Edmonton Journal (22/Mar/1994) - Macdonald Carey dies at 81

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• article: Macdonald Carey dies at 81
• newspaper: Edmonton Journal (22/Mar/1994)
• keywords: Alfred Hitchcock, Macdonald Carey, Shadow of a Doubt (1943)

Article

Macdonald Carey dies at 81

Macdonald Carey, the Emmy-winning actor who portrayed the patriarchal Dr. Tom Horton in the NBC soap opera Days of Our Lives, died Monday of cancer. He was 81.

Carey, who had undergone lung cancer surgery in September 1991, died at his home at 2:30 a.m., said publicist Julie Nathanson.

Carey, who also appeared in more than 50 films, starred in the daytime drama since it began in November 1965. He narrated its trademark opening: "Like sands through the hourglass, so are the days of our lives."

His portrayal of the friendly and fatherly Dr. Horton earned him Emmys for best actor in a daytime drama in 1974 and 1975.

Although best known for the soap opera role, Carey was cast as a leading man in Hollywood movies of the '40s and '50s, including Alfred Hitchcock's Shadow of a Doubt in 1943.

On television, he also starred in the title role of the 1956 series Dr. Christian and in the drama series Lock Up from 1959-61. He played Squire James in 1977's miniseries Roots and had many other guest roles in regular series and television movies.

Carey started as a radio and stage actor in the 1930s and early '40s.

His big screen career — interrupted by Second World War service in the U.S. Marine Corps — produced a sizable body of work, but the films were mostly unexceptional.

Carey was born March 15, 1913, in Sioux City, Iowa, and was educated at the universities of Wisconsin and Iowa. He married actress Betty Heckscher on May 4, 1941. The couple had six children.

In his autobiography, he recounted a long battle with alcoholism and blamed it for the 1969 breakup of his marriage.