Personal Info
Birth date
1900-04-05 (125 Years)
Day of death
1967-06-10
Gender
Male
Known for
Acting
Place of birth
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA
Also known as
Spencer Bonaventure Tracy
Спенсер Трэйси
Спенсер Треси
Spencer Tracy
Biography
Spencer Bonaventure Tracy (April 5, 1900 – June 10, 1967) was an American actor, noted for his natural style and versatility. One of the major stars of Hollywood's Golden Age, Tracy won two Academy Awards for Best Actor from nine nominations, sharing the record for nominations in that category with Laurence Olivier. Tracy first discovered his talent for acting while attending Ripon College, and he later received a scholarship for the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. He spent seven years in the theatre, working in a succession of stock companies and intermittently on Broadway. Tracy's breakthrough came in 1930, when his lead performance in The Last Mile caught the attention of Hollywood. After a successful film debut in John Ford's Up the River starring Tracy and Humphrey Bogart, he was signed to a contract with Fox Film Corporation. His five years with Fox featured one acting tour de force after another that were usually ignored at the box office, and he remained largely unknown to audiences after 25 films, almost all of them starring Tracy as the leading man. None of them were hits although The Power and the Glory (1933) features arguably his most acclaimed performance in retrospect. In 1935, Tracy joined Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, at the time Hollywood's most prestigious studio. His career flourished with a series of hit films, and in 1937 and 1938 he won consecutive Oscars for Captains Courageous and Boys Town. He made three smash hit films supporting Clark Gable, the studio's principal leading man, firmly fixing the notion of Gable and Tracy as a team in the public imagination. By the 1940s, Tracy was one of the studio's top stars. In 1942, he appeared with Katharine Hepburn in Woman of the Year, beginning another popular partnership that produced nine movies over 25 years. Tracy left MGM in 1955, and continued to work regularly as a freelance star, despite an increasing weariness as he aged. His personal life was troubled, with a lifelong struggle against severe alcoholism and guilt over his son's deafness. Tracy became estranged from his wife in the 1930s, but never divorced, conducting a long-term relationship with Katharine Hepburn in private. Towards the end of his life, Tracy worked almost exclusively for director Stanley Kramer. It was for Kramer that he made his last film, Guess Who's Coming to Dinner in 1967, completed just 17 days before his death. During his career, Tracy appeared in 75 films and developed a reputation among his peers as one of the screen's greatest actors. In 1999 the American Film Institute ranked Tracy as the 9th greatest male star of Classic Hollywood Cinema.
Filmography
It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World
6.971
Overview:
A group of strangers come across a man dying after a car crash who proceeds to tell them about the $350,000 he buried in California. What follows is the madcap adventures of those strangers as each attempts to claim the prize for himself.Judgment at Nuremberg
8.03
Overview:
In 1947, four German judges who served on the bench during the Nazi regime face a military tribunal to answer charges of crimes against humanity. Chief Justice Haywood hears evidence and testimony not only from lead defendant Ernst Janning and his defense attorney Hans Rolfe, but also from the widow of a Nazi general, an idealistic U.S. Army captain and reluctant witness Irene Wallner.Father's Little Dividend
6.4
Overview:
Newly married Kay Dunstan announces that she and her husband are having a baby, leaving her father to come to grips with the fact that he will soon be a granddad.How the West Was Won
6.982
Overview:
The epic tale of the development of the American West from the 1830s through the Civil War to the end of the century, as seen through the eyes of one pioneer family.Inherit the Wind
7.661
Overview:
Schoolteacher Bertram Cates is arrested for teaching his students Darwin's theory of evolution. The case receives national attention and one of the newspaper reporters, E.K. Hornbeck, arranges to bring in renowned defense attorney and atheist Henry Drummond to defend Cates. The prosecutor, Matthew Brady is a former presidential candidate, famous evangelist, and old adversary of Drummond.Father of the Bride
6.986
Overview:
Proud father Stanley Banks remembers the day his daughter, Kay, got married. Starting when she announces her engagement through to the wedding itself, we learn of all the surprises and disasters along the way.Bad Day at Black Rock
7.299
Overview:
One-armed war veteran John J. Macreedy steps off a train at the sleepy little town of Black Rock. Once there, he begins to unravel a web of lies, secrecy, and murder.Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?
5.7
Overview:
Period music, film clips and newsreel footage combined into a visual exploration of the American entertainment industry during the Great Depression.Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood
6
Overview:
A deliciously scandalous portrait of unsung Hollywood legend Scotty Bowers, whose bestselling memoir chronicled his decades spent as sexual procurer to the stars.The Old Man and the Sea
6.473
Overview:
Santiago is an aging, down-on-his-luck, Cuban fisherman who, after catching nothing for nearly 3 months, hooks a huge Marlin and struggles to land it far out in the Gulf Stream.Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
6.4
Overview:
Dr. Jekyll believes good and evil exist in everyone and creates a potion that allows his evil side, Mr. Hyde, to come to the fore. He faces horrible consequences when he lets his dark side run amok.Captains Courageous
7.4
Overview:
Harvey, the arrogant and spoiled son of an indulgent absentee-father, falls overboard from a transatlantic steamship and is rescued by a fishing vessel on the Grand Banks. Harvey fails to persuade them to take him ashore, nor convince the crew of his wealth. The captain offers him a low-paid job, until they return to port, as part of the crew that turns him into a mature, considerate young man.Guess Who's Coming to Dinner
7.562
Overview:
A couple's attitudes are challenged when their daughter brings home a fiancé who is black.Fury
7.432
Overview:
Joe, who owns a gas station along with his brothers and is about to marry Katherine, travels to the small town where she lives to visit her, but is wrongly mistaken for a wanted kidnapper and arrested.Boys Town
6.739
Overview:
Devout but iron-willed Father Flanagan leads a community called Boys Town, a different sort of juvenile detention facility where, instead of being treated as underage criminals, the boys are shepherded into making themselves better people. But hard-nosed petty thief and pool shark Whitey Marsh, the impulsive and violent younger brother of an imprisoned murderer, might be too much for the good father's tough-love system.And the Oscar Goes To...
6.991
Overview:
The story of the gold-plated statuette that became the film industry's most coveted prize, AND THE OSCAR GOES TO... traces the history of the Academy itself, which began in 1927 when Louis B. Mayer, then head of MGM, led other prominent members of the industry in forming this professional honorary organization. Two years later the Academy began bestowing awards, which were nicknamed "Oscar," and quickly came to represent the pinnacle of cinematic achievement.Libeled Lady
7.296
Overview:
When a major newspaper accuses wealthy socialite Connie Allenbury of being a home-wrecker, and she files a multi-million-dollar libel lawsuit, the publication's frazzled head editor, Warren Haggerty, must find a way to turn the tables on her. Soon Haggerty's harried fiancée, Gladys Benton, and his dashing friend Bill Chandler are in on a scheme that aims to discredit Connie, with amusing and unexpected results.Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo
6.6
Overview:
In the wake of Pearl Harbor, a young lieutenant leaves his expectant wife to volunteer for a secret bombing mission which will take the war to the Japanese homeland.Adam's Rib
7.094
Overview:
A woman's attempted murder of her uncaring husband results in everyday quarrels in the lives of Adam and Amanda, a pair of happily married lawyers who end up on opposite sides of the case in court.Broken Lance
6.4
Overview:
Cattle baron Matt Devereaux raids a copper smelter that is polluting his water, then divides his property among his sons. Son Joe takes responsibility for the raid and gets three years in prison. Matt dies from a stroke partly caused by his rebellious sons and when Joe gets out he plans revenge.San Francisco
6.6
Overview:
A beautiful singer and a battling priest try to reform a Barbary Coast saloon owner in the days before the great earthquake and subsequent fires in 1906.The Last Hurrah
7.1
Overview:
In a changing world where television has become the main source of information, Adam Caulfield, a young sports journalist, witnesses how his uncle, Frank Skeffington, a veteran and honest politician, mayor of a New England town, tries to be reelected while bankers and captains of industry conspire in the shadows to place a weak and manageable candidate in the city hall.Boom Town
6.9
Overview:
Two buddies who rise from fly-by-night wildcatters to oil tycoons over a twenty year period both love the same woman. McMasters and Sand come to oil towns to get rich. Betsy comes West intending to marry Sand but marries McMasters instead. Getting rich and losing it all teaches McMasters and Sand the value of personal ties.That's Entertainment, Part II
6.855
Overview:
Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire present more golden moments from the MGM film library, this time including comedy and drama as well as classic musical numbers.Plymouth Adventure
5.5
Overview:
During the Mayflower pilgrims' long voyage across the Atlantic Ocean on their way to America, Captain Christopher Jones falls in love with William Bradford's wife Dorothy.That's Entertainment!
7.3
Overview:
Various MGM stars from yesterday present their favorite musical moments from the studio's 50 year history.Desk Set
7
Overview:
A computer expert tries to prove his electronic brain can replace a television network's research staff.La Classe américaine
7.611
Overview:
George Abitbol, the classiest man in the world, dies tragically during a cruise. The director of an American newspaper, wondering about the meaning of these intriguing final words, asks his three best investigators, Dave, Peter and Steven, to solve the mystery. (Sixteen French actors dub scenes from various Warner Bros. films to create a parody of Citizen Kane, 1941.)Pat and Mike
6.3
Overview:
Pat Pemberton is a brilliant athlete, except when her domineering fiancé is around. The ladies golf championship is in her reach until she gets flustered by his presence at the final holes. He wants them to get married and forget the whole thing, but she cannot give up on herself that easily. She enlists the help of Mike Conovan, a slightly shady sports promoter. Together they face mobsters, a jealous boxer, and a growing mutual attraction.Acting
2025Gene Kelly - An American in Hollywood as Self (archive footage)
2024Heart of a Servant: The Father Flanagan Story as Fr. Edward Flanagan (archive footage)
2022Rat Pack as Self (archive footage)
2018Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood as Self (archive footage)
2014And the Oscar Goes To... as Self (archive footage)
2013Classic Movie Bloopers: Uncensored as Self (archive footage)
20091939: Hollywood's Greatest Year as Self (archive footage)
1999Hidden Hollywood II: More Treasures from the 20th Century Fox Vaults as Self (Archival Footage)
1997Hidden Hollywood: Treasures from the 20th Century Fox Film Vaults as Self (Archival Footage)
1997Bogart: The Untold Story as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
1996Ingrid Bergman Remembered as Self (archive footage)
1993La Classe américaine as The Professional Witness (archive footage)
1993Harlow: The Blonde Bombshell as Self (archive footage)
1991Movie Tough Guys as Self (archive footage)
1991Something a Little Less Serious: A Tribute to 'It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World' as Self (archive footage)
1990Myrna Loy: So Nice to Come Home To as (archive footage)
1988James Stewart: A Wonderful Life as Self (archive footage)
1988The Making of a Legend: Gone with the Wind as Self (archive footage)
1986The Spencer Tracy Legacy: A Tribute by Katharine Hepburn as Self (archive footage)
1985George Stevens: A Filmmaker's Journey as Self (archive footage)
1983Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
1976That's Entertainment, Part II as (archive footage)
1975Brother, Can You Spare a Dime? as Self (archive footage)
1974That's Entertainment! as (archive footage) (uncredited)
1972Hollywood: The Dream Factory as Self (archive footage)
1967Guess Who's Coming to Dinner as Matt Drayton
1964The Big Parade of Comedy as Haggerty in 'Libeled Lady' (archive footage)
1963It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World as C. G. Culpepper
1962How the West Was Won as Narrator (voice)
1961Hollywood: The Selznick Years as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
1961Judgment at Nuremberg as Dan Haywood
1961The Devil at 4 O'Clock as Father Matthew Doonan
1960Inherit the Wind as Henry Drummond
1958The Last Hurrah as Mayor Frank Skeffington
1958The Old Man and the Sea as The Old Man
1957Desk Set as Richard Sumner
1956The Mountain as Zachary Teller
1955Bad Day at Black Rock as John J. Macreedy
1954Broken Lance as Matt Devereaux
1953The Actress as Clinton Jones
1952Plymouth Adventure as Capt. Christopher Jones
1952Pat and Mike as Mike Conovan
1951The People Against O'Hara as James P. Curtayne
1951Father's Little Dividend as Stanley Banks
1950Father of the Bride as Stanley T. Banks
1949Malaya as Carnaghan
1949Adam's Rib as Adam Bonner
1949Edward, My Son as Arnold Boult
1948State of the Union as Grant Matthews
1947Cass Timberlane as Cass Timberlane
1947The Sea of Grass as Col. James B. Brewton
1945Without Love as Pat Jamieson
1944Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo as Lt. Col. Jimmy Doolittle
1944The Seventh Cross as George Heisler
1944Twenty Years After as (archive footage)
1943A Guy Named Joe as Pete Sandidge
1943Keeper of the Flame as Stevie O'Malley
1943His New World as Narrator (voice)
1942Tortilla Flat as Pilon
1942Ring of Steel as Narrator (voice)
1942Woman of the Year as Sam Craig
1941Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde as Dr. Henry 'Harry' Jekyll / Mr. Hyde
1941Men of Boys Town as Edward Flanagan
1940A New Romance of Celluloid: The Miracle of Sound as Self
1940Boom Town as Square John Sand
1940Cavalcade of the Academy Awards as Self
1940Hollywood: Style Center of the World as Self
1940Edison, the Man as Thomas A. Edison
1940Young Tom Edison as Man Admiring Portrait of Thomas A. Edison
1940Northwest Passage as Major Robert Rogers
1940Northward, Ho! as Himself
1940I Take This Woman as Karl Decker
1939Stanley and Livingstone as Henry M. Stanley
1939From the Ends of the Earth as Self
1939Hollywood Hobbies as Self (uncredited)
1938Boys Town as Father Flanagan
1938Hollywood Goes to Town as Self
1938Test Pilot as Gunner Morse
1938Another Romance of Celluloid as Self (uncredited)
1938Mannequin as John Hennessey
1937Big City as Joe Benton
1937The Romance of Celluloid as Self (archive footage)
1937Captains Courageous as Manuel Fidello
1937They Gave Him a Gun as Fred P. Willis
1936Libeled Lady as Warren Haggerty
1936San Francisco as Father Tim Mullin
1936Fury as Joe Wilson
1936Riffraff as Dutch
1935Whipsaw as Ross 'Mac' McBride aka Danny Ross Ackerman
1935Dante's Inferno as Jim Carter
1935The Murder Man as Steven 'Steve' Grey
1935It's A Small World as Bill Shevlin
1934Marie Galante as Dr. Crawbett
1934Now I'll Tell as Murray Golden
1934Bottoms Up as 'Smoothie' King
1934Looking for Trouble as Joe Graham
1934The Show-Off as J. Aubrey Piper
1933Man's Castle as Bill
1933The Mad Game as Edward Carson
1933The Power and the Glory as Tom Garner
1933Shanghai Madness as Pat Jackson
1933Face in the Sky as Joe Buck
193220,000 Years in Sing Sing as Tommy Connors
1932Me and My Gal as Danny Dolan
1932The Painted Woman as Tom Brian
1932Society Girl as Briscoe
1932Young America as Jack Doray
1932Disorderly Conduct as Dick Fay
1932Sky Devils as Wilkie
1932She Wanted a Millionaire as William Kelley
1931Goldie as Bill
1931Six Cylinder Love as William Donroy
1931Quick Millions as Daniel J. 'Bugs' Raymond
1930Up the River as Saint Louis
1930The Hard Guy as Guy
1930Taxi Talks as Taxi Driver