Macdonald Carey

Macdonald Carey (March 15, 1913–March 21, 1994) was an American actor best known for his starring roles in various B-movies of the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s.

He was known in many Hollywood circles as "the B-Movie king", sharing the throne with his "queen", Lucille Ball. Carey also played a crusading attorney in the 1950s syndicated series Lock-Up. He played the role of Herb Maris for the show's first season in 1959.

For the remainder of his career, he played patriarch Dr. Tom Horton on NBC's soap opera Days of Our Lives. He played that role from 1965 until his death from lung cancer in 1994.

He is most recognized today, a decade after his passing, as the voice who recites the epigram each day before the program begins: "Like sands through the hourglass, so are the days of our lives". From 1966 to 1994, he would also intone, "This is Macdonald Carey, and these are the days of our lives." (After Carey's passing, the producers, out of respect for Carey's family, decided not to use the second part of the opening tagline). At each intermission, his voice also says "We will return for the second half of Days of Our Lives in just a moment".

The narration was a tradition which started with the opening sequence in 1966 and with the mid-program bumper in 1975. Since the Horton family is still regarded as the core of Days of Our Lives, his memory has been allowed to remain imprinted on the show by the voiceovers remaining intact.

He is also known for his voice-over from the 1970 PBS station ident, which served the network for its first year.