Western actor Harry Carey, Jr. died on December 27 aged 91, his daughter Melinda confirmed.

Harry Carey, Jr. passed away from natural causes surrounded by family at a hospice facility in Santa Barbara, California.

Melinda Carey said: “He went out as gracefully as he came in.”

Harry Carey, Jr. was a veteran actor with many roles to his name, including Westerns such as 3 Godfathers and Wagon Master.

His career spanned more than 50 years and included such John Ford classics as She Wore a Yellow Ribbon, The Searchers and The Long Gray Line.

Later in life, Harry Carey, Jr. appeared in the movies Gremlins and Back to the Future Part III.

Western actor Harry Carey, Jr. died on December 27 aged 91

Harry Carey, Jr., who was born Henry George Carey, is survived by his wife Marilyn Fix, who he wed in 1944, a son, and two daughters.

The late star also has three grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

Harry Carey, Jr. appeared in many of John Ford’s films, largely due to the boyish looks and horse-riding skills that made him perfect Western material.

His memoir, Company of Heroes: My Life as an Actor in the John Ford Stock Company, was published in 1994.

In the book, Harry Carey, Jr. wrote: “My journey has been that of a character actor. I’ve worked with the great and the not-so-great.

“But mostly I’ve worked with men and women who loved their profession, and who like me, had kids to raise and houses to pay for.”

Harry Carey, Jr. was the son of silent-film Western star Harry Carey Sr. and actress Olive Carey. He was born on May 16, 1921, on his family’s ranch and graduated from Hollywood’s Black-Foxe Military Institute.