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 one another). 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, which aired as part of The Mickey Mouse Club. 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.


3 Godfathers (1948): $350/week

Given nickname "Dobe," short for adobe (the color of Carey's hair as a boy). Appeared with his father Harry Carey in the film Red River (1948). Son-in-law of Paul Fix. Has four children with wife, Marilyn Carey (married 1944). His close friendship with Robert Mitchum ended when he gave up drinking.