LOS ANGELES – Harry Carey Jr., a character actor who starred in Westerns such as “3 Godfathers” and “Wagon Master,” has died. He was 91.

His daughter, Melinda Carey, said he died Thursday of natural causes surrounded by family at a hospice facility in Santa Barbara, Calif.

Carey’s career spanned more than 50 years and included John Ford classics such as “She Wore a Yellow Ribbon,” “The Searchers” and “The Long Gray Line.” Later in life, he appeared in the movies “Gremlins” and “Back to the Future Part III.”

His memoir, “Company of Heroes: My Life as an Actor in the John Ford Stock Company,” was published in 1994.

While he lacked the leading-man stature of longtime friend and co-star John Wayne, Carey’s boyish looks and horse-riding skills earned him roles in many of Ford’s films.

He and fellow actor Ben Johnson famously learned to stand simultaneously on two galloping horses for the 1950 film “Rio Grande” starring John Wayne.

 


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