Spencer Tracy Guide, Meaning , Facts, Information and Description
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. Afterwards 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).
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, who continued to have a relationship for the remainder of his life, made nine films together.
Although Tracy was an alcoholic most of his adult life, it never seemed to affect his career. 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. Two weeks after making his last movie Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, with Hepburn, he died from a heart attack. He is interred in Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California.
Other notable roles include:
- Quick Millions (1931)
- Me and My Gal (1932)
- A Man's Castle (1933)
- The Power and the Glory (1933)
- 20,000 Years in Sing SIng (1933)
- Fury (1936)
- Libeled Lady (1936)
- Stanley and Livingstone (1939)
- Edison, the Man (1940)
- Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1941)
- Woman of the Year (1942), his first with Hepburn
- Tortilla Flat (1942)
- Keeper of the Flame (1942)
- A Guy Named Joe (1943)
- The Seventh Cross (1944)
- Without Love (1945)
- Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo (1944)
- Sea of Grass (1946)
- State of the Union (1948)
- Edward, My Son (1949)
- Adam's Rib (1949)
- Pat and Mike (1952)
- The Actress (1953)
- Broken Lance (1954)
- The Mountain (1956)
- Desk Set (1957)
- The Last Hurrah (1958)
- The Devil at 4 O'Clock (1961)
- Judgment at Nuremberg (1961)
- It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963)
Quotes
- "Know your lines and don't bump into the furniture."
- On drinking: "Hell, I used to take two-week lunch hours!"
- "I couldn't be a director because I couldn't put up with the actors. I don't have the patience. Why, I'd probably kill the actors. Not to mention some of the beautiful actresses."
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