She was given some of filmdoms plum mother roles in silent pictures, especially Fox's 1920 Over the Hill to the Poorhouse, which was a great success.

[2] Carr bore a strong resemblance to Lucy Beaumont, another famous character actress of the time who specialized in mother roles.

As older actresses such as Mary Maurice and Anna Townsend passed on, Carr, still in her forties, seem to inherit all the matriarchal roles in silent films.

[3][4][5] Mary Carr appeared on the June 9, 1954 episode of the radio quiz program "You Bet Your Life", hosted by comedian Groucho Marx.

[6] The Carrs' oldest son, William, died at age two.