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 | Golden Saddles, Silver Spurs | (archive footage) | 2000-01-01 |
Movie | Legends of the West | Ed Brandt in 'Law and Order' | 1992-09-08 |
Movie | Directed by John Ford | (archive footage) | 1971-09-06 |
Movie | Film Fun | (archive footage) | 1955-08-19 |
Movie | Red River | Mr. Melville | 1948-08-26 |
Movie | So Dear to My Heart | Head Judge at County Fair | 1948-11-29 |
Movie | The Sea of Grass | Doc J. Reid | 1947-04-25 |
Movie | Angel and the Badman | Marshal Wistful McClintock | 1947-02-15 |
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 | Sundown | Dewey | 1941-10-31 |
Movie | Among the Living | Dr. Ben Saunders | 1941-12-12 |
Movie | Beyond Tomorrow | George Vale Melton | 1940-05-10 |
Movie | They Knew What They Wanted | The Doctor | 1940-10-19 |
Movie | Burn 'Em Up O'Connor | P.G. Delano | 1939-01-13 |
Movie | Street of Missing Men | Charles Putnam | 1939-04-24 |
Movie | Code of the Streets | Detective Lieutenant John Lewis | 1939-04-13 |
Movie | My Son Is Guilty | Police Officer Tim Kerry | 1939-12-28 |
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 | Born Reckless | Dad Martin | 1937-06-25 |
Movie | Border Cafe | Tex Stevens | 1937-06-04 |
Movie | Annapolis Salute | Chief Martin | 1937-09-10 |
Movie | Danger Patrol | Sam "Easy" 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 | Ghost Town | Cheyenne Harry Morgan | 1936-02-15 |
Movie | Little Miss Nobody | John Russell | 1936-06-05 |
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 | Barbary Coast | Jed Slocum | 1935-10-13 |
Movie | Powdersmoke Range | Tucson Smith | 1935-09-27 |
Movie | The Last of the Clintons | Trigger Carson | 1935-11-12 |
Movie | Wild Mustang | Joe 'Wild Mustang' Norton | 1935-10-21 |
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 | Without Honors | Pete Marlan | 1932-01-02 |
Movie | Border Devils | Jim Gray | 1932-04-03 |
Movie | Law and Order | Ed Brandt | 1932-02-09 |
Movie | The Last of the Mohicans | Hawkeye | 1932-05-17 |
Movie | The Night Rider | John Brown / Jim Blake | 1932-08-22 |
Movie | The Devil Horse | Bob Norton / Roberts | 1932-11-01 |
Movie | The Vanishing Legion | 'Happy' Cardigan | 1931-06-01 |
Movie | Trader Horn | Aloysius "Trader" Horn | 1931-02-03 |
Movie | Bad Company | McBaine | 1931-10-16 |
Movie | Cavalier of the West | Captain John Allister | 1931-11-15 |
Movie | The Trail of '98 | Jack Locasto | 1928-03-20 |
Movie | Burning Bridges | Jim Whitely / Bob Whitely | 1928-09-30 |
Movie | The Border Patrol | Bill Storm | 1928-12-23 |
Movie | A Little Journey | Alexander Smith | 1927-01-01 |
Movie | Slide, Kelly, Slide | Tom Munson | 1927-03-12 |
Movie | The Seventh Bandit | David Scanlon | 1926-04-18 |
Movie | Driftin' Thru | Daniel Brown | 1926-02-21 |
Movie | The Frontier Trail | Jim Cardigan | 1926-06-20 |
Movie | Satan Town | Bill Scott | 1926-08-15 |
Movie | Soft Shoes | Pat Halahan | 1925-01-01 |
Movie | The Texas Trail | Pete Grainger | 1925-06-01 |
Movie | Beyond the Border | Bob Smith | 1925-05-30 |
Movie | The Bad Lands | Patrick Angus O'Toole | 1925-07-15 |
Movie | The Prairie Pirate | Brian 'The Yellow Seal' Delaney | 1925-10-10 |
Movie | The Man from Red Gulch | Alexander 'Sandy' Morton | 1925-12-13 |
Movie | The Night Hawk | 'The Hawk' | 1924-02-17 |
Movie | The Lightning Rider | Phlip Morgan | 1924-05-18 |
Movie | Roaring Rails | Big Bill Benson | 1924-09-20 |
Movie | The Flaming Forties | Bill Jones | 1924-12-21 |
Movie | Crashin' Thru | Blake | 1923-04-01 |
Movie | Canyon of the Fools | Bob | 1923-01-21 |
Movie | Desert Driven | Bob | 1923-07-08 |
Movie | The Miracle Baby | Neil Allison | 1923-08-19 |
Movie | Man to Man | Steve Packard | 1922-03-20 |
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 Freeze-Out | Ohio, the Stranger | 1921-04-09 |
Movie | Desperate Trails | Bart Carson | 1921-06-11 |
Movie | The Wallop | John Wesley Pringle | 1921-05-09 |
Movie | The Fox | Ol' Santa Fe | 1921-07-24 |
Movie | Human Stuff | James 'Jim' Pierce | 1920-06-28 |
Movie | Overland Red | Overland Red | 1920-03-22 |
Movie | 'If Only' Jim | Jim Golden | 1920-07-01 |
Movie | Bullet Proof | Pierre Winton | 1920-05-03 |
Movie | West Is West | Dick Rainboldt | 1920-11-21 |
Movie | Blue Streak McCoy | Job McCoy | 1920-08-23 |
Movie | Sundown Slim | Sundown Slim | 1920-10-31 |
Movie | Bare Fists | Cheyenne Harry | 1919-05-05 |
Movie | A Fight For Love | Cheyenne Harry | 1919-03-24 |
Movie | Roped | Cheyenne Harry | 1919-01-03 |
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 | A Woman's Fool | Lin McLean | 1918-08-17 |
Movie | The Scarlet Drop | Harry Ridge | 1918-04-22 |
Movie | Three Mounted Men | Cheyenne Harry | 1918-10-06 |
Movie | Hell Bent | Cheyenne Harry | 1918-07-05 |
Movie | The Fighting Gringo | William 'Red' Saunders | 1917-03-26 |
Movie | Hair-Trigger Burke | Hair Trigger Burke | 1917-04-10 |
Movie | Goin' Straight | Cheyenne Harry | 1917-03-24 |
Movie | The Honor of an Outlaw | Cheyenne Harry | 1917-05-15 |
Movie | The Bad Man of Cheyenne | Cheyenne Harry | 1917-01-13 |
Movie | A 44-Calibre Mystery | Sheriff Cheyenne Harry | 1917-05-22 |
Movie | Blood Money | Cheyenne Harry | 1917-01-06 |
Movie | The Outlaw and the Lady | Cheyenne Harry | 1917-02-10 |
Movie | The Secret Man | Cheyenne Harry | 1917-09-30 |
Movie | Straight Shooting | Cheyenne Harry | 1917-08-27 |
Movie | The Almost Good Man | Dick Glenning | 1917-06-05 |
Movie | Bucking Broadway | Cheyenne Harry | 1917-12-24 |
Movie | Cheyenne's Pal | Cheyenne Harry | 1917-08-13 |
Movie | A Marked Man | Cheyenne Harry | 1917-10-29 |
Movie | The Soul Herder | Cheyenne Harry | 1917-08-07 |
Movie | The Golden Bullet | Jack | 1917-06-26 |
Movie | The Wrong Man | Jack Wilson | 1917-07-07 |
Movie | A Knight of the Range | Cheyenne Harry | 1916-02-07 |
Movie | The Wedding Guest | The Squarest Sheriff Alive | 1916-05-27 |
Movie | The Insurance Swindlers | Tom Larnigan | 1916-02-05 |
Movie | The Railroad Monopoly | Tom Larnigan | 1916-01-15 |
Movie | The Three Godfathers | Bob Sangster | 1916-06-18 |
Movie | America Saved from War | Tom Larnigan | 1916-01-22 |
Movie | Old King Coal | Tom Larnigan | 1916-01-29 |
Movie | Grinding Life Down | Tom Larnigan | 1916-01-08 |
Movie | Behind the Lines | Dr. Ralph Hamlin | 1916-09-11 |
Movie | The Conspiracy | Dick Olney | 1916-10-21 |
Movie | The Committee on Credentials | Ballaret Bill | 1916-07-08 |
Movie | The Devil's Own | Shifty | 1916-08-24 |
Movie | Guilty | Ramon Valentine | 1916-11-17 |
Movie | A Woman's Eyes | Tom Horn | 1916-08-17 |
Movie | For the Love of a Girl | Black La Rue | 1916-07-29 |
Movie | Love's Lariat | Sky High | 1916-08-07 |
Movie | The Miser's Legacy | Jackson - The Crook | 1915-04-09 |
Movie | The Love Transcendent | The Prospector | 1915-03-25 |
Movie | Just Jim | Jim | 1915-08-16 |
Movie | Judge Not; or The Woman of Mona Diggings | Miles Rand | 1915-09-27 |
Movie | Graft | Tom Larnigan (Episodes 4-12) | 1915-12-11 |
Movie | Waifs | 1914-01-17 | |
Movie | Judith of Bethulia | Assyrian Traitor | 1914-03-08 |
Movie | Concentration | First Son | 1914-01-12 |
Movie | Brute Force | In Womanless Tribe (The Old Days) (uncredited) | 1914-04-24 |
Movie | McVeagh of the South Seas | Cyril Bruce McVeagh | 1914-11-02 |
Movie | The Master Cracksman | Gentleman Joe, the Cracksman | 1914-06-10 |
Movie | Near To Earth | 1913-03-20 | |
Movie | The Unwelcome Guest | The Sheriff | 1913-03-15 |
Movie | The Sheriff's Baby | Second Bandit | 1913-03-29 |
Movie | The Hero of Little Italy | Tony | 1913-04-03 |
Movie | The Left-Handed Man | The Left-Handed Thief | 1913-04-21 |
Movie | Broken Ways | The Sheriff | 1913-03-08 |
Movie | Love in an Apartment Hotel | The Thief | 1913-02-27 |
Movie | Pirate Gold | 1913-01-13 | |
Movie | The Telephone Girl and the Lady | The Thief | 1913-01-06 |
Movie | Brothers | The Mother's Favorite Son | 1913-02-03 |
Movie | Oil and Water | The Stage Manager / At Dinner | 1913-02-10 |
Movie | A Chance Deception | Raffles | 1913-02-24 |
Movie | Olaf—An Atom | Olaf, an Atom | 1913-05-19 |
Movie | The Switchtower | 1913-06-15 | |
Movie | The Strong Man's Burden | Bob - the Younger Brother | 1913-09-05 |
Movie | Black and White | 1913-08-27 | |
Movie | A Modest Hero | 1913-09-08 | |
Movie | Madonna of the Storm | 1913-10-25 | |
Movie | A Dangerous Foe | The 'Bull' | 1913-05-29 |
Movie | Under the Shadow of the Law | The Convict | 1913-08-07 |
Movie | For Her Government | 1913-12-22 | |
Movie | Red Hicks Defies the World | In Crowd (uncredited) | 1913-06-09 |
Movie | When Love Forgives | Second Criminal | 1913-08-02 |
Movie | In Diplomatic Circles | The Butler | 1913-06-26 |
Movie | The Ranchero's Revenge | The Schemer | 1913-06-02 |
Movie | The Vengeance of Galora | A Prospector | 1913-07-28 |
Movie | The Mirror | First Tramp | 1913-07-24 |
Movie | A Feud in the Kentucky Hills | 2nd Clan Member | 1912-10-03 |
Movie | So Near, Yet So Far | A Thief | 1912-09-29 |
Movie | Two Daughters of Eve | In Audience | 1912-09-19 |
Movie | In the Aisles of the Wild | Bob Cole | 1912-10-14 |
Movie | An Unseen Enemy | The Safecracker | 1912-09-09 |
Movie | Friends | Bob Kyne - the Prospector | 1912-09-22 |
Movie | The Informer | The Confederate Corporal | 1912-11-21 |
Movie | The Burglar’s Dilemma | Older Crook | 1912-12-16 |
Movie | A Cry for Help | The Thief | 1912-12-23 |
Movie | Brutality | At Theatre | 1912-12-02 |
Movie | The Musketeers of Pig Alley | Snapper's Sidekick | 1912-10-31 |
Movie | The Painted Lady | At Ice Cream Festival | 1912-10-24 |
Movie | The One She Loved | The Neighbor's Friend | 1912-10-21 |