I was sorry to read that Harry "Dobe" Carey Jr. died last week. Not unexpected for a man of 91, but it is sad to see the passing of possibly* the last surviving actor of the "John Ford Stock Company," mostly character actors whose faces you knew well if you grew up on Westerns like I did. Ward Bond, Victor McLaglen, Willis Bouchey, Hank Worden, Jack Pennick, Ken "Festus" Curtis and many others. Dobe Carey grew up the son of silent film actor Harry Carey, one of the biggest Western stars of his day and the boyhood hero of John Wayne. Carey Junior was comfortable with never becoming a big star, and was always happy to be a working character actor. He was in such classic Westerns as Red River, The Searchers, Rio Grande, and She Wore a Yellow Ribbon. Besides many appearances on shows like Gunsmoke, Wagon Train, and Have Gun Will Travel, he had a recurring role on "Spin and Marty" on The Mickey Mouse Club and was in several of the Wonderful World of Disney TV movies. Plus a saloon appearance in Back to the Future III. He was always gracious and willing to talk about his long experience in the movies. He is survived by his wife Marylin, daughter of Paul Fix of The Rifleman and TOS "Where No Man Has Gone Before." They married in 1944 while Pharmacist's Mate Carey was on leave from the navy. Sorry to see you go, Mr. Carey. RIP. Justin *Patrick Wayne is alive, I guess you should you count him even though he was much younger. I can't think of any others.
I hadn't heard about Mr.Carey's passing.Sad. As you say,it seems all of Ford's "stock company"are gone now.Perhaps the only exception is Maureen O'Hara(you can't keep a good Irish redhead down). All within living memory,but somehow this style of film-making seems as far away now as that of the silent era. I had heard that that famous "holding one arm"stance The Duke adopts at the end of The searchers(with Jeff=Pike Hunter)was a tribute to Harry Carey Snr.who often stood in that pose.
There will never be another director like John Ford, and the members of his stock company like Carey Jr. were a great asset to the man. R.I.P.