kelly, Slide | Tom Munson | 1927-03-12 |
Movie | Soft Shoes | Pat Halahan | 1925-01-01 |
Movie | Beyond the Border | Bob Smith | 1925-05-30 |
Movie | The Prairie Pirate | Brian 'The Yellow Seal' Delaney | 1925-10-10 |
Movie | The Texas Trail | Pete Grainger | 1925-06-01 |
Movie | The Night Hawk | 'The Hawk' | 1924-02-17 |
Movie | The Lightning Rider | Phlip Morgan | 1924-05-18 |
Movie | The Flaming Forties | Bill Jones | 1924-12-21 |
Movie | Roaring Rails | Big Bill Benson | 1924-09-20 |
Movie | Canyon of the Fools | Bob | 1923-01-21 |
Movie | The Kickback | White Horse Harry | 1922-06-30 |
Movie | Good Men and True | J. Wesley Pringle | 1922-11-05 |
Movie | Hearts Up | David Brent | 1921-01-02 |
Movie | The Fox | Ol' Santa Fe | 1921-07-24 |
Movie | The Wallop | John Wesley Pringle | 1921-05-09 |
Movie | Bullet Proof | Pierre Winton | 1920-05-03 |
Movie | 'If Only' Jim | Jim Golden | 1920-07-01 |
Movie | West Is West | Dick Rainboldt | 1920-11-21 |
Movie | Sundown Slim | Sundown Slim | 1920-10-31 |
Movie | Blue Streak McCoy | Job McCoy | 1920-08-23 |
Movie | Bare Fists | Cheyenne Harry | 1919-05-05 |
Movie | A Fight For Love | Cheyenne Harry | 1919-03-24 |
Movie | Riders of Vengeance | Cheyenne Harry | 1919-06-09 |
Movie | The Outcasts of Poker Flat | Square Shootin' Harry Lanyon / John Oakhurst | 1919-06-29 |
Movie | Marked Men | Cheyenne Harry | 1919-12-21 |
Movie | Rider of the Law | Jim Kyneton | 1919-11-03 |
Movie | A Gun Fightin' Gentleman | Cheyenne Harry | 1919-11-29 |
Movie | The Ace of the Saddle | Cheyenne Harry Henderson | 1919-08-18 |
Movie | Wild Women | Cheyenne Harry | 1918-02-25 |
Movie | The Phantom Riders | Cheyenne Harry | 1918-01-28 |
Movie | Thieves' Gold | Cheyenne Harry | 1918-03-18 |
Movie | The Scarlet Drop | Harry Ridge | 1918-04-22 |
Movie | A Woman's Fool | Lin McLean | 1918-08-17 |
Movie | Three Mounted Men | Cheyenne Harry | 1918-10-06 |
Movie | Hell Bent | Cheyenne Harry | 1918-07-05 |
Movie | The Soul Herder | Cheyenne Harry | 1917-08-07 |
Movie | The Honor of an Outlaw | Cheyenne Harry | 1917-05-15 |
Movie | The Fighting Gringo | William 'Red' Saunders | 1917-03-26 |
Movie | Cheyenne's Pal | Cheyenne Harry | 1917-08-13 |
Movie | Straight Shooting | Cheyenne Harry | 1917-08-27 |
Movie | Bucking Broadway | Cheyenne Harry | 1917-12-24 |
Movie | A Marked Man | Cheyenne Harry | 1917-10-29 |
Movie | The Secret Man | Cheyenne Harry | 1917-09-30 |
Movie | The Three Godfathers | Bob Sangster | 1916-06-18 |
Movie | Secret Love | Fergus Derrick | 1916-01-31 |
Movie | The Committee on Credentials | Ballaret Bill | 1916-07-08 |
Movie | Love's Lariat | Sky High | 1916-08-07 |
Movie | The Conspiracy | Dick Olney | 1916-10-21 |
Movie | Guilty | Ramon Valentine | 1916-11-17 |
Movie | Judge Not; or The Woman of Mona Diggings | Miles Rand | 1915-09-27 |
Movie | The Love Transcendent | The Prospector | 1915-03-25 |
Movie | The Miser's Legacy | Jackson - The Crook | 1915-04-09 |
Movie | Judith of Bethulia | Assyrian Traitor | 1914-03-08 |
Movie | Brute Force | In Womanless Tribe (The Old Days) (uncredited) | 1914-04-24 |
Movie | Her Father's Silent Partner | 1914-02-23 | |
Movie | The Master Cracksman | Gentleman Joe, the Cracksman | 1914-06-10 |
Movie | McVeagh of the South Seas | Cyril Bruce McVeagh | 1914-11-02 |
Movie | The Sheriff's Baby | Second Bandit | 1913-03-29 |
Movie | Near To Earth | 1913-03-20 | |
Movie | The Unwelcome Guest | The Sheriff | 1913-03-15 |
Movie | The Stolen Bride | The Husband | 1913-04-07 |
Movie | A Frightful Blunder | The Superintendent | 1913-04-17 |
Movie | The Wrong Bottle | 1913-03-06 | |
Movie | The Ranchero's Revenge | The Schemer | 1913-06-02 |
Movie | Olaf—An Atom | Olaf, an Atom | 1913-05-19 |
Movie | An Adventure in the Autumn Woods | Third Thief | 1913-01-16 |
Movie | Pirate Gold | 1913-01-13 | |
Movie | The Telephone Girl and the Lady | The Thief | 1913-01-06 |
Movie | Red Hicks Defies the World | In Crowd (uncredited) | 1913-06-09 |
Movie | Brothers | The Mother's Favorite Son | 1913-02-03 |
Movie | A Chance Deception | Raffles | 1913-02-24 |
Movie | Oil and Water | The Stage Manager / At Dinner | 1913-02-10 |
Movie | Love in an Apartment Hotel | The Thief | 1913-02-27 |
Movie | The Stolen Treaty | The Detective | 1913-09-13 |
Movie | The Crook and the Girl | The Crook | 1913-08-25 |
Movie | The Work Habit | The Son-in-Law | 1913-08-21 |
Movie | Black and White | 1913-08-27 | |
Movie | The Strong Man's Burden | Bob - the Younger Brother | 1913-09-05 |
Movie | All for Science | The Young Man | 1913-11-24 |
Movie | The Enemy's Baby | Miller | 1913-06-10 |
Movie | Under the Shadow of the Law | The Convict | 1913-08-07 |
Movie | Madonna of the Storm | 1913-10-25 | |
Movie | The Switchtower | 1913-06-15 | |
Movie | I Was Meant for You | Luke | 1913-08-01 |
Movie | In Diplomatic Circles | The Butler | 1913-06-26 |
Movie | The Well | Giuseppe, the Farmhand | 1913-06-12 |
Movie | The Vengeance of Galora | A Prospector | 1913-07-28 |
Movie | The Mirror | First Tramp | 1913-07-24 |
Movie | A Gamble with Death | The Cowpuncher | 1913-06-30 |
Movie | The Painted Lady | At Ice Cream Festival | 1912-10-24 |
Movie | So Near, Yet So Far | A Thief | 1912-09-29 |
Movie | The One She Loved | The Neighbor's Friend | 1912-10-21 |
Movie | Friends | Bob Kyne - the Prospector | 1912-09-22 |
Movie | The Musketeers of Pig Alley | Snapper's Sidekick | 1912-10-31 |
Movie | An Unseen Enemy | The Safecracker | 1912-09-09 |
Movie | My Hero | Indian | 1912-12-12 |
Movie | A Cry for Help | The Thief | 1912-12-23 |
Movie | The Burglar’s Dilemma | Older Crook | 1912-12-16 |
Movie | Brutality | At Theatre | 1912-12-02 |
Movie | The Informer | The Confederate Corporal | 1912-11-21 |
Movie | Heredity | The White Renegade Father | 1912-11-04 |