Harry Carey
American actor
Who was Harry Carey?
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. He was the father of Harry Carey Jr., who was also a prominent actor. Carey was born in the Bronx, New York City. He is the son of Henry DeWitt Carey (a newspaper source gives the actor's name as "Harry DeWitt Carey II"), a prominent lawyer and judge of the New York Supreme Court, and his wife Ella J. (Ludlum). He attended Hamilton Military Academy, then studied law at New York University. Carey was a cowboy, railway superintendent, author, lawyer, and playwright. While at NYU, Carey became a member of the Delta Upsilon fraternity. When a boating accident led to pneumonia, he wrote a play, Montana, while recuperating, and toured the country performing in it for three years.
Historical significance
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.
