Mini Biography
Reliable character actor, mostly in Westerns, son of silent star Harry Carey and actress Olive Carey. Born on his parents' 1000-acre ranch in Saugus, north of Los Angeles, young Carey grew up among cattle and horses. Because of the many Navajo Indians who worked on the ranch, he spoke Navajo before he spoke English. During the Second World War, he joined the Navy and served in the South Pacific as a medical corpsman, but was transferred (against his will) to serve under his father's friend, director John Ford, in the O.S.S. After the war, he tried a singing career, but was not successful. After a couple of small acting parts, he was given a chance to work in a picture with his father, Red River (1948) (though they had no scenes with each other). After his father's death, John Ford gave the younger Carey a leading role in the film Ford dedicated to Carey Sr., 3 Godfathers (1948). As a full-fledged member of the famed John Ford Stock Company, Carey appeared in many of Ford's greatest Westerns over the next two decades. He also starred in a TV series-within-a-series, "The Adventures of Spin and Marty" (1955), which aired as part of "Mickey Mouse Club, "The (1955)_ . His extreme boyishness characterized his early years, but he has matured into a strong and very familiar character actor in scores of films over a period of more than forty years. He is married to the former Marilyn Fix, daughter of actor Paul Fix.
Mini Biography By:
Jim Beaver
Mini Biography
Harry Carey Jr. was born on May 16, 1921, on the ranch of his parents, the movie stars Olive Carey and Harry Carey. His father gave him the nickname "Dobe" shortly after birth as the baby's red hair reminded him of the adobe soil on the ranch. Dobe went to the Newhall public school and then went on to the Black Foxe Military Institute in Hollywood.
The young Dobe's dream was to become a classical singer like the opera singer/movie star Lawrence Tibbett, and he moved to New York City to study voice. In 1939, Dobe got his first paying job as a performer at the New York World's Fair, as a horse-rider in the show "Railroads on Parade." He become a page at the National Broadcasting Co. in 1941, but with the declaration of war, he joined the Navy. In his three years as a sailor, he served as a medical corpsman before being transferred to director John Ford's photographic unit, which was part of the Navy but also worked for the Office of Strategic Services (OSS). Ford had been the director on many of his father's silent westerns and was close to his parents. Dobe protested the transfer, but it was made nonetheless.
Dobe married the actor Paul Fix' daughter Marilyn in 1944, while still in the Navy. They have remained a couple for over 60 years and have four children and three grandchildren.
After being demobilized, Dobe followed his father into the movie business in 1946 by accepting a role in Rolling Home (1946), following it up with a featured role in Raoul Walsh's Pursued (1947). His long association with John Wayne began in Howard Hawks's classic Western Red River (1948), and his long non-military association with Ford began with his role as The Abilene Kid in 3 Godfathers (1948), which was dedicated to his father, who had passed away in 1947. Ford had been the director of the original 1919 version, which had starred Dobe's father, Harry Carey, Sr. John Wayne again was Dobe's co-star, and the two appeared in nine more films together.
Dobe became a member in good-standing of Ford's stock company of actors. He appeared in She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949), Rio Grande (1950), and in The Searchers (1956) with Wayne, and in Wagon Master (1950), The Long Gray Line (1955), Mister Roberts (1955) (begun by Ford, he was replaced after a couple of weeks' shooting, by Mervyn LeRoy), Two Rode Together (1961), and Cheyenne Autumn (1964) sans the Duke. Other non-Ford directed films Dobe appeared in with John Wayne were Island in the Sky (1953), Gun the Man Down (1956), Escort West (1958), Rio Bravo (1959), The Undefeated (1969), Big Jake (1971), and Cahill U.S. Marshal (1973). All together, Dobe appeared in almost 100 movies and 100 television programs.
He has made two documentaries, "John Ford's America" and "Legends of the West," and written a book, "Company of Heroes, My Life As An Actor In the John Ford Stock Company." He appeared with his father, Harry Carey, Sr. in Red River (1948) (although the two did not share any scenes together), and with his mother, Olive Carey, in The Searchers (1956) and Two Rode Together (1961).
In 1987, Dobe was awarded a Golden Boot by the Motion Picture & Television Fund Foundation, and in 2003, he won a Silver Spur Award from Reel Cowboys. He has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, awarded for his television activities, located at 6363 Hollywood Blvd.
Mini Biography By:
Jon C. Hopwood
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