Harry Carey, Jr. died today. He was a great performer in classic Westerns. But what makes his passing particularly notable is that he was the last of a group of actors known collectively as the "John Ford Stock Company". John Ford was perhaps the greatest American film director ever, and he had a group of character actors that he worked with pretty much exclusively. They show up in his movies again and again. People like Ward Bond, Victor McLaglen, John Qualen, Mildred Natwick, Jane Darwell, Ben Johnson, and of course, Harry Carey, Jr. So in his honor, today's classic character is a shout out to the entire John Ford Stock Company, and some of their classic roles.
Ward Bond - It Happened One Night, Drums Along the Mohawk, It's a Wonderful Life, She Wore a Yellow Ribbon, Rio Grande (aka The Cavalry Trilogy), The Quiet Man, The Searchers
Victor McLaglen - The Informer (Oscar Winner), Gunga Din, The Cavalry Trilogy, The Quiet Man
John Qualen - The Grapes of Wrath, His Girl Friday, Casablanca, The Searchers, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
Mildred Natwick - The Enchanted Cottage, The Three Godfathers, She Wore a Yellow Ribbon, The Quiet Man, Dangerous Liaisons
Jane Darwell - Gone with the Wind, The Grapes of Wrath (Oscar Winner), The Ox-Bow Incident, My Darling Clementine, several Shirley Temple movies, and Mary Poppins
Ben Johnson - The Cavalry Trilogy, Shane, Hang 'Em High, The Wild Bunch, The Last Picture Show (Oscar Winner), The Sugarland Express
Harry Carey, Jr. - Red River, The Three Godfathers, The Cavalry Trilogy, The Searchers, Mister Roberts, Mask, Tombstone
For most of these folks, their careers lasted for several decades, spanning from the silent era on up to the 1990's, and included some of the finest pictures ever made in Hollywood, and not just those made by Ford. But it was their association with Ford that brought them all together and makes them "Classic Characters".
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