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."
Known For
Red River
(1948)
Mr. Melville
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
(1939)
President of the Senate
Angel and the Badman
(1947)
Marshal Wistful McClintock
Trader Horn
(1931)
Aloysius "Trader" Horn
Duel in the Sun
(1946)
Lem Smoot
The Spoilers
(1942)
Dextry
Air Force
(1943)
Crew Chief
Barbary Coast
(1935)
Jed Slocum
Happy Land
(1943)
Edward "Gramp" Marsh
Sundown
(1941)
Dewey
The Prisoner of Shark Island
(1936)
Commandant
Among the Living
(1941)
Dr. Ben Saunders
Full Filmography
Acting
Gentleman Joe
(1910)
Bill Sharkey's Last Game
(1910)
Brutality
(1912)
At Theatre
In the Aisles of the Wild
(1912)
Bob Cole
A Cry for Help
(1912)
The Thief
The Musketeers of Pig Alley
(1912)
Snapper's Sidekick
So Near, Yet So Far
(1912)
A Thief
The Burglar’s Dilemma
(1912)
Older Crook
The Painted Lady
(1912)
At Ice Cream Festival
A Feud in the Kentucky Hills
(1912)
2nd Clan Member
Friends
(1912)
Bob Kyne - the Prospector
Heredity
(1912)
The White Renegade Father
The One She Loved
(1912)
The Neighbor's Friend
My Hero
(1912)
Indian
The Informer
(1912)
The Confederate Corporal
An Unseen Enemy
(1912)
The Safecracker
Two Daughters of Eve
(1912)
In Audience
The Work Habit
(1913)
The Son-in-Law
Broken Ways
(1913)
The Sheriff
The Sheriff's Baby
(1913)
Second Bandit
A Frightful Blunder
(1913)
The Superintendent
Red Hicks Defies the World
(1913)
In Crowd (uncredited)
Olaf—An Atom
(1913)
Olaf, an Atom
Under the Shadow of the Law
(1913)
The Convict
In Diplomatic Circles
(1913)
The Butler
Love in an Apartment Hotel
(1913)
The Thief
The Abandoned Well
(1913)
The Adopted Son
The Left-Handed Man
(1913)
The Left-Handed Thief
The Ranchero's Revenge
(1913)
The Schemer
All for Science
(1913)
The Young Man
The Law and His Son
(1913)
Manning
For Her Government
(1913)
The Strong Man's Burden
(1913)
Bob - the Younger Brother
The Detective's Stratagem
(1913)
Keene, the Detective
The Mirror
(1913)
First Tramp
A Tender-Hearted Crook
(1913)
The Thief
If We Only Knew
(1913)
The Sailor
When Love Forgives
(1913)
Second Criminal
The Tenderfoot's Money
(1913)
The Gambler
The Stolen Loaf
(1913)
The Butler
The Sorrowful Shore
(1913)
The Widowed Father
I Was Meant for You
(1913)
Luke
The Crook and the Girl
(1913)
The Crook
Near To Earth
(1913)
A Misappropriated Turkey
(1913)
The Bartender
A Gamble with Death
(1913)
The Cowpuncher
The Hero of Little Italy
(1913)
Tony
The Enemy's Baby
(1913)
Miller
Oil and Water
(1913)
The Stage Manager / At Dinner
The Unwelcome Guest
(1913)
The Sheriff
A Modest Hero
(1913)
The Stolen Bride
(1913)
The Husband
Brothers
(1913)
The Mother's Favorite Son
Madonna of the Storm
(1913)
A Dangerous Foe
(1913)
The 'Bull'
The Switchtower
(1913)
The Well
(1913)
Giuseppe, the Farmhand
A Chance Deception
(1913)
Raffles
The Telephone Girl and the Lady
(1913)
The Thief
The Stopped Clock
(1913)
The Detective
An Adventure in the Autumn Woods
(1913)
Third Thief
The Wrong Bottle
(1913)
The Stolen Treaty
(1913)
The Detective
The Van Nostrand Tiara
(1913)
Society Detective
Pirate Gold
(1913)
A Gambler's Honor
(1913)
The Gambler
The Vengeance of Galora
(1913)
A Prospector
Black and White
(1913)
Her Hand
(1914)
Ivan
Brute Force
(1914)
In Womanless Tribe (The Old Days) (uncredited)
Judith of Bethulia
(1914)
Assyrian Traitor
A Nest Unfeathered
(1914)
The Foreman
Her Father's Silent Partner
(1914)
McVeagh of the South Seas
(1914)
Cyril Bruce McVeagh
Concentration
(1914)
First Son
Waifs
(1914)
The Master Cracksman
(1914)
Gentleman Joe, the Cracksman
His Fireman's Conscience
(1914)
Engineer Daily
Her Convert
(1915)
The Converted Cracksman
Graft
(1915)
Tom Larnigan (Episodes 4-12)
Old Offenders
(1915)
Norris
The Sheriff's Dilemma
(1915)
The Sheriff
The Way Out
(1915)
The Bandit
His Desperate Deed
(1915)
Burleigh
Her Dormant Love
(1915)
Dandy Dick - The Fugitive
The Love Transcendent
(1915)
The Prospector
A Day's Adventure
(1915)
Hogan - Leader of the Crooks
The Miser's Legacy
(1915)
Jackson - The Crook
A Double Winning
(1915)
2nd Sportsman
The Gambler's I.O.U.
(1915)
Dave Dawson
As It Happened
(1915)
The New Foreman
Just Jim
(1915)
Jim
The Heart of a Bandit
(1915)
Texas Pete - the Bandit
Truth Stranger Than Fiction
(1915)
Crook
Judge Not; or The Woman of Mona Diggings
(1915)
Miles Rand
The Canceled Mortgage
(1915)
1st Road Agent
Grinding Life Down
(1916)
Tom Larnigan
The Three Godfathers
(1916)
Bob Sangster
The Insurance Swindlers
(1916)
Tom Larnigan
The Devil's Own
(1916)
Shifty
The Harbor Transportation Trust
(1916)
Tom Larnigan
Secret Love
(1916)
Fergus Derrick
The Conspiracy
(1916)
Dick Olney
The Passing of Hell's Crown
(1916)
Blaze
Old King Coal
(1916)
Tom Larnigan
A Knight of the Range
(1916)
Cheyenne Harry
The Committee on Credentials
(1916)
Ballaret Bill
Love's Lariat
(1916)
Sky High
The Railroad Monopoly
(1916)
Tom Larnigan
The Wedding Guest
(1916)
The Squarest Sheriff Alive
The Power of the People
(1916)
Tom Larnigan
The Jackals of a Great City
(1916)
Tom Wayne
For the Love of a Girl
(1916)
Black La Rue
Guilty
(1916)
Ramon Valentine
A Woman's Eyes
(1916)
Tom Horn
Behind the Lines
(1916)
Dr. Ralph Hamlin
America Saved from War
(1916)
Tom Larnigan
The Fighting Gringo
(1917)
William 'Red' Saunders
The Secret Man
(1917)
Cheyenne Harry
The Soul Herder
(1917)
Cheyenne Harry
Cheyenne's Pal
(1917)
Cheyenne Harry
The Almost Good Man
(1917)
Dick Glenning
A Marked Man
(1917)
Cheyenne Harry
A 44-Calibre Mystery
(1917)
Sheriff Cheyenne Harry
The Golden Bullet
(1917)
Jack
The Mysterious Outlaw
(1917)
Buck Lessen
The Drifter
(1917)
Cheyenne Harry
Straight Shooting
(1917)
Cheyenne Harry
Blood Money
(1917)
Cheyenne Harry
Goin' Straight
(1917)
Cheyenne Harry
Hair-Trigger Burke
(1917)
Hair Trigger Burke
Bucking Broadway
(1917)
Cheyenne Harry
The Outlaw and the Lady
(1917)
Cheyenne Harry
The Bad Man of Cheyenne
(1917)
Cheyenne Harry
Six-Shooter Justice
(1917)
Cheyenne Harry
The Honor of an Outlaw
(1917)
Cheyenne Harry
The Wrong Man
(1917)
Jack Wilson
A Woman's Fool
(1918)
Lin McLean
Three Mounted Men
(1918)
Cheyenne Harry
Wild Women
(1918)
Cheyenne Harry
The Scarlet Drop
(1918)
Harry Ridge
The Phantom Riders
(1918)
Cheyenne Harry
Thieves' Gold
(1918)
Cheyenne Harry
Hell Bent
(1918)
Cheyenne Harry
Marked Men
(1919)
Cheyenne Harry
The Outcasts of Poker Flat
(1919)
Square Shootin' Harry Lanyon / John Oakhurst
A Fight For Love
(1919)
Cheyenne Harry
Bare Fists
(1919)
Cheyenne Harry
Riders of Vengeance
(1919)
Cheyenne Harry
Roped
(1919)
Cheyenne Harry
Rider of the Law
(1919)
Jim Kyneton
A Gun Fightin' Gentleman
(1919)
Cheyenne Harry
The Ace of the Saddle
(1919)
Cheyenne Harry Henderson
West Is West
(1920)
Dick Rainboldt
Human Stuff
(1920)
James 'Jim' Pierce
Overland Red
(1920)
Overland Red
'If Only' Jim
(1920)
Jim Golden
Bullet Proof
(1920)
Pierre Winton
Sundown Slim
(1920)
Sundown Slim
Blue Streak McCoy
(1920)
Job McCoy
The Fox
(1921)
Ol' Santa Fe
Desperate Trails
(1921)
Bart Carson
Hearts Up
(1921)
David Brent
The Freeze-Out
(1921)
Ohio, the Stranger
The Wallop
(1921)
John Wesley Pringle
Good Men and True
(1922)
J. Wesley Pringle
The Kickback
(1922)
White Horse Harry
Man to Man
(1922)
Steve Packard
Crashin' Thru
(1923)
Blake
The Miracle Baby
(1923)
Neil Allison
Desert Driven
(1923)
Bob
Canyon of the Fools
(1923)
Bob
The Flaming Forties
(1924)
Bill Jones
The Night Hawk
(1924)
'The Hawk'
The Lightning Rider
(1924)
Phlip Morgan
Tiger Thompson
(1924)
Tiger Thompson
Roaring Rails
(1924)
Big Bill Benson
The Bad Lands
(1925)
Patrick Angus O'Toole
Soft Shoes
(1925)
Pat Halahan
Beyond the Border
(1925)
Bob Smith
The Man from Red Gulch
(1925)
Alexander 'Sandy' Morton
The Prairie Pirate
(1925)
Brian 'The Yellow Seal' Delaney
The Texas Trail
(1925)
Pete Grainger
Silent Sanderson
(1925)
Joel Parsons / Silent Sanderson
The Seventh Bandit
(1926)
David Scanlon
The Frontier Trail
(1926)
Jim Cardigan
Satan Town
(1926)
Bill Scott
Driftin' Thru
(1926)
Daniel Brown
Slide, Kelly, Slide
(1927)
Tom Munson
A Little Journey
(1927)
Alexander Smith
The Border Patrol
(1928)
Bill Storm
The Trail of '98
(1928)
Jack Locasto
Burning Bridges
(1928)
Jim Whitely / Bob Whitely
Bad Company
(1931)
McBaine
Cavalier of the West
(1931)
Captain John Allister
The Vanishing Legion
(1931)
'Happy' Cardigan
Trader Horn
(1931)
Aloysius "Trader" Horn
The Night Rider
(1932)
John Brown / Jim Blake
Border Devils
(1932)
Jim Gray
The Last of the Mohicans
(1932)
Hawkeye
The Devil Horse
(1932)
Bob Norton / Roberts
Law and Order
(1932)
Ed Brandt
Without Honors
(1932)
Pete Marlan
The Film Parade
(1933)
(archive footage) (uncredited)
Sunset Pass
(1933)
John Hesbitt
Man of the Forest
(1933)
Jim Gayner
The Thundering Herd
(1933)
Clark Sprague
Rustler's Paradise
(1935)
Cheyenne Kincaid
Powdersmoke Range
(1935)
Tucson Smith
Barbary Coast
(1935)
Jed Slocum
Wild Mustang
(1935)
Joe 'Wild Mustang' Norton
The Last of the Clintons
(1935)
Trigger Carson
Wagon Trail
(1935)
Sheriff Clay Hartley
Sutter's Gold
(1936)
Kit Carson
Aces Wild
(1936)
Cheyenne Harry Morgan
Little Miss Nobody
(1936)
John Russell
The Last Outlaw
(1936)
Dean Payton
Valiant Is the Word for Carrie
(1936)
Phil Yonne
Ghost Town
(1936)
Cheyenne Harry Morgan
The Prisoner of Shark Island
(1936)
Commandant
The Accusing Finger
(1936)
Sen. Nash
Danger Patrol
(1937)
Sam Street
Born Reckless
(1937)
Dad Martin
Racing Lady
(1937)
Tom Martin
Annapolis Salute
(1937)
Chief Martin
Border Cafe
(1937)
Tex Stevens
Kid Galahad
(1937)
Silver Jackson
Souls at Sea
(1937)
Captain of the William Brown
Gateway
(1938)
Commissioner Nelson
Port of Missing Girls
(1938)
Captain Josiah Storm
The Law West of Tombstone
(1938)
William 'Bill' Barker
Sky Giant
(1938)
Col. Cornelius Stockton
King of Alcatraz
(1938)
Captain Glennan
You and Me
(1938)
Mr. Morris
Code of the Streets
(1939)
Detective Lieutenant John Lewis
My Son is Guilty
(1939)
Police Officer Tim Kerry
Street of Missing Men
(1939)
Charles Putnam
Inside Information
(1939)
Captain Bill Dugan
Burn 'Em Up O'Connor
(1939)
P.G. Delano
Land of Liberty
(1939)
(archive footage)
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
(1939)
President of the Senate
Outside the Three-Mile Limit
(1940)
Captain Bailey
They Knew What They Wanted
(1940)
The Doctor
Beyond Tomorrow
(1940)
George Vale Melton
Parachute Battalion
(1941)
Bill Richards
Among the Living
(1941)
Dr. Ben Saunders
The Shepherd of the Hills
(1941)
Daniel Howitt
Sundown
(1941)
Dewey
The Spoilers
(1942)
Dextry
Happy Land
(1943)
Edward "Gramp" Marsh
Air Force
(1943)
Crew Chief
The Great Moment
(1944)
Professor John C. Warren
China's Little Devils
(1945)
Doc Temple
Duel in the Sun
(1946)
Lem Smoot
Angel and the Badman
(1947)
Marshal Wistful McClintock
The Sea of Grass
(1947)
Doc J. Reid
So Dear to My Heart
(1948)
Head Judge at County Fair
Red River
(1948)
Mr. Melville
Film Fun
(1955)
(archive footage)
Directed by John Ford
(1971)
(archive footage)
Hollywood: The Dream Factory
(1972)
Self (archive footage)
Legends of the West
(1992)
Ed Brandt in 'Law and Order'
Golden Saddles, Silver Spurs
(2000)
(archive footage)
Writing
Under the Shadow of the Law
(1913)
Screenplay and Story
A Gambler's Honor
(1913)
Writer
McVeagh of the South Seas
(1914)
Story
The Master Cracksman
(1914)
Writer
Stampede in the Night
(1916)
Story
A Knight of the Range
(1916)
Scenario Writer
The Bad Man of Cheyenne
(1917)
Story
Goin' Straight
(1917)
Story
Blood Money
(1917)
Story
The Outlaw and the Lady
(1917)
Story
Riders of Vengeance
(1919)
Story
A Gun Fightin' Gentleman
(1919)
Story
The Gun Packer
(1919)
Story
Human Stuff
(1920)
Scenario Writer
The Fox
(1921)
Story
Hearts Up
(1921)
Story
The Kickback
(1922)
Story
Soft Shoes
(1925)
Story
Directing
McVeagh of the South Seas
(1914)
Director
The Master Cracksman
(1914)
Director
Love's Lariat
(1916)
Director
For the Love of a Girl
(1916)
Director
Production
Crew