Biographie
Raised in New York's Hudson Valley, Kevin McCarey graduated from SUNY Maritime College with a merchant marine deck officer's license. During the Vietnam War, he served as Third Officer on merchant ships transporting "booze and bombs" to the war zone, a period he explores in his upcoming memoir, "Oceans Apart." Later, he became a boat captain of a research vessel in Puerto Rico, participating in efforts to halt the bombing of Culebra, an experience detailed in his book, "Islands Under Fire." This work led him to oceanographic expeditions.
In 1978, McCarey left maritime life to pursue an MA in Film Studies at the University of Oregon. By 1981, he joined Turner Broadcasting as a documentary writer-director. He contributed to the Peabody Award-winning series "Portrait of America," featuring Hal Holbrook, and earned three regional Emmy nominations, an Emmy, and three CINE Golden Eagle Awards. In 1985, he created "Trumpet of Conscience," a visual and musical interpretation of Martin Luther King Jr.'s last Christmas sermon, described by McCarey as "the world's first and longest black gospel music video." The film won the Chris Award, was a PrimeTime Emmy honoree, and aired every Christmas for twelve years on Turner Networks.
In 1991, McCarey directed the narrative short "San Juan Story," starring Jacobo Morales and Rosana DeSoto, marking his first foray into comedy; it became an Academy Award semi-finalist. During the 1990s, he wrote and directed the four-hour docudrama series "Pirate Tales" with Roger Daltrey, featuring extensive reenactments aboard period ships and in exotic locations from Tunisia to Panama. He followed this with the five-hour docudrama series "Gunfighters of the West" with Brian Dennehy for TLC, also featuring reenactments filmed in Calgary, Canada. Despite initial enthusiasm, McCarey later regretted taking cameo roles in both series.
In 1998, he wrote and directed his first narrative feature, "Coyotes," starring Leo Gannon and Kirsten Carmody, filmed on location in Baja Mexico. This no-budget film, created with support from friends and National Geographic colleagues, was a favorite at the Palm Springs International Film Festival and won Best Feature Film at the 1999 Savannah International Film Festival.
Since 1996, Kevin McCarey has traveled globally for National Geographic Television and Features, writing, directing, supervising, or producing around 18 films covering topics from giant squids to Kalahari lions. His latest narrative short, "Extinction," is a moving story set in South Africa.
