Spencer Tracy

Spencer Tracy
Born	Spencer Bonaventure Tracy April 5, 1900(1900-04-05) Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S.
Died	June 10, 1967(1967-06-10) (aged 67) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Resting place	Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale, California
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1922–67
Spouse	Louise Treadwell (1923-67)
Partner	Katharine Hepburn (1941-67)
Signature

Spencer Bonaventure Tracy (April 5, 1900 – June 10, 1967) was an American theatrical and film actor, who appeared in 75 films from 1930 to 1967. Tracy was one of the major stars of Hollywood's Golden Age, ranking among the top ten box office draws for almost every year from 1938 to 1951. He was nominated for nine Academy Awards for Best Actor, winning two consecutively in 1937 and 1938—the first actor to achieve this feat. In 1999, the American Film Institute named him the ninth greatest male star in American cinema.

Tracy decided on acting as a career whilst a student at Ripon College. He studied acting in New York and appeared in a number of Broadway plays, finally achieving success in the 1930 hit The Last Mile. Director John Ford was impressed by his performance and cast him in Up the River with Humphrey Bogart. Fox Film Corporation signed him to a long term contract, but after five years of mostly undistinguished films, he joined the most prestigious movie studio of the time, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. His career flourished with MGM and he became one of their most valuable stars, guaranteeing him top billing in all his pictures from 1940 onwards. In 1942 he appeared with Katharine Hepburn in the romantic comedy Woman of the Year, beginning a partnership that lasted the remainder of Tracy's life. The duo made nine pictures together and had a long romantic relationship, although Tracy remained legally married to his wife Louise until he died. Tracy worked regularly into the 1960s; his films achieved varying levels of success, but his personal reputation was high, being considered by his peers as one of the screen's greatest actors. His final film, Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, was completed 17 days before his death in June 1967.

Early life

Spencer Bonaventure Tracy was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the second son of John Edward Tracy, an Irish American Catholic truck salesman, and Caroline Brown, a Presbyterian from a wealthy Midwestern family. His brother Carroll was four years older. Spencer was named for his mother's close friend Daisy Spencer, while Bonaventure was a baptismal name selected by his aunt. Caroline Tracy disliked this name, and registered her son's birth as "Spencer Bernard Tracy", which remained his legal name until after her death.

Tracy's paternal grandparents emigrated from Galway in the 1850s. He strongly identified with his Irish roots, and also inherited the alcoholism prevalent in this side of his family. The young Spencer was a difficult and hyper child  with poor school attendance. At nine years old he was placed in the hands of Dominican nuns in the hope of transforming his behavior. Later in life he remarked, "I never would have gone back to school if there had been any other way of learning to read the subtitles in the movies." He became fascinated with motion pictures, watching the same ones repeatedly and then re-enacting scenes to his friends and neighbors. He began working from a young age, at one point taking a job as a lamplighter. In 1915 the Tracy family moved to Kansas and he was enrolled in St.Mary Academy, a Jesuit boarding school, but lasted there only five weeks. He switched to Rockhurst Academy, another Jesuit institution. The school's strict ethos had a positive effect on Tracy, who commented that they took the "badness" out of him, and his grades improved. While studying at Rockhurst, Tracy entertained the idea of becoming a priest. The family soon moved back to Milwaukee and Tracy changed school again, enrolling at Marquette Academy. Here he met future actor Pat O'Brien, and the pair began attending plays together, awakening Tracy's interest in the theatre.

The American Academy of Dramatic Arts, where Tracy studied acting from 1922 to 1923.

With little care for his studies and "itching for excitement", Tracy enrolled in the Navy when he turned eighteen. He was sent straight to the Naval Training Station in North Chicago, where he was still a student when World War One came to an end. He achieved the rank of seaman second class, but never went to sea and was discharged in February 1919. It still proved a valuable experience for Tracy, who left with an alert mind and acute sense of personal responsibility. John Tracy's desire to see one of his sons gain a college degree drove Tracy back to High School to finish his diploma. Studies at two more institutions plus the additional allowance of "war credits" won Tracy a place at Ripon College. He entered Ripon in February 1921, declaring his intention to major in Medicine.

Tracy was a popular student at Ripon, serving as President of his hall and being involved in a number of college activities. He made his stage debut in June 1921, playing the male lead in The Truth. Tracy was very well received in this role  and he quickly developed a passion for the stage. He formed an acting company with friends, which they called "The Campus Players" and took on tour. He also excelled in the college debating team. It was during a tour with this team that Tracy auditioned for the American Academy of Dramatic Arts (AADA) in New York City. He performed a scene from one of his earlier roles, and was offered a scholarship to attend the school. Tracy left Ripon, and began classes at AADA in April 1922. He was deemed fit to progress to the senior class, allowing him to join the academy stock company with fifteen others—among them Sterling Holloway and Thelma Ritter. Tracy made his New York debut in October 1922, in a play called The Wedding Guests, and then his Broadway debut three months later playing a wordless robot in R.U.R. He graduated from AADA in March 1923.

Career beginnings

Stock theatre and Broadway (1923–1930)

Immediately following graduation, Tracy joined a new stock company based in White Plains, New York, where he was given periphery roles. Unhappy there he moved to a company in Cincinnati, and failed to make an impact. In November 1923 he landed a bit part in a A Royal Fandango, a new Ethel Barrymore comedy on Broadway. It closed after only two weeks. When he took a position with a struggling company in New Jersey, Tracy was living on an allowance of 35 cents a day. A stock company in Winnipeg was the first to give Tracy leading roles, but it soon closed business. He finally achieved some success by joining forces with the notable stock manager William H. Wright in 1924. A stage partnership was formed with the young actress Selena Royle, who had already made her name on Broadway. It proved a popular draw and their productions were favorably received. Tracy's growing reputation for naturalness bought him to the attention of a Broadway producer, who offered him the lead in a new play entitled The Sheepman. Delighted at the prospect of progressing from stock, Tracy accepted the role. The play was a flop, not even making it past its trial run in Connecticut, and Tracy was forced back to Wright and the stock circuit.

In the fall of 1926, Tracy was offered his third shot at Broadway: a role in a new George M. Cohan play called Yellow. Tracy swore that if it failed to be a hit he would not return to stock, he would begin work in a "regular" business instead. Cohan was one of the most important figures in American theatre, and Tracy was nervous working with him, but during rehearsals Cohan announced: "Tracy, you're the best goddamned actor I've ever seen!" The reception to Yellow was lukewarm but it had a respectable run of 17 weeks, and began for Tracy an important collaboration with Cohan. A part was written specifically for Tracy in his next play, The Baby Cyclone. It opened on Broadway in September 1927 and proved to be a hit. Tracy followed this with another Cohan play, Whispering Friends, and in 1929 took over from Clark Gable in a Broadway drama Conflict. A variety of other roles followed, but it was the lead in Dread, written by Pulitzer Prize winner Owen Davis, that gave Tracy high hopes for success. The story of a man's descent into madness, Dread previewed in Brooklyn to an excellent reception, but the very next day—October 29—the New York stock market crashed. Unable to attain funding, Dread did not open on Broadway. Following this disappointment, Tracy considered leaving the theatre and returning to Milwaukee for a more stable life.

In January 1930, Tracy was approached about a new play called The Last Mile. Looking to cast the lead role of a serial killer on death row, producer Herman Shumlin met with Tracy, and later recounted: "beneath the surface, here was a man of passion, violence, sensitivity and desperation: no ordinary man, and just the man for the part." The Last Mile opened on Broadway in February, where Tracy's intense performance was met by a standing ovation that lasted 14 curtain calls. The Commonweal described him as "one of our best and most versatile young actors". The play was a hit with critics, and ran for 289 performances.

Fox (1930–1935)

With Dickie Moore in Disorderly Conduct (1932)

Tracy had not considered being a movie actor, saying "I had no ambition in that direction and I was perfectly happy on the stage." In 1930 Broadway was being heavily scouted for actors to work in the new film medium of "talkies", and Tracy was drawn into the process. Within a month of opening The Last Mile, he made his screen debut in a short called Taxi Talks. This was followed by a second short, The Hard Guy. One of the scouts who saw Tracy in The Last Mile was director John Ford. Ford's next picture was set to be a prison movie, and he wanted Tracy for the lead role. Production company Fox Film Corporation were unsure, saying that he did not photograph well in make-up. Ford convinced them that Tracy did not need it, and he was cast in the movie. Up the River (1930) marked the film debut of both Tracy and Humphrey Bogart. Fox were pleased with Tracy's work and offered him a long-term contract. Knowing that he needed the money for his family—his young son was deaf and recovering from polio—Tracy signed with Fox and moved to California. He appeared on the stage again only once more in his life.

Winfield Sheehan, the head of Fox, committed to making Tracy a bankable commodity. The studio went to efforts to promote the actor, releasing adverts for his second film Quick Millions (1931) with the headline "A New Star Shines." Three films were made in quick succession, all of which were unsuccessful at the box office. Tracy found himself typecast in comedies, usually playing a crook or a con man. The mold was broken with his seventh picture, Disorderly Conduct (1932), and it was the first of his films since Up the River to make a profit. In mid-1932, after nine pictures, Tracy remained virtually unknown to the public. He considered leaving Fox once his contract was up for renewal, but a rise in his weekly rate to $1,500 convinced him to stay. He continued to appear in unpopular films, with Me and My Gal (1932) setting an all time low attendance record for the Roxy Theatre in New York City. He was loaned to Warner Bros. for 20,000 Years in Sing Sing (1932), a prison drama co-starring Bette Davis. Tracy was hopeful that it would be his break-out role, but despite good reviews this failed to materialize.

Tracy appeared with Loretta Young in Man's Castle (1933)

Critics began to notice Tracy with The Power and the Glory (1933). The story of a man's rise to prosperity, written by Preston Sturges, Tracy's performance received uniformly strong reviews. William Wilkinson of The Hollywood Reporter wrote: "This sterling performer has finally been given an opportunity to show an ability that has been boxed in by gangster roles ... [the film] has introduced Mr. Tracy as one of the screen's best performers". Mordaunt Hall of The New York Times stated: "No more convincing performance has been given on the screen than Spencer Tracy's impersonation of Tom Garner." Shanghai Madness (1933), meanwhile, gave Tracy a previously unseen sex appeal and served to advance his standing. Despite this attention, Tracy's next two movies went largely unnoticed. Man's Castle (1933) with Loretta Young was anticipated to be a hit, but made only a small profit. The Show Off (1934), for which he was loaned to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, proved popular, but his subsequent outings continued to be unsuccessful.

Tracy drank heavily during his years with Fox, and gained a reputation as an alcoholic. He failed to report for filming on Marie Galante in June 1934, and was found in his hotel room, virtually unconscious after a two week binge. Tracy was removed from the Fox payroll while he recovered in hospital, and then sued $125,000 for delaying the production. He completed only two more pictures with the studio. The details on how Tracy's relationship with Fox ended are unclear: later in life Tracy maintained that he was fired for his drunken behavior, but the Fox records do not support this account. He was still under contract with the studio when MGM expressed their interest in the actor. They were in need of a new male star, and contacted Tracy on April 2, 1935, offering him a seven-year deal. That afternoon, the contract between Tracy and Fox was terminated "by mutual consent". Tracy made a total of 25 pictures in the five years he was with Fox Film Corporation, most of which lost money at the box office.

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

Becoming a star (1935–1939)

Tracy in Fritz Lang's Fury (1936), his first major hit.

In the 1930s, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer was the most respected movie production studio in Hollywood. When Tracy arrived there, his own reputation was not strong. Biographer James Curtis writes: "Tracy was scarcely a blip on the box office barometer in 1935, a critics' darling and little more". He was, however, well known for being a troublemaker. Producer Irving G. Thalberg was nevertheless enthusiastic about working with the actor, telling journalist Louella Parsons: "Spencer Tracy will become one of M-G-M's most valuable stars." Curtis notes that the studio managed Tracy with care, a welcome change from the ineptitude he had known at Fox, which was like "a shot of adrenaline" for the actor. His first film under the new contract was the quickly produced The Murder Man (1935). Thalberg then began a strategy of pairing Tracy with the studio's top actresses: Whipsaw (1935) co-starred Myrna Loy and was a commercial succeess. Riffraff (1936) put Tracy opposite Jean Harlow. Both films were, however, designed and promoted to showcase their leading ladies, thus continuing Tracy's reputation as a secondary star.

Fury (1936) was the first film to prove that Tracy could make a success on his own merit. Directed by Fritz Lang, Tracy played a man who swears revenge after narrowly escaping death by a lynch mob. The film and performance received excellent reviews. It was popular with the public, going on to make $1,300,000 worldwide. Curtis writes: "audiences who, just a year earlier, had no clear handle on him, were suddenly turning out to see him. It was a transition that was nothing short of miraculous ... [and showed] a willingness on the part of the public to embrace a leading man who was not textbook handsome nor bigger than life." It was followed one month later by the big-budget disaster movie San Francisco (1936). Tracy starred alongside Clark Gable, allowing audiences to see him with Hollywood's top male star. His role in the film was as a priest, which his wife later said he was "a little dubious about", feeling a great sense of responsibility in representing the church to a mass audience. The performance was highly praised and Tracy received an Oscar nomination for Best Actor, despite having only 17 minutes of screen time. San Francisco went on to be the highest grossing picture of 1936. Tracy had also entered a period of self-imposed sobriety by this point, and MGM were pleased by his professionalism.

Tracy's Oscar-winning role in Captains Courageous (1937). He is seen here with co-star Freddie Bartholomew.

Tracy's reputation continued to grow as his next film, the screwball comedy Libeled Lady (1936), cast him with William Powell, Loy and Harlow. As Curtis says, "Powell, Harlow and Loy were among the biggest draws in the industry, and equal billing in such a powerhouse company could only serve to advance Tracy's standing". It was his third hit picture in the space of six months. Tracy appeared in four movies in 1937. They Gave Him a Gun went largely unnoticed, but Captains Courageous was one of the major film events of the year. Tracy played a Portuguese fisherman in the adventure movie. He was uncomfortable feigning a foreign accent, and resented having his hair curled, but the role was a hit with audiences. For his work in Captains Courageous, Tracy won the Academy Award for Best Actor. It was followed by Big City with Luise Rainer and Mannequin with Joan Crawford, the latter of which took good billings at the box office. With two years of hit movies and industry recognition, Tracy became a significant star in America. A poll of 20 million people to find the "King and Queen of Hollywood", announced in December 1937, ranked Tracy sixth among males.

Tracy was reunited with Gable and Loy for 1938's Test Pilot. It was another commercial success, and was well received by critics. Based on the positive response he had received in San Francisco, MGM again cast Tracy as a priest in Boys Town (1938). Portraying Edward J. Flanagan was a role he took seriously, saying "I'm so anxious to do a good job as Father Flanagan that it worries me, keeps me awake at night." Tracy received strong reviews for the performance, and the movie took $4,000,000 in worldwide billings. For the second year running, Tracy received an Academy Award for Best Actor. He was humble about the recognition, saying in his acceptance speech: "I honestly do not feel that I can accept this award ... I can accept it only as it was meant to be for a great man—Father Flanagan". He chose to give the statuette to Flanagan. Tracy was listed as the fifth biggest money-making star of 1938. He was absent from screens for almost a year before appearing as Henry M. Stanley in Stanley and Livingstone, his only film of 1939. Curtis claims this non-visibility did little to affect Tracy's standing with the public or exhibitors. In October of that year, a survey conducted by Fortune magazine to find the nation's favorite movie actor listed Tracy in first place.

Top-Biller (1940–1949)

MGM capitalized on Tracy's popularity, casting him in four movies for 1940. I Take This Woman with Hedy Lamarr was a critical and commercial failure, but the historical drama Northwest Passage—Tracy's first film in Technicolor—proved popular. He then portrayed Thomas Edison in Edison, the Man. Philip Hartung wrote in The Commonweal: "Tracy, one of Hollywood's most capable and sincere actors, is well cast as the struggling inventor who works against all odds." Boom Town was a third Gable-Tracy picture, also featuring Claudette Colbert, making it one of the most anticipated films of the year. It opened to the biggest crowd since Gone With the Wind. Tracy signed a new contract with MGM in April 1941, which paid $5,000 a week and limited him to three pictures a year (Tracy had previously expressed a need to reduce his workload). It also stated, for the first time, that his billing was to be "that of a star". Boom Town was the last movie Tracy made in which his name did not feature in pole position.

Promotional image for Woman of the Year (1942), the first of nine pictures Tracy made with Katharine Hepburn.

The Sea of Grass (1947)

In 1941 he returned to the role of Father Flanagan in Men of Boys Town. It was followed later that year by an adaptation of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Tracy's only venture into the horror genre. His co-stars in the movie were Ingrid Bergman and Lana Turner. Tracy was unhappy with the picture, disliking the heavy make-up he needed to portray Hyde. The response from critics was mixed, and Theodore Strauss of The New York Times wrote that "Mr. Tracy's portrait of Hyde is not so much evil incarnate as it is the ham rampant." It was popular with audiences, however, taking worldwide billings in excess of $2,000,000.

Tracy was set to star in a film version of The Yearling for 1942, but on-set difficulties and bad weather forced the production to close. As such, he became available for the new Katharine Hepburn movie, Woman of the Year (1942). Hepburn greatly admired Tracy, calling him "the best movie actor there was", and had wanted him for her comeback vehicle The Philadelphia Story (1940). She reported her delight that he was available for Woman of the Year, saying "I was just damned grateful he was willing to work with me." The romantic comedy performed well at the box office and collected strong reviews. William Boehnel wrote in the New York World-Telegram "To begin with, it has Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy in the leading roles. This in itself would be enough to make any film memorable. But when you get Tracy and Hepburn turning in brilliant performances to boot, you've got something to cheer about."

Woman of the Year was followed by an adaptation of John Steinbeck's Tortilla Flat (1942), which met with a tepid response. MGM did not hesitate to repeat the Tracy-Hepburn teaming, and cast them in the dark mystery Keeper of the Flame (1942). Despite a weak critical reception it was a popular success, outgrossing its predecessor and confirming the strength of the partnership. Tracy's next three appearances were all war-based. A Guy Named Joe (1943) with Irene Dunne surpassed San Francisco to become his highest-grossing film to date. The Seventh Cross (1944), about the escape from a Nazi concentration camp, met with critical acclaim. It was followed by the aviation film Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo (1944). On the strength of these three releases, the annual Quigley poll revealed Tracy as MGM's biggest money-making star of 1944. His only film the following year was Without Love (1945), a third film with Hepburn that performed well at box offices despite muted enthusiasm from critics.

In 1945, Tracy returned to the stage for the first time in 15 years. He had been through a dark patch personally—culminating with a stay in hospital—and Hepburn felt that a play would help restore his focus. Tracy told a journalist in April, "I'm coming back to Broadway to see if I can still act." The play was The Rugged Path by Robert E. Sherwood. It first previewed in Providence on September 28, to a sold out crowd and tepid response. It was a difficult production; director Garson Kanin later wrote: "In the ten days prior to the New York opening all the important relationships had deteriorated. Spencer was tense and unbending, could not, or would not, take direction". Tracy considered leaving the show before it even opened on Broadway, and lasted there just six weeks before announcing his intention to close the show. It closed on January 19, 1946, after 81 performances. Tracy later explained to a friend: "I couldn't say those goddamn lines over and over and over again every night ... At least every day is a new day for me in films ... But this thing—every day, every day, over and over again."

Tracy did not work at all for the year 1946. His next film was The Sea of Grass (1947) a drama set in the American Old West with Hepburn. Similarly to Keeper of the Flame and Without Love, a lukewarm response from critics did not stop it from being a financial success both at home and abroad. He followed it later that year with Cass Timberlane, in which he played a judge. It was a commercial success, but Curtis notes that co-star Lana Turner overshadowed Tracy in most of the reviews. A fifth film with Hepburn came in 1948, Frank Capra's political drama State of the Union. Tracy played a presidential candidate in the movie, which was warmly received. He then appeared in Edward, My Son (1949) with Deborah Kerr. Tracy disliked the role, and commented to director George Cukor "It's rather disconcerting to me to find how easily I play a heel." Upon release, The New Yorker wrote of the "hopeless miscasting of Mr. Tracy" and it went on to be his biggest money-loser at MGM. Tracy finished off the 1940s with Malaya (1949), an adventure film with James Stewart, and Adam's Rib (1949), a comedy with Hepburn. The latter was written specifically for the duo by their friends Garson Kanin and Ruth Gordon, and had them playing married lawyers who oppose each other in court. It received strong reviews, and became the highest grossing Tracy-Hepburn picture to date. Bosley Crowther wrote "Mr. Tracy and Miss Hepburn are the stellar performers in this show and their perfect compatibility in comic capers is delightful to see."

Final MGM years (1950–1955)

Tracy and Elizabeth Taylor in a promotional image for Father of the Bride (1950). The comedic role of Stanley Banks was one of Tracy's nine Oscar nominated performances.

The 1950s began strongly for Tracy, as he received an Academy Award nomination—the first in 12 years—for Father of the Bride (1950). The role was Stanley Banks, the despairing titular character who attempts to handle preparations for his daughter's (played by Elizabeth Taylor) upcoming wedding. Variety noted "It's the second strong comedy in a row for Spencer Tracy, doing the title role, and he socks it." Newsweek stated in their review: "Tracy hilariously sparks Father of the Bride with one of his surest comedy performances." Bosley Crowther called the film "wonderful" and declared: "As a father, torn by jealousy, devotion, pride and righteous wrath, Mr. Tracy is tops." The film was the biggest commercial success of his career to date, earning $6,000,000 worldwide. MGM were immediately keen for a sequel, which Tracy was unsure of but accepted. Father's Little Dividend (1951) was released ten months later, and made good business. On the strength of the two movies, Tracy again polled as one of the nation's top stars.

Tracy portrayed a lawyer in 1951's The People Against O'Hara, and then re-teamed with Hepburn for the sports comedy Pat and Mike (1952). It was a second feature written expressly for the pair by Kanin and Gordon, and proved one of the duo's most popular and critically acclaimed films. Tracy followed it with Plymouth Adventure (1952), a historical drama set abroad the Mayflower, co-starring Gene Tierney. It met with a poor response and posted a loss of $1,800,000. In 1953 he appeared in The Actress, where he again played a concerned father. Producer Lawrence Weingarten later summarized the fate of the movie: "That film ... got more [acclaim] from the critics than any film I ever made in all the years, and we didn't make enough to pay for the ushers in the theatre." The performance won Tracy a Golden Globe Award and a British Academy Film Award nomination.

Broken Lance was Tracy's only appearance of 1954. The Western was well received. In 1955 he turned down William Wyler's The Desperate Hours because he refused to take second-billing to Humphrey Bogart, and instead appeared in Bad Day at Black Rock (1955). The John Sturges directed film had Tracy playing a one-armed protagonist who faces the hostility of a small town. Tracy received a fifth Oscar nomination for his work, and was awarded the Best Actor prize at the Cannes Film Festival. He had personally been unhappy with the picture, and threatened to leave it during production. This became a regular occurrence for the aging Tracy, who was increasingly disillusioned with his abilities. He began production on Tribute to a Bad Man in the summer of 1955, but pulled out when the location shooting in Colorado gave him altitude sickness. The trouble caused by the picture fractured Tracy's relationship with MGM. In June 1955 he was the last remaining star of the studio's heyday, but with his contract up for renewal—Tracy opted to go independent for the first time in his movie career.

Independent player

First independent roles (1956–1959)

The first film Tracy appeared in away from MGM was The Mountain (1956). The location filming in the French Alps proved a difficult experience, and he threatened to leave the project. His performance earned a BAFTA nomination for Best Foreign Actor. Tracy and Hepburn then paired together for the eighth time in the office-based comedy Desk Set (1957). He again had to be convinced to stay with the film which met with a weak response. In 1958, Tracy appeared in a project that had been in development for five years. The Old Man and the Sea was an adaptation of Ernest Hemingway's novella of the same name. Hemingway's agent, Leland Hayward, had previously written to the author: "Of all Hollywood people, the one that comes the closest to me in quality, in personality and voice, in personal dignity and ability, is Spencer Tracy." Tracy was delighted to be offered the role. He was told to lose some of his 210 pounds before filming began, but failed to do so. Hemingway thus reported that Tracy was a "terrible liability to the picture", and had to be reassured that the star was being carefully photographed to disguise his weight. Appearing alone on screen for the majority of the film, Tracy considered The Old Man and the Sea the toughest part he ever played. In reviewing the performance, Jack Moffitt of the Hollywood Reporter said it was "so intimate and revealing of universal human experience that, to me, it almost transcended acting and became reality." Tracy received Oscar and BAFTA Award nominations for the work.

After abandoning two projects, including a proposed remake of The Blue Angel with Marilyn Monroe, Tracy's next feature was The Last Hurrah (1958). It reunited him with his debut director, John Ford, after 28 years. Tracy took a year to commit to the project, in which he played an Irish-American mayor seeking re-election. The movie was favorably reviewed, but not commercially successful. At the end of 1958, the National Board of Review named Tracy the year's Best Actor. He nevertheless began to ponder retirement, with Curtis writing that he was "chronically tired, unhappy, ill, and uninterested in work."

Stanley Kramer partnership (1960–1967)

Tracy played Clarence Darrow in Inherit the Wind (1960), the first of four films he made with Stanley Kramer.

Tracy did not appear on screens again until October 1960. Inherit the Wind was based on the Scopes "Monkey Trial" of 1925, which debated the right to teach evolution in schools. Director Stanley Kramer sought Tracy for the role of lawyer Clarence Darrow from the outset. Starring opposite him was Fredric March, a pairing Variety called "a stroke of casting genius ... Both men are spellbinders in the most laudatory sense of the word." The film garnered Tracy some of the strongest reviews of his career, but was not a commercial hit. He was nominated for an Academy Award, BAFTA Award and Golden Globe Award for the performance.

Tracy's first film of 1961 was The Devil at 4 O'Clock, where he played a priest for the fourth time in his career. His co-star was Frank Sinatra, who ceded top-billing to guarantee Tracy for the picture. Tracy briefly pulled out of the production, citing the Hawaii location work with a simulated volcano as "too hazardous", but Sinatra convinced him to stay. Critics were unenthusiastic about the film, which nevertheless grossed $4,555,000—Tracy's biggest commercial success since Father of the Bride.

Inherit the Wind began an enduring collaboration between Tracy and Stanley Kramer, and the final three films he appeared in were all Kramer directed. Their second feature together was Judgment at Nuremberg, released at the end of 1961. It depicted the "Judges' Trial", in which the judges of Nazi Germany were tried for their role in the Holocaust. Abby Mann wrote the role of Judge Haywood with Tracy in mind, and Tracy called it the best script he had ever read. At the end of the film, Tracy had to deliver a 13 minute long speech. He recorded it in one take, and received a round of applause from the cast and crew. Mann wrote to Tracy upon seeing the film, and said: "Every writer ought to have the experience of having Spencer Tracy do his lines. There is nothing in the world quite like it." The film met with positive reviews, a large audience, and Tracy received an eighth Oscar nomination for his performance.

In Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967). Tracy died 17 days after filming was completed.

Tracy turned down roles in Long Days Journey Into Night (1962) and The Leopard (1963), and had to pull out of Ford's all-star How the West Was Won (1962) when it clashed with Judgment at Nuremberg. He was, however, able to record the film's narration track. Tracy's health was very poor by this period, and working became a challenge. He took a role in Kramer's comedy It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963), a small part that he was able to complete in nine days. Tracy's name topped the list of performers, and the film was one of the most popular of the year. As his health worsened, however, he had to cancel commitments to Cheyenne Autumn (1964) and The Cincinnati Kid (1965). Offers continued to come, but Tracy did not work again until Kramer's Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967), which allowed him to work with Hepburn for the ninth time.

Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, also starring Sidney Poitier, explored the issue of interracial marriage, with Tracy playing a liberal-minded newspaper publisher whose values are challenged when his daughter wishes to marry a black man. He was happy to be working again, but told the press the movie would be his last. In order for filming to commence, Tracy had to be insured for the high premium of $71,000, and Hepburn and Kramer both put their salaries in escrow until his scenes had been completed. He could only work for two or three hours each day. Tracy completed his last scene on May 24, 1967. His death, by heart attack, came 17 days later on June 10. Guess Who's Coming to Dinner was released in December, and although reviews were mixed Curtis states that "Tracy's performance was singled out for praise in nearly every instance." Brendan Gill of The New Yorker wrote that Tracy gave "a faultless and, under the circumstances, heartbreaking performance." The movie became the highest grossing picture that Tracy ever appeared in. At the 40th Academy Awards, Tracy received a posthumous nomination for Best Actor; his ninth. He was also nominated for a Golden Globe Award, while the British Academy awarded Tracy their Best Actor prize.

Personal life

See also: Katharine Hepburn#Spencer Tracy

Tracy met actress Louise Treadwell while they were both members of The Wood Players in White Plains, New York (the first stock company Tracy joined after graduating). They were engaged in May 1923, and married on September 10 of that year between the matinee and evening performances of his show. Their son, John Ten Broeck Tracy, was born in June 1924. When John was 10 months old, Louise discovered that the boy was deaf. She resisted telling Tracy for three months, and he was devastated by the news. Tracy became convinced that John's deafness was a punishment for his own sins—namely adultery—and felt a lifelong guilt over this. He had trouble connecting with his son as a result, and distanced himself from his family. Friend Joseph L. Mankiewicz later theorized: "[Tracy] didn't leave Louise. He left the scene of his guilt." A second child, Louise "Susie" Treadwell Tracy, was born in July 1932.

Tracy left the family home in 1933. He and Louise openly discussed the separation with the media, maintaining that they were still friends and had not taken divorce action. From September 1933 to June 1934, Tracy had a public affair with Loretta Young, his co-star in Man's Castle. He reconciled with Louise in 1935. There was never again an official separation between Tracy and his wife, but the marriage continued to be troubled. Tracy increasingly lived in hotels and by the 1940s, Curtis notes that the couple were effectively living separate lives. Tracy frequently engaged in extramarital affairs, including with co-stars Joan Crawford in 1937, and Ingrid Bergman in 1941.

While making Woman of the Year in September 1941, Tracy began a relationship with Katharine Hepburn. The actress became devoted to him, and their relationship lasted until his death 26 years later. Tracy never returned to live in the family home, although visited regularly. MGM was careful to protect its contract stars from controversy, and Tracy wished to conceal the relationship from his wife, so it was hidden from the public. They did not live together until the final years of Tracy's life. In Hollywood, the intimate nature of the Tracy-Hepburn partnership was an open secret. Angela Lansbury, who worked with the pair on State of the Union, later said: "We all knew, but nobody ever said anything. In those days it wasn't discussed." Tracy was not someone to express his emotions, but friend Betsy Drake believed he "was utterly dependent upon [Hepburn]." The infidelity continued, including an affair with Gene Tierney during the making of Plymouth Adventure in 1952. Neither Tracy or his wife ever pursued a divorce, despite their estrangement. He told Joan Fontaine, "I can get a divorce whenever I want to, but my wife and Kate like things just as they are." Louise, meanwhile, reportedly commented: "I will be Mrs. Spencer Tracy until the day I die." Hepburn did not interfere and never fought for marriage.

Throughout his life, Tracy followed the Catholic faith in which he was raised. He was not a devout follower of the religion, according to his cousin, Jane Feely, who added "and he was often not a practical one either. I would call him a spiritual Catholic." Garson Kanin, a close friend of Tracy's for 25 years, indicated that the actor respected his religion. At periods in his life, Tracy attended Mass regularly. His children were raised in their mother's Episcopalian faith. Tracy did not believe actors should publicize their political views, but in 1940 lent his name to the "Hollywood for Roosevelt" committee and personally identified as a Democrat.

Health, death, legacy

Tracy's memorial at Forest Lawn

On July 21, 1963, Tracy was hospitalized after a severe attack of breathlessness. Doctors found that he was suffering from pulmonary edema, the accumulation of fluid in the lungs. They also declared his blood pressure as dangerously high. Tracy became very weak in this period, and Hepburn moved into his home to provide constant care. In January 1965, he was diagnosed with hypertensive heart disease, and began treatment for a previously ignored diagnosis of diabetes. In early September, Tracy underwent a prostatectomy after complaining of frequent abdominal cramps and urinary tract infections. His health was recorded as good for the next 10 days, but on September 14, Tracy's system went into shock as his kidneys began to fail. By the following day, the patient was comatose and not expected to survive the night. An improvement was recorded the next day, described by Tracy's doctor as "a kind of miracle", and he was responsive by the 17th. Tracy was allowed home on on September 28, "practically normal", according to his wife, but very weak.

Tracy spent the majority of the next two years at home with Hepburn, living what she described as a quiet life: reading, painting and listening to music. On June 10, 1967, Tracy awakened at 3am to make a cup of tea. Hepburn described in her autobiography how she followed him to the kitchen: "Just as I was about to give [the door] a push, there was a sound of a cup smashing to the floor—then clump—a loud clump." She entered the room to find Tracy dead from a heart attack. Hepburn recalled, "He looked so happy to be done with living, which for all his accomplishments had been a frightful burden for him." The media were told by MGM publicist Howard Strickling that Tracy had been alone when he died, and was found by his housekeeper. A Requiem Mass was held for Tracy on June 12 at the Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church in East Hollywood. Active pallbearers included George Cukor, Stanley Kramer, Frank Sinatra, James Stewart and John Ford. Tracy was interred in Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California.

In the 21st century, Tracy is primarily remembered for his association with Katharine Hepburn. While he was alive, however, he was widely considered one of the greatest American actors. He is particularly respected for his versatility. In 1988 the University of California at Los Angeles Campus Events Commission and Susie Tracy created the UCLA Spencer Tracy Award. The award has been given to actors in recognition for their achievement in film acting. Past recipients include William Hurt, James Stewart, Michael Douglas, Denzel Washington, Tom Hanks, Sir Anthony Hopkins, Jodie Foster, Harrison Ford, Anjelica Huston, Nicolas Cage, Kirk Douglas, Jack Lemmon and Morgan Freeman. The American Academy of Dramatic Arts, Tracy's alma mater, awards a scholarship in his name.

The main character Carl from Pixar's film Up was primarily based on a combination of Spencer Tracy and Walter Matthau, because, according to director Pete Docter, there was "something sweet about these grumpy old guys".

Filmography

Tracy appeared in 75 feature films and several short films. Eight of the films he starred in were nominated for Best Picture: San Francisco, Libeled Lady, Captains Courageous, Test Pilot, Boys Town, Father of the Bride, Judgment at Nuremberg and Guess Who's Coming to Dinner.

Year	Film	Role	Notes
1930	taxi !Taxi Talks	Taxi Driver	short subject
	hard !The Hard Guy	Guy	short subject
	Up the River	Saint Louis
1931	Quick Millions	Daniel J. 'Bugs' Raymond
	Six Cylinder Love	William Donroy
	Goldie	Bill
1932	She Wanted a Millionaire	William Kelley
	Sky Devils	Wilkie
	Disorderly Conduct	Dick Fay
	Young America	Jack Doray
	Society Girl	Briscoe
	painted !The Painted Woman	Tom Brian
	Me and My Gal	Danny Dolan
	twenty !20,000 Years in Sing Sing	Tommy Connors
1933	Face in the Sky	Joe Buck
	Shanghai Madness	Pat Jackson
	power !The Power and the Glory	Tom Garner
	Man's Castle	Bill
	mad game !The Mad Game	Edward Carson
1934	show-off !The Show-Off	J. Aubrey Piper
	Looking for Trouble	Joe Graham
	Bottoms Up	'Smoothie' King
	Now I'll Tell	Murray Golden
	Marie Galante	Dr. Crawbett
1935	It's a Small World	Bill Shevlin
	murder !The Murder Man	Steven 'Steve' Grey	first credited screen role of James Stewart
	Dante's Inferno	Jim Carter
	Whipsaw	Ross 'Mac' McBride	with Myrna Loy
1936	Riffraff	Dutch	with Jean Harlow and Mickey Rooney
	Fury	Joe Wilson
	San Francisco	Father Mullin	with Clark Gable Nominated — Academy Award for Best Actor Nominated — New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor[citation needed]
	Libeled Lady	Warren Haggerty	The film was nominated for Best Picture, but lost out to The Great Ziegfeld
1937	They Gave Him a Gun	Fred P. Willis
	Captains Courageous	Manuel Fidello	with Lionel Barrymore, John Carradine, Melvyn Douglas, Mickey Rooney and Freddie Bartholomew Academy Award for Best Actor Nominated — New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor[citation needed]
	Big City	Joe Benton
	Mannequin	John L. Hennessey
1938	Test Pilot	Gunner Morris	with Clark Gable
	Boys Town	Father Flanagan	with Mickey Rooney Academy Award for Best Actor Nominated — New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor[citation needed]
	Another Romance of Celluloid	himself	behind-the-scenes short film, includes filming of Test Pilot, and shows Tracy accepting his Academy Award for Boys Town
	Screen Snapshots Series 17, No. 9	himself	short subject showing Tracy accepting his Academy Award for Boys Town
	Hollywood Goes to Town	himself	short subject, showing notable Hollywood performers preparing for the world premiere of Marie Antoinette
1939	Stanley and Livingstone	Henry M. Stanley
	For Auld Lang Syne	himself	fundraising short film in which several actors, including Tracy, appeal for funds for the Will Rogers Memorial Hospital
	Hollywood Hobbies	himself	behind-the-scenes short film
1940	I Take This Woman	Dr. Karl Decker
	Young Tom Edison	uncredited role	with Mickey Rooney Tracy appears as a man admiring a portrait of Edison; he plays the older Edison in Edison, the Man in the same year
	Northwest Passage	Major Rogers
	Edison, the Man	Thomas Edison
	Boom Town	Jonathan Sand	with Clark Gable
	Northward, Ho!	himself	behind-the-scenes short film about the filming of Northwest Passage
1941	Men of Boys Town	Father Flanagan	with Mickey Rooney
	Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde	Dr. Henry Jekyll / Mr. Hyde
1942	Woman of the Year	Sam Craig	first film with Katharine Hepburn
	Tortilla Flat	Pilon
	Keeper of the Flame	Steven 'Stevie' O'Malley	with Katharine Hepburn
	Ring of Steel	Narrator	Military documentary
1943	His New World	Narrator	War documentary
	guy !A Guy Named Joe	Pete Sandidge
1944	seventh !The Seventh Cross	George Heisler
	Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo	Lieutenant Colonel James H. Doolittle
1945	Without Love	Pat Jamieson	with Katharine Hepburn
1947	sea of !The Sea of Grass	Col. James B. 'Jim' Brewton	with Katharine Hepburn
	Cass Timberlane	Cass Timberlane
1948	State of the Union	Grant Matthews	with Katharine Hepburn
1949	Edward, My Son	Arnold Boult
	Adam's Rib	Adam Bonner	with Katharine Hepburn
	Malaya	Canaghan
	Some of the Best	himself	retrospective of MGM's history
1950	Father of the Bride	Stanley Banks	Nominated — Academy Award for Best Actor
1951	Father's Little Dividend	Stanley Banks
	people !The People Against O'Hara	James P. Curtayne
	For Defense for Freedom for Humanity	himself	short film in which Tracy urges support for Red Cross fundraising
1952	Pat and Mike	Mike Conovan	with Katharine Hepburn
	Plymouth Adventure	Captain Christopher Jones	with Gene Tierney
1953	actress !The Actress	Clinton Jones	Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama Nominated — BAFTA Award for Best Foreign Actor Nominated — New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor[citation needed]
1954	Broken Lance	Matt Devereaux
1955	Bad Day at Black Rock	John J. Macreedy	Best Actor Award (Cannes Film Festival) Prix d'interprétation masculine Nominated — Academy Award for Best Actor Nominated — New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor[citation needed]
1956	mountain !The Mountain	Zachary Teller	Nominated — BAFTA Award for Best Foreign Actor
1957	Desk Set	Richard Sumner	with Katharine Hepburn
1958	old man !The Old Man and the Sea	The Old Man/Narrator	NBR Award for Best Actor (award was also for The Last Hurrah) Nominated — Academy Award for Best Actor Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama Nominated — New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor[citation needed]
	last !The Last Hurrah	Mayor Frank Skeffington	NBR Award for Best Actor (award was also for The Old Man and the Sea) Nominated — BAFTA Award for Best Foreign Actor Nominated — New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor[citation needed]
1960	last !Inherit the Wind	Henry Drummond	Nominated — Academy Award for Best Actor Nominated — BAFTA Award for Best Foreign Actor Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama
1961	devil !The Devil at 4 O'Clock	Father Matthew Doonan
	Judgment at Nuremberg	Chief Judge Dan Haywood	Fotogramas de Plata Award for Best Foreign Performer Nominated — Academy Award for Best Actor
1962	How the West Was Won	Narrator
1963	It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World	Captain T. G. Culpepper	with Milton Berle, Sid Caesar, Edie Adams, Ethel Merman, Jonathan Winters, Mickey Rooney, Buddy Hackett, Phil Silvers, and numerous others
1967	Guess Who's Coming to Dinner	Matt Drayton	with Katharine Hepburn BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role (posthumous) Nominated — Academy Award for Best Actor (posthumous) Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama (posthumous) Nominated — New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor (posthumous)[citation needed]

Awards and nominations

Main article: List of awards and nominations received by Spencer Tracy

Academy Award wins and nominations (all for Best Actor):

• 1937: Nomination for San Francisco
• 1938: Win for Captains Courageous
• 1939: Win for Boys Town
• 1951: Nomination for Father of the Bride
• 1956: Nomination for Bad Day at Black Rock
• 1959: Nomination for The Old Man and the Sea
• 1961: Nomination for Inherit the Wind
• 1962: Nomination for Judgment at Nuremberg
• 1968: Nomination for Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (posthumous nomination)

References

Sources

• Bacall, Lauren (2005). By Myself and Then Some. It Books. ISBN 0060755350. 
• Berg, Scott A. (2004 edition). Kate Remembered: Katharine Hepburn, a Personal Biography. Pocket. ISBN 0743415639. 
• Curtis, James (2011). Spencer Tracy: A Biography. London: Hutchinson. ISBN 0091785243. 
• Deschner, Donald (1972 edition). The Films of Spencer Tracy. Secaucus, New Jersey: The Citadel Press. ISBN 080650272X. 
• Hepburn, Katharine (1991). Me: Stories of My Life. Alfred A. Knopf. ISBN 0679400516. 
• Kanin, Garson (1971). Tracy and Hepburn; an intimate memoir. New York: Viking. ISBN 0670722936. 

External links

• Spencer Tracy at the Internet Movie Database
• Spencer Tracy at the Internet Broadway Database
• Spencer Tracy at the TCM Movie Database
• Profile @ Turner Classic Movies
• Chang, David A. "Spencer Tracy's Boyhood: Truth, Fiction, and Hollywood Dreams," Wisconsin Magazine of History, vol. 84, no. 1 (Autumn 2000)
• Spencer Tracy in the Wisconsin Birth Records, 1900 US Census, 1905 Wisconsin Census, 1910 US Census, Ohio Marriage Records, 1930 US Census, and Social Security Death Index.