Saturday 29 December 2012

Harry Carey Jr - A big big celluloid footprint

He is and will forever remain a true western legend - Harry Carey Jr. died on December 27th.

He passed peacefully of natural causes on Thursday morning in the seaside town of Santa Barbara, California, surrounded by family members, said his daughter, Melinda Carey.

His contribution to the western movie can not be overestimated - not only did he appear in nine movies directed by John Ford but he also made movies with Howard Hawks, and many of the westerns Harry Carey Jr. appeared in are renowned classics of the genre. He acted alongside John Wayne, Richard Widmark, James Stewart, Randolph Scott, Clint Eastwood and just about every actor who ever donned a stetson. And if that wasn't enough there was also the television shows that were boosted by Carey's involvement as well as many other movies in widely differing genres.

Harry Carey Jr was the type of character actor they don't really make anymore. Seldom the star but always giving strong supporting performances and quite often stealing scenes from far bigger names.


 Wow is all I can say looking at Carey's filmography - of course he's always been a familiar face to me - he's in The Searchers, arguably the best western ever made, for one thing and I've watched scores of westerns which means that I've seen some great acting from Harry Carey Jr.






Gone but never truly gone because the legacy left behind will live for as long as people are watching movies. There are people yet to be born who will one day become fans of this great man - isn't that a lovely thought! He may have gone but like his very good friend, The Duke, he is immortalized on celluloid.

God bless you, sir.

2 comments:

David Cranmer said...

I've watched him in so many films. RIP.

Davieboy said...

Great post, a fitting tribute.

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