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Saturday 16 May 2020

APROPOS OF NOTHING #29 - 16 MAY 1921 - HARRY CAREY JR.

Available for freelance writing commissions on a variety of subjects including family history, nostalgic Belfast and its famous people, shops, shoppers & shopping, the golden age of Hollywood (esp westerns) and humorous pieces on life's weird and wonderful. Op-eds, columns, non-fiction book reviews too. 

joecushnan@aol.com & @JoeCushnan

I have a portfolio of features, reviews, poetry and short fiction published in all sorts of places - Belfast Telegraph, Tribune, Ireland's Own, Dalhousie Review, Fairlight Books, Reader's Digest, Reality, Lapwing Poetry, Ink, Sweat & Tears, Spillwords, Dear Reader, Amethyst Review, to name a selection.  Oh, and the odd BBC radio contribution. 


This is a series of very, very short items that have nothing to do with the current news agenda.  Swift diversions for a moment or two.

Apropos of Nothing #29 – 16 May 1921

Actor Harry Carey Jr. was born on 16 May, 1921.  He was the son of another actor, Harry Carey and actress Olive Carey.  His father-in-law was yet another actor, Paul Fix.  And his maternal grandfather was vaudeville entertainer George Fuller Golden.  Showbiz!

Carey Jr. was mainly a supporting actor, particularly in westerns.  He appeared in many films, including several with John Wayne and John Ford, and a long list of TV shows.

His first appearance in a film in the year of his birth, Desperate Trails, was uncredited.  He “played” a baby.  His first appearance in a major film was Red River (1948) directed by Howard Hawks and starred Wayne and Montgomery Clift.

With Ford, he appeared in Three Godfathers (1948), She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949), Wagon Master (1950), The Long Grey Line (1955), The Searchers (1956) and others.

He guest starred in many television shows including Wagon Train, Laramie and Have Gun – Will Travel.

His autobiography, Company of Heroes: My Life as an Actor in the John Ford Stock Company is a must-read for anyone interested in the golden age of westerns.

He had no doubts about the kind of career he had: 

“My journey has been that of a character actor.  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.

Harry Carey Jr. died at 91 on 27 December, 2012. 

Harry Carey Jr. and John Wayne in The Searchers





Sources: IMDB, Wikipedia and others

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