Spencer Tracy
Forest Lawn Glendale
Spencer Tracy was often referred to as "the actor's actor."
Tracy originally studied for the priesthood, but quit school
to join the U.S. Navy, serving in World War I. He returned home after the
war, and was attending classes at Ripon College in Wisconsin when he landed
the lead role in a school play, "The Truth," which convinced him to pursue
acting as a career. Tracy enrolled at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts
in New York City, and landed his first role on Broadway as a robot in
"R.U.R." Director John Ford saw Tracy on Broadway in "The Last Mile," and
brought him to Hollywood to star in "Up The River" (1930), a prison drama.
Tracy appeared in a series of tough-guy roles in crime and prison films for
the next few years, including "Quick Millions" (1931), "Young America" (1932),
"Society Girl" (1932), "20,000 Years in Sing Sing" (1932), "The Mad Game"
(1933), "Looking for Trouble" (1934), "Bottoms Up" (1934), "The Murder Man"
(1935), "Whipsaw" (1935) and "Riffraff" (1935).
Perhaps using his seminary training, Tracy played a priest
for the first time in "San Francisco" (1936), co-starring Clark Gable and
Jeanette MacDonald, and received the first of his nine Academy Award
nominations as Best Actor. Tracy won the award the following year for
his performance in "Captains Courageous" (1937) -- even though the Oscar
statuette he received identified him as "Dick Tracy." Tracy put the
priest's collar back on for "Boys Town" (1938), and won another Academy
Award for his performance as Father Flanagan. Tracy was the first
actor to win the award in consecutive years -- a feat that would not be
repeated until Tom Hanks won for "Philadelphia" (1992) and "Forrest Gump"
(1993). Tracy was also nominated for "Father of the Bride" (1950),
"Bad Day at Black Rock" (1955), "The Old Man and the Sea" (1958),
"Inherit the Wind" (1960), "Judgement at Nuremberg" (1961) and
"Guess Who's Coming to Dinner" (1967).
For decades, Tracy was a favorite among film fans, who
admired his straightforward sincerity, self-effacing humor and seemingly
effortless acting style. Tracy said the only rules of acting were,
"Come to work on time, know your lines and don't bump into the other
actors." Despite his apparent simplicity, other actors still point to
Tracy as their model. Even Laurence Olivier said, "I've learned more about
acting from watching Tracy than in any other way. He has great truth
in everything he does."
Despite his on-screen "truth," Tracy is also known for
a long-term "openly secret" relationship with actress Katharine Hepburn,
which began when they met while making "Keeper of the Flame" (1942). At the
time, however, Tracy was married to a former stage actress, Louise Treadwell.
Both Tracy and his wife were devout Catholics and did not believe in divorce,
so they remained married, even though Tracy continued his relationship with
Hepburn for 25 years, until his death in 1967. Tracy and Hepburn appeared
in nine films together, including "Woman of the Year" (1942), "Without Love"
(1945), "The Sea of Grass" (1947), "State of the Union" (1948), "Adam's Rib"
(1949), "Pat and Mike" (1952), "Desk Set" (1957) and "Guess Who's Coming to
Dinner" (1967). Critics point to the on-screen relationship between
Tracy and Hepburn as the first real representation of a strong, independent
woman and a strong, independent man, relating to each other as equals.
Like the actor, Tracy's grave marker is plain, direct and
to the point, without any unnecessary frills or embellishments. It says,
simply, "Tracy."
Tracy was born Spencer Bonaventure Tracy on April 5, 1900,
in Milwaukee, WI. He died on June 10, 1967, in Los Angeles, CA.
1900 - 1967
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