Harry Carey Jr. dies, character actor was 91
His daughter, Melinda Carey, said he died Thursday of natural causes surrounded by family at a hospice facility in Santa Barbara, Calif.
“He went out as gracefully as he came in,” she said Friday.
Carey’s career spanned more than 50 years and included such John Ford classics as “She Wore a Yellow Ribbon,” ‘’The Searchers” and “The Long Gray Line.” Later in life, he appeared in the movies “Gremlins” "Tombstone" and “Back to the Future Part III.”
His memoir, “Company of Heroes: My Life as an Actor in the John Ford Stock Company,” was published in 1994.
While he lacked the leading-man stature of longtime friend and co-star John Wayne, Carey’s boyish looks and horse-riding skills earned him roles in many of Ford’s films.
He and fellow character Ben Johnson famously learned to stand simultaneously on two galloping horses — a trick known as roman riding — for the 1950 film “Rio Grande” starring Wayne.
“My journey has been that of a character actor,” he wrote in his memoir. “I’ve worked with the great and the not-so-great. But mostly I’ve worked with men and women who loved their profession, and who like me, had kids to raise and houses to pay for.”
Carey was the son of silent-film Western star Harry Carey Sr. and actress Olive Carey. He was born on May 16, 1921, on his family’s ranch and graduated from Hollywood’s Black-Foxe Military Institute.
During World War II, he served in the Navy and worked with Ford on films for the Navy.
He acted later in Disney films such as Run, Cougar, Run and in the television series The Adventures of Spin and Marty.
He is survived by his wife, a son, two daughters, three grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
Selected filmography
Film
Desperate Trails (1921) as Young Baby (uncredited)
Rolling Home (1946) as Dobey
Pursued (1947) as Prentice
Red River (1948) as Dan Latimer
Moonrise (1948) as Jimmy Biff
Blood on the Moon (1948) as Cowboy (uncredited)
3 Godfathers (1948) as William Kearney ("The Albilene Kid")
She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949) as 2nd Lt. Ross Pernell
Wagon Master (1950) as Sandy Owens
Copper Canyon (1950) as Lt. Ord
Rio Grande (1950) as Trooper Daniel 'Sandy' Boone
Warpath (1951) as Capt. Gregson
Cattle Drive (1951) as Train Passenger (uncredited)
The Wild Blue Yonder (1951) as Sgt. Shaker Schuker
Monkey Business (1952) as Reporter (uncredited)
Niagara (1953) as Taxi Driver (uncredited)
San Antone (1953) as Dobe Frakus
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953) as Winslow - Olympic Team (uncredited)
Sweethearts on Parade (1953) as Jim Riley, aka James Whitcomb Riley
Island in the Sky (1953) as Ralph Hunt
Beneath the 12-Mile Reef (1953) as Griff Rhys
Silver Lode (1954) as Johnson
The Outcast (1954) as Bert
The Long Gray Line (1955) as Dwight Eisenhower
House of Bamboo (1955) as John (uncredited)
Mister Roberts (1955) as Stefanowski
Spin and Marty: The Movie (1955) as Bill Burnett
The Searchers (1956) as Brad Jorgenson
The Great Locomotive Chase (1956) as William Bensinger
Gun the Man Down (1956) as Deputy Lee
7th Cavalry (1956) as Cpl. Morrison
The River's Edge (1957) as Chet
Kiss Them for Me (1957) as Lt. Chuck Roundtree (uncredited)
From Hell to Texas (1958) as Trueblood
Escort West (1958) as Trooper Travis
Rio Bravo (1959) as Harold (scenes deleted)
Noose for a Gunman (1960) as Jim Ferguson
The Great Impostor (1961) as Dr. Joseph Mornay
Two Rode Together (1961) as Ortho Clegg
A Public Affair (1962) as Bill Martin
The Raiders (1963) as Jellicoe
Cheyenne Autumn (1964) as Trooper Smith (uncredited)
Taggart (1964) as Lt. Hudson (uncredited)
Shenandoah (1965) as Jenkins (rebel soldier)
The Rare Breed (1966) as Mabry
Billy the Kid Versus Dracula (1966) as Ben Dooley
Cyborg 2087 (1966) as Jay C
Alvarez Kelly (1966) as Corporal Peterson
The Way West (1967) as Mr. McBee
The Ballad of Josie (1967) as Mooney
The Devil's Brigade (1968) as Capt Rose
Bandolero! (1968) as Cort Hayjack
Death of a Gunfighter (1969) as Rev. Rork
The Undefeated (1969) as Solomon Webster
One More Time (1970) (uncredited)
The Moonshine War (1970) as Arley Stamper
Dirty Dingus Magee (1970) as Charles Stuart
One More Train to Rob (1971) as Red
Big Jake (1971) as Pop Dawson
Trinity Is Still My Name (1971) as Father
Something Big (1971) as Joe Pickins
Man of the East (1972) as Holy Joe
Run, Cougar, Run (1972) as Hank
Cahill U.S. Marshal (1973) as Hank
White Fang (1973) as John Tarwater
Take a Hard Ride (1975) as Dumper
Nickelodeon (1976) as Dobie
The Long Riders (1980) as George Arthur
Endangered Species (1982) as Dr. Emmer
The Shadow Riders (1982) as Pa Travern
Gremlins (1984) as Mr. Anderson
Mask (1985) as Red
UFOria (1985) as George Martin
Crossroads (1986) as Bartender
The Whales of August (1987) as Joshua Brackett
Cherry 2000 (1987) as Snappy Tom
Once Upon a Texas Train (1988, TV movie) as Herald Finch
Illegally Yours (1988) as Wally Finnegan
Breaking In (1989) as Shoes, Poker Player
Bad Jim (1990) as J.C. Lee
Back to the Future, Part III (1990) as Zeke, Saloon Old-Timer #2
The Exorcist III (1990) as Father Kanavan
Tombstone (1993) as Marshal Fred White
Wyatt Earp: Return to Tombstone (1994) as Digger Phelps
Sunchaser (1996) as Cashier
Last Stand at Saber River (1997, TV movie) as James Sanford
Television
The Lone Ranger - "Return of Dice Dawn" - Dice Dawson, Alias, Jay Thomasson (1955)
Have Gun - Will Travel - "The Road to Wickenburg" - Sheriff Jack (1958) Goodfellow
Have Gun - Will Travel - "The Man Who Wouldn't Talk" - Bud Sorenson (1958)
The Grey Ghost - "The Picnic" - Caldwell (1958)
Mackenzie's Raiders - "Uprising" - Ed Gary (1959)
Gunsmoke - "Horse Deal" - Deesha (1959)
Have Gun - Will Travel - "The Posse" - Sheriff (1959)
Bonanza - "Vendetta" - Zack Morgan (1959)
Wagon Train - "Chuck Wooster, Wagon Master" - Willkins (1959)
Rawhide - "Incident of the Shambling Man" - Tanner (1959)
The Rifleman - "The Deserter" - Lt. Paul Rolfe (1960)
Bonanza - "The Mission" - Corporal Burton (1960)
Have Gun - Will Travel - "The Sanctuary" - Jonas Quincy (1960)
Have Gun - Will Travel - "The Legacy" - Banker Burton (1960)
Have Gun - Will Travel - "The Marshal's Boy" - Frank Gulley (1960)
Have Gun - Will Travel - "The Misguided Father" - Sheriff Stander (1960)
The Rifleman - "The Journey Back" - Lt. Vaughn (1961)
Laramie - "The Debt" - Harry Markle (1961)
Gunsmoke - "Bad Sheriff" - Bill Turloe (1961)
Whispering Smith - "Safety Valve" - Sgt. Curt Stringer (1961)
Have Gun - Will Travel - "The Revenger" - Sheriff Conlon (1961)
Have Gun - Will Travel - "The Tax Gatherer" - Jess Turner (1961)
Perry Mason - "The Case of the Roving River" - District Ranger Frank Deane (1961)
Wagon Train - "The George B. Hanrahhan Story" - Tim Hogan (1962)
Laramie - "Time of the Traitor" - Hobey (1962)
Gunsmoke - "Abe Blocker" - Jake (1962)
Laramie - "Lost Allegiance" - Whitey Banister (1962)
Checkmate - "The Bold and the Tough" - Phil Cassidy (1962)
Lawman - episode - Cort - Mitch Evers (1962)
Have Gun - Will Travel - "Jonah and the Trout" - Jonah Quincy (1962)
Laramie - "The Barefoot Kid" - Dan Emery (1962)
Gunsmoke - "Quint Asper Comes Home" - Grant (1962)
Alcoa Premiere - "Flashing Spikes" - Man in the Dugout (1962)
Have Gun - Will Travel - "Taylor's Woman" - Thad Taylor (1962)
Rawhide - "The Deserters' Patrol" - Walsh (1962)
Ripcord - Carl Devlin - Para Nurse (1962)
Ripcord - Cheyenne Bronson - A Free Falling Star (1963)
Have Gun - Will Travel - "Face of a Shadow" - Earl Tibner (1963)
Wagon Train - "The Martin Gatsby Story" - Jeb Colton (1963)
Have Gun - Will Travel "Sweet Lady of the Moon" - Ben Murdock (1963)
Gunsmoke -" The Quest for Asa Janin" - Sheriff Hank Colridge (1963)
Wagon Train - "The Molly Kincaid Story" - Charlie Hankins (1963)
Wagon Train - "The Sam Pulaski Story" - John Jay Burroughs (1963)
Bonanza - "The Flannel-Mouth Gun" - Phil Shelton (1965)
Wagon Train - "The Silver Lady" - Walt Thompson (1965)
Gunsmoke - "Bank Baby" - Jim Fisher (1965)
Branded - "Leap Upon Mountains" - Lt. John Pritchett (uncredited) (1965)
Branded - "The Vindicators" - Lt. John Pritchett (1965)
The Virginian - "The Modoc Kid" - Bob Archer (1967)
Gunsmoke - "Baker's Dozen" - Will Roniger (1967)
Bonanza - "Judgement at Red Creek" - Mapes (1967)
Gunsmoke - "Waco" - Nathan Cade (1968)
Mannix - "Missing: Sun and Sky" - Floyd Brand (1969)
The Virginian - "Follow the Leader" - Thad Miley (1970)
Gunsmoke - "Gold Train: The Bullet" parts 1-3 - Kelliher (1971)
Banacek - "Horse of a Slightly Different Color" - Dean Barrett (1974)
Hec Ramsey - "Scar Tissue - Prospector" (1974)
Gunsmoke - "Trail of Bloodshed" - Amos Brody (1974)
Police Woman - "Sons" (1978)
B.J. and the Bear - "Fire in the Hole" - Joe Pogovich (1980)
Little House on the Prairie - "A New Beginning" - Sheriff Pike (1980)
Dallas - "End of the Road: Part 1" - Red (1981)
Knight Rider - "Not a Drop to Drink" - Josh Morgan (1982)
CHiPs - "Flare Up" - Grandfather Cross (1982)
Hollywood Greats - TV series documentary - "John Wayne" - himself (1984)
Biography - TV series documentary - "John Wayne: The Unquiet American" - himself (1987)
Cowboys: Ben Johnson & Harry Carey Jr. - documentary (1988)
John Wayne Standing Tall - TV movie - himself (1989)
B.L. Stryker - "Auntie Sue" - Jones (1989)
Thank Ya, Thank Ya Kindly - TV movie documentary - himself (1991)
Omnibus - TV Series documentary - "John Ford: Part One" - himself (1992)
Legends of the American West - video documentary - himself (1992)
John Ford - TV movie documentary - himself (1993)
Ben Johnson: Third Cowboy on the Right - documentary - himself (1996)
Howard Hawks: American Artist - TV movie documentary - himself (1997)
G.I. Joe: The Ernie Pyle Story - TV movie documentary (1998)
American Masters - TV series documentary - "John Ford/John Wayne: The Filmmaker and the Legend" - himself (2006)
Harry Carey Jr Hosts John Wayne Meets Lucy - video documentary short -himself (host) (2009)
Harry Carey Jr's Tribute to John Wayne Producer - video short - himself (2010)