Olive Carey

Olive Carey (January 31, 1896 – March 13, 1988) was an American film and television actress.

Life and career

Carey was born as Olive Fuller Golden in New York City, the daughter of Ada (Maxwell), who was from Surrey in England, and George Fuller Golden (originally George Michael Fuller), a vaudeville entertainer. She appeared in more than fifty films, mostly westerns, including Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, often playing tough tomboy parts. In 1920, she wed actor Harry Carey, with whom she remained until his death in 1947. They had two children, a daughter Ellen and a son, actor Harry Carey, Jr. She died at the age of ninety-two in Carpinteria, California.

In 1956, she guest starred in the episode "Death in the Snow" of NBC's anthology series, The Joseph Cotten Show. In 1957 and 1958, Carey played Elsie, the live-in housekeeper, on the CBS sitcom Mr. Adams and Eve, which starred the then real-life married acting couple, Howard Duff and Ida Lupino. She subsequently appeared on the CBS sitcom, Dennis the Menace, starring Jay North.

About this time, Carey was cast on two NBC westerns Cimarron City, with George Montgomery and John Smith, and The Restless Gun, starring John Payne. In 1960 and 1961, Carey performed the role of Casey, Macdonald Carey's (no relation) secretary, in several episodes of the television series Lock-Up.

On November 7, 1961, Carey played Ma Tolliver, the owner of a former stagecoach stop, in the episode "Deadly Is the Night" of NBC's Laramie western series. Series character Jess Harper (Robert Fuller) stops at Ma Tolliver's to rest his lame horse. Suddenly the outlaw Matt Dyer, played by Lloyd Nolan, arrives with his gang and takes as hostage Jess, Ma, and her granddaughter, Sue. The cruel Dyer proceeds to humiliate the hostages. When a posse arrives, Dyer tries to use Ma and Sue to prevent the storming of the house. However, the posse forces his hand, and the outlaws flee, but Jess Harper keeps Dyer from running away.

On April 22, 1962, she delivered a noteworthy performance as a bullying mother, "Ma" Martin, of three grown sons in the episode "The Youngest" of the ABC-Warner Brothers western series, Lawman. In the story line, Mrs. Martin pushes her sons, particularly the youngest, Jim Martin, Jr. (Joseph Gallison), to take revenge on Marshal Troop for the rightful shooting death of their father, who pulled a gun while involved in a crooked poker game.