Spencer Tracy Newsletter
Sign-up to receive daily news on Spencer Tracy by email.
Spencer Tracy Filmography
Source:
Theiapolis
Spencer Tracy Resources
Spencer Bonaventure Tracy (April 5, 1900 - June 10, 1967) was an American film actor who appeared in 74 films from 1930 through the 1960s.
He was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the second son of a truck salesman. At the beginning of World War I he left school to enlist in the Navy, but remained in Norfolk Navy Yard, Virginia throughout the war. Afterward he attended Ripon College where he appeared in a play entitled
The Truth, and decided on acting as a career. In the early 1920s he attended the Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York. For several years he performed in stock in Michigan, Canada, and Ohio. Finally in 1930 he appeared in a hit play on Broadway,
The Last Mile.
In 1923 he married Louise Treadwell, and they had two children, John and Louise (Susie). In 1930, director John Ford saw him in the play
The Last Mile and signed him to do Up the River for Fox Pictures. Shortly after that he and his family moved to Hollywood, where he made over 35 films in 5 years. In 1935 he signed with MGM and won the Oscar for Best Actor two years in a row, for Captains Courageous
(1937) and Boys Town
(1938). He was also nominated for San Francisco
(1936), Father of the Bride
(1950), Bad Day at Black Rock
(1955), The Old Man and the Sea
(1958), Inherit the Wind
(1960), Judgment at Nuremberg
(1961), and Guess Who's Coming to Dinner
(1967). He is tied with Laurence Olivier for the most best actor Oscar nominations.
In 1941 he began a relationship with
Katharine Hepburn. Though estranged from his wife Louise, he was a devout Catholic and never divorced. He and Hepburn made nine films together. Two weeks after making his last movie
Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, with Hepburn, he died from a massive heart attack at the age of 67. He is interred in Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California.
More than thirty years after his death, Tracy is still considered by many to be the most skillful actor of his time. He could portray the hero, the villain, or the comedian, and make the audience believe he truly was the character he played. Tracy was one of Hollywood's earliest "realistic" actors; his performances have stood the test of time unlike some of the overly theatrical work done by many of his peers.
-
Filmography >>
Table of Content
Latest Film News
See Also:
