Spencer Tracy (1900–1967) was an American actor. His film career began in 1930 with Up the River (directed by John Ford and co-starring Humphrey Bogart), and ended in 1967 with Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (alongside Sidney Poitier and his longtime screen partner, Katharine Hepburn). Within his 37-year career, Tracy starred in 75 feature films and several short films.
He earned nine Academy Award for Best Actor nominations (tied for the most in that category with Laurence Olivier) throughout his career, and was the first male actor to win two consecutively, for Captains Courageous (1937) and Boys Town (1938) (directed by Victor Fleming and Norman Taurog, respectively). He set this record just one year after Luise Rainer became the first female, and actress in general, to win "bookend Oscars".
The other seven films he was nominated for Academy Awards were San Francisco (1936) (directed by W. S. Van Dyke); Father of the Bride (1950) (directed by Vincente Minnelli); Bad Day at Black Rock (1955) and The Old Man and the Sea (1958) (both directed by John Sturges); Inherit the Wind (1960), Judgment at Nuremberg (1961), and posthumously for his final film, Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967). (The second actor in this category to be nominated posthumously after James Dean's two consecutive posthumous nominations one decade earlier.) The latter three films were all directed by Stanley Kramer, with whom Tracy had developed a partnership.
Other films which earned Tracy accolades include The Actress (1953) (directed by George Cukor—for which he won his only Golden Globe Award); The Mountain (1956) (directed by Edward Dmytryk); and The Last Hurrah (1958) (also directed by Ford). One of Tracy's biggest box office hits was his penultimate film (and the third of four working with Kramer), It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963). He received the Cannes Best Actor award for Bad Day at Black Rock and a posthumous BAFTA for "Dinner".
Hepburn & Tracy also became a legendary screen team. Their first pairing was in the film Woman of the Year (1942) (directed by George Stevens), which earned Hepburn her third Oscar nom. Subsequent Hepburn/Tracy films included Keeper of the Flame (1942) (once again, directed by Cukor), Without Love (1945) (directed by Harold S. Bucquet), Sea of Grass (1947) (directed by Elia Kazan), State of the Union (1948) (directed by Frank Capra); Adam's Rib (1949) and Pat and Mike (1952) (both also directed by Cukor); Desk Set (1957) (directed by Walter Lang); and finally culminating with the aforementioned "Dinner", prior to Tracy's fatal heart attack in 1967 at the age of 67.
Filmography Year Title Role Studio Notes 1930Taxi Driver Warner Bros.Short subjectGuyUp the RiverSaint Louis FoxWith Humphrey Bogart 1931Quick MillionsDaniel J. "Bugs" RaymondWith George Raft in key supporting roleSix Cylinder LoveWilliam DonroyWith Edward Everett HortonGoldieBillWith Jean Harlow 1932She Wanted a MillionaireWilliam KelleyWith Joan BennettSky DevilsWilkie United ArtistsCo-written by Robert BenchleyDisorderly ConductDick Fay FoxYoung AmericaJack DorayDirected by Frank BorzageSociety GirlBriscoeTom BrianMe and My GalDanny DolanWith Joan BennettTommy Connors Warner Bros.With Bette Davis 1933Face in the SkyJoe Buck FoxWith Stuart ErwinShanghai MadnessPat JacksonWith Fay WrayTom GarnerWritten by Preston SturgesEdward CarsonWith Claire TrevorMan's CastleBill ColumbiaWith Loretta Young 1934J. Aubrey Piper MGMTracy's first MGM filmLooking for TroubleJoe Graham 20th Century Pictures with United ArtistsWith Jack OakieBottoms Up"Smoothie" King FoxNow I'll TellMurray GoldenWith Helen TwelvetreesMarie GalanteDr. Crawbett 1935It's a Small WorldBill ShevlinWith Wendy BarrieSteven "Steve" Grey MGMFirst credited screen role of James StewartDante's InfernoJim Carter FoxWith Claire Trevor and dancer Rita Hayworth (billed as Rita Cansino)WhipsawRoss "Mac" McBride MGMWith Myrna Loy 1936RiffraffDutch MullerWith Jean Harlow and Mickey RooneyFuryJoe WilsonWith Sylvia SidneySan FranciscoFather Tim MullinWith Clark GableNominated—Academy Award for Best ActorNominated—New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best ActorLibeled LadyWarren HaggertyThe film was nominated for Best Picture, but lost out to The Great Ziegfeld. With William Powell, Jean Harlow, and Myrna Loy 1937They Gave Him a GunFred P. WillisWith Gladys GeorgeCaptains CourageousManuel FidelloWith Lionel Barrymore, John Carradine, Melvyn Douglas, Mickey Rooney, and Freddie Bartholomew Academy Award for Best ActorNominated—New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best ActorBig CityJoe BentonWith Luise RainerMannequinJohn L. HennesseyWith Joan Crawford 1938Test PilotGunner MorrisWith Clark Gable and Myrna LoyBoys TownFather FlanaganWith Mickey RooneyAcademy Award for Best ActorNominated—New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best ActorAnother Romance of CelluloidHimselfBehind-the-scenes short film, includes filming of Test Pilot, and shows Tracy accepting his Academy Award for Boys TownScreen Snapshots Series 17, No. 9 ColumbiaShort subject showing Tracy accepting his Academy Award for Boys TownHollywood Goes to Town MGMShort subject, showing notable Hollywood performers preparing for the world premiere of Marie Antoinette 1939Stanley and LivingstoneHenry M. Stanley 20th Century FoxWith Nancy KellyFor Auld Lang SyneHimself Will Rogers Memorial CommissionFund-raising short film in which several actors, including Tracy, appeal for funds for the Will Rogers Memorial HospitalHollywood Hobbies MGMBehind-the-scenes short film 1940I Take This WomanDr. Karl DeckerWith Hedy LamarrYoung Tom EdisonMan Admiring Portrait of Thomas A. Edison With Mickey RooneyTracy appears as a man admiring a portrait of Edison; he plays the older Edison in Edison, the Man in the same yearUncreditedNorthwest PassageMajor RogersWith Walter BrennanEdison, the ManThomas EdisonBoom TownJonathan SandWith Clark Gable, Claudette Colbert, and Hedy LamarrNorthward, Ho!HimselfBehind-the-scenes short film about the filming of Northwest Passage 1941Men of Boys TownFather FlanaganWith Mickey RooneyDr. Jekyll and Mr. HydeDr. Henry Jekyll / Mr Edward HydeWith Ingrid Bergman and Lana Turner 1942Woman of the YearSam CraigFirst film with Katharine HepburnTortilla FlatPilonWith John GarfieldRing of SteelNarrator Warner BrothersMilitary documentary for U.S. Office for Emergency Management 1943Keeper of the FlameSteven "Stevie" O'Malley MGMWith Katharine HepburnHis New WorldNarratorWar documentaryPete SandidgeWith Van Johnson 1944George HeislerThirty Seconds Over Tokyo Lieutenant Colonel James H. DoolittleWith Van Johnson and Robert Walker1945Without LovePat JamiesonWith Katharine Hepburn 1947Col. James B. "Jim" BrewtonWith Katharine HepburnCass TimberlaneCass TimberlaneWith Lana Turner1948State of the UnionGrant MatthewsWith Katharine Hepburn 1949Edward, My SonArnold BoultWith Deborah KerrAdam's RibAdam BonnerWith Katharine HepburnMalayaCanaghanWith James Stewart and Lionel BarrymoreSome of the BestHimselfRetrospective of MGM's history1950Father of the BrideStanley T. BanksNominated—Academy Award for Best Actor. With Joan Bennett and Elizabeth Taylor 1951Father's Little DividendWith Joan Bennett and Elizabeth TaylorJames P. CurtayneWith Pat O'BrienFor Defense for Freedom for HumanityHimselfShort film in which Tracy urges support for Red Cross fund-raising 1952Pat and MikeMike ConovanWith Katharine HepburnPlymouth AdventureCaptain Christopher JonesWith Gene Tierney1953Clinton JonesGolden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture DramaNominated—BAFTA Award for Best Foreign ActorNominated—New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor With Jean Simmons1954Broken LanceMatt Devereaux 20th Century FoxWith Robert Wagner1955Bad Day at Black RockJohn J. Macreedy MGMBest Actor Award (Cannes Film Festival) Prix d'interprétation masculine Nominated—Academy Award for Best ActorNominated—New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor1956Zachary Teller ParamountNominated—BAFTA Award for Best Foreign Actor1957Desk SetRichard Sumner 20th Century FoxWith Katharine Hepburn, and Tracy's last film with Zanck and Schneck and Fox 1958The Old Man / Narrator Warner Bros.NBR Award for Best Actor (also for The Last Hurrah)Nominated—Academy Award for Best ActorNominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture DramaNominated—New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best ActorMayor Frank Skeffington ColumbiaNBR Award for Best Actor (also for The Old Man and the Sea)Nominated—BAFTA Award for Best Foreign ActorNominated—New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor1960Henry Drummond United ArtistsNominated—Academy Award for Best ActorNominated—BAFTA Award for Best Foreign ActorNominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama 1961Father Matthew Doonan ColumbiaWith Frank SinatraJudgment at NurembergChief Judge Dan Haywood United ArtistsFotogramas de Plata Award for Best Foreign PerformerNominated—Academy Award for Best Actor - With Burt Lancaster, Marlene Dietrich, Richard Widmark, Judy Garland, Montgomery Clift1962How the West Was WonNarrator (voice) MGM1963It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad WorldCaptain T. G. Culpeper United ArtistsWith Milton Berle, Sid Caesar, Ethel Merman, Jonathan Winters, Mickey Rooney, Buddy Hackett, many more1967Guess Who's Coming to DinnerMatt Drayton ColumbiaWith Katharine Hepburn and Sidney PoitierBAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role 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 Released posthumously (final film role)
Box office ranking For several years, exhibitors voted Tracy among the most popular film stars in the country: 1937 - 18th (US) 1938 - 5th (US), 3rd (UK) 1939 - 3rd (US), 6th (UK) 1940 - 2nd (US), 3rd (UK) 1941 - 5th (US), 3rd (UK) 1942 - 10th (US), 3rd (UK) 1943 - 19th (US) 1944 - 5th (US), 9th (UK) 1945 - 5th (US), 7th (UK) 1946 - 21st (US) 1947 - 14th (US) 1948 - 9th (US) 1949 - 24th (US)Hope Tops Crosby At the Boxoffice By Richard L. Coe. The Washington Post (1923-1954) [Washington, D. C] 30 Dec 1949: 19. 1950 - 9th (US) 1951 - 10th (US)
See also List of awards and nominations received by Spencer Tracy
References