Leonard Carey

Leonard Carey (25 February 1887 – 11 September 1977) was an English character actor whose career spanned stage, film, and television across several decades. Born in England, he became a recognizable presence in Hollywood productions, frequently cast as butlers in films of the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s.

Carey's stage career brought him to Broadway, where he appeared in productions between 1923 and 1945. His credits included Eve's Leaves, The Player Queen, The Ladder, Let Us Be Gay, and Affairs of State, among other productions.

On screen, Carey is perhaps most closely associated with his portrayal of Ben, the beach hermit, in Alfred Hitchcock's Rebecca (1940). He appeared in The Awful Truth in 1937 and took on the role of "Dusty" opposite John Sutton in Moon Over Her Shoulder (1941). Heaven Can Wait (1943) numbered among his further film appearances, as did two additional notable productions from the early 1950s: Hitchcock's Strangers on a Train (1951) and The Snows of Kilimanjaro (1952). Thunder in the East followed in 1953.

During the 1950s, Carey also worked in television before retiring from acting later in that decade. He died on 11 September 1977 at the age of 90 in Los Angeles. His remains were interred at Chapel of the Pines Crematory.