Macdonald Carey


Actor
Macdonald Carey

About

Birth Place
Sioux City, Iowa, USA
Born
March 15, 1913
Died
March 21, 1994
Cause of Death
Cancer

Biography

Tall, approachable American leading man and character actor who, after enjoying radio success in the late 1930s and Broadway success in "Lady in the Dark" (1941), moved to Hollywood in the 40s and made the extremely enjoyable Anthony Mann "B" film, "Dr. Broadway" (1942). Like George Brent a decade earlier, Carey provided amiable, gentlemanly support to female stars who were generally mor...

Family & Companions

Elizabeth Heckscher
Wife
Actor, later real estate agent. Born c. 1917; married c. 1943; mother of Carey's six children; gave up career to raise family; divorced in 1969; has since remarried twice.
Lois Kraines
Companion
Born c. 1928; had been involved with Carey from 1973.

Bibliography

"The Days of My Life"
Macdonald Carey

Notes

It is Macdonald Carey's supple baritone voice which watchers of "Days of Our Lives" have heard for decades intone the opening narration, "Like sands through the hourglass, so are the days of our lives."

"Carey has been very open about his decades of alcohol abuse and his quitting on January 8, 1982. He also speaks honestly about the history of his daughter Lisa's mental illness, the progress of her treatment and how for years it "was just another excuse to get drunk". --From People, December 16, 1991.

Biography

Tall, approachable American leading man and character actor who, after enjoying radio success in the late 1930s and Broadway success in "Lady in the Dark" (1941), moved to Hollywood in the 40s and made the extremely enjoyable Anthony Mann "B" film, "Dr. Broadway" (1942). Like George Brent a decade earlier, Carey provided amiable, gentlemanly support to female stars who were generally more dominant and dynamic, including Rosalind Russell, Paulette Goddard, Betty Hutton, Betty Grable, Anne Baxter, Shelley Winters and Claudette Colbert. The leathery, relaxed Carey continued into the 50s, appearing mostly in such modest Westerns as "The Great Missouri Raid" (1951), "Outlaw Territory" (1953) and "Man or Gun" (1958).

Apart from John Farrow's "Wake Island" (1942), Joseph Losey's "The Lawless" (1950) and "The Damned" (1962) and Howard Hawks's "El Dorado" (1967), Carey appeared in largely routine film fare, but Alfred Hitchcock's superb "Shadow of a Doubt" (1943), with its portrait of a small-town American family, would prove prophetic for Carey's work from the 1950s on. Keeping busy in TV as his film career waned, the durable actor showed himself to be ideal for the small screen, embodying sensible family men (typically doctors and lawyers), most memorably as Dr. Tom Horton, a centerpiece of the long-running daytime drama, "Days of Our Lives," from 1965 until immediately before his death in 1994.

Filmography

 

Cast (Feature Film)

A Message from Holly (1992)
Judge Caufield
It's Alive III: Island of the Alive (1987)
American Gigolo (1980)
Hollywood Actor
Stranger In Our House (1978)
Professor Jarvis
Foes (1977)
End of the World (1977)
Who Is the Black Dahlia? (1975)
Ordeal (1973)
Eliot Frost
Gidget Gets Married (1972)
These Are the Damned (1965)
Simon Wells
The Redeemer (1965)
Jesus Christ
Tammy and the Doctor (1963)
Dr. Wayne Bentley
John Paul Jones (1959)
Patrick Henry
Blue Denim (1959)
Major Malcom Bartley
Man or Gun (1958)
Maybe Smith
Odongo (1956)
Steve Stratton
Stranger at My Door (1956)
Hollis Jarret
Fire over Africa (1954)
Van Logan
Count the Hours (1953)
Doug Madison
Hannah Lee (1953)
Bus Crow
My Wife's Best Friend (1952)
George Mason
Excuse My Dust (1951)
Cyrus Random, Jr.
Let's Make It Legal (1951)
Hugh Halsworth
The Great Missouri Raid (1951)
Jesse James
Meet Me After the Show (1951)
Jeffrey Ames
Cave of Outlaws (1951)
Pete Carver
Comanche Territory (1950)
James Bowie
The Lawless (1950)
Larry Wilder
South Sea Sinner (1950)
"Jake" Davis [also known as Smitty]
Copper Canyon (1950)
Lane Travis
Mystery Submarine (1950)
[Dr.] Brett Young
Song of Surrender (1949)
Bruce Eldridge
Streets of Laredo (1949)
Lorn Reming
Bride of Vengeance (1949)
Cesare Borgia
The Great Gatsby (1949)
Nick Carraway
Dream Girl (1948)
Clark Redfield
Hazard (1948)
J. D. Storm
Variety Girl (1947)
Suddenly, It's Spring (1947)
Jack Lindsay
Salute for Three (1943)
Buzz McAllister
Shadow of a Doubt (1943)
Jack Graham
Star Spangled Rhythm (1943)
Himself, Louie the Lug in skit
Wake Island (1942)
Lieutenant Cameron
Dr. Broadway (1942)
Dr. Timothy ["Doc"] Kane [also known as] Dr. Broadway
Take a Letter, Darling (1942)
Jonathan Caldwell

Cast (Special)

Days of Our Lives: Night Sins (1993)
Dr Tom Horton
The 19th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards (1992)
Presenter
Days of Our Lives: One Stormy Night (1992)
Soap Opera Awards (1990)
Performer
Soap Opera Digest Awards (1989)
Performer
NBC's 60th Anniversary Celebration (1986)
Markham (1958)
Ben Forbes
Miracle on 34th Street (1955)
Fred Gailey

Cast (TV Mini-Series)

Girl, Goldwatch And Everything (1980)
The Top of the Hill (1980)
Condominium (1980)
The Rebels (1979)
Roots (1977)

Life Events

1919

Made stage debut at age 6 as Simple Simon in a Mother Goose school play (date approximate)

1936

Was a member of the Old Globe Shakespeare Company

1941

Gained attention on Broadway for his role in the musical drama, "Lady in the Dark"

1942

Made film debut in "Dr. Broadway"

1952

Made TV debut on an installment of ABC's "Celanese Theatre", a dramatization of "Yellow Jack"

1954

Returned to Broadway to appear in "Anniversary Waltz"

1956

Starred in the title role of syndicated TV series, "Doctor Christian"

1977

Played Squire James on TV miniseries, "Roots"

1977

Played the leading role (at age 64) in the science fiction film, "Foes"

1982

Joined Alcoholics Anonymous after years of alcohol abuse

1991

Underwent surgery for a cancerous lung tumor (September 19), left cast of "Days of Our Lives" for two months but returned to the show

Photo Collections

These Are the Damned - Movie Poster
Here is the American one-sheet movie poster for These Are the Damned (1963, released in the U.S. in 1965), directed by Joseph Losey. One-sheets measured 27x41 inches, and were the poster style most commonly used in theaters.

Videos

Movie Clip

Blue Denim (1959) -- (Movie Clip) What's Wrong With The Boy? From the credits, we meet second-billed Brandon De Wilde as teen Arthur, coming home to bad news from his dad (MacDonald Carey), while his mother (Marsha Hunt) and sister (Nina Shipman) fuss over her date, in Blue Denim, 1958, also starring Carol Lynley, based on a play by James Leo Herlihy and William Noble.
Let's Make It Legal (1951) -- (Movie Clip) I'm Am Eligible Bachelor Too Nearly-divorced hotel exec Hugh (MacDonald Carey) with daughter Barbara (Bates) who hopes he’ll reconcile with her mom, visited by Marilyn Monroe (swim-suited in her first scene) then her husband Jerry (Robert Wagner), his employee, shooting on location at the Hotel Miramar, Santa Monica, in Let’s Make It Legal, 1951.
Let's Make It Legal (1951) -- (Movie Clip) No Staying Power With daughter Barbara (Bates) and son-in-law Jerry (Robert Wagner) observing, almost-divorced Hugh (MacDonald Carey) has wife Miriam (Claudette Colbert) almost convinced he’s quit gambling when the phone rings, leaving a path for back-in-town ex-beau Victor (Zachary Scott), in Let’s Make It Legal, 1951.
John Paul Jones (1959) -- (Movie Clip) I Give You Liberty New on the pre-Revolutionary Virginia social scene, youthful captain Jones (Robert Stack), escorted by eminent Patrick Henry (Macdonald Carey), tangles with a bellicose Brit (Peter Cushing) and meets Dorothea (Erin O'Brien), early in John Paul Jones, 1959.
Fire Over Africa (1954) -- (Movie Clip) I'll Stick With My Conscience The opening scenes having established Tangier as a criminal hotbed and herself as the one brazen, intrepid sexy lady spy for the job, Maureen O'Hara deplanes, meeting laid-back Logan (MacDonald Carey) and turning heads in general, in Fire Over Africa, 1954.

Trailer

Family

Charles S Carey
Father
Business manager, banker.
Elizabeth Carey
Mother
Violin teacher.
Lynn Carey
Daughter
Oldest.
Lisa Carey
Daughter
Born c. 1949; second oldest child; diagnosed as schizophrenic c. 1966 at age 17.
Steven Carey
Son
Teresa Carey
Daughter
Edward Macdonald Carey
Son
Paul Carey
Son

Companions

Elizabeth Heckscher
Wife
Actor, later real estate agent. Born c. 1917; married c. 1943; mother of Carey's six children; gave up career to raise family; divorced in 1969; has since remarried twice.
Lois Kraines
Companion
Born c. 1928; had been involved with Carey from 1973.

Bibliography

"The Days of My Life"
Macdonald Carey

Notes

It is Macdonald Carey's supple baritone voice which watchers of "Days of Our Lives" have heard for decades intone the opening narration, "Like sands through the hourglass, so are the days of our lives."

"Carey has been very open about his decades of alcohol abuse and his quitting on January 8, 1982. He also speaks honestly about the history of his daughter Lisa's mental illness, the progress of her treatment and how for years it "was just another excuse to get drunk". --From People, December 16, 1991.

Carey published three volumes of poetry, including "That Further Hill" (1987).

Recipient of the Knight of the Holy Sepulchre Papal Order (1986)