Tracy in the 1930s.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 this 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
|
| 1930
|
Taxi Talks
|
Taxi Driver
|
Warner Bros.
|
Short subject
|
| The Hard Guy
|
Guy
|
Warner Bros.
|
Short subject
|
| Up the River
|
Saint Louis
|
Fox
|
With Humphrey Bogart
|
| 1931
|
Quick Millions
|
Daniel J. "Bugs" Raymond
|
Fox
|
With George Raft in key supporting role
|
| Six Cylinder Love
|
William Donroy
|
Fox
|
With Edward Everett Horton
|
| Goldie
|
Bill
|
Fox
|
With Jean Harlow
|
| 1932
|
She Wanted a Millionaire
|
William Kelley
|
Fox
|
With Joan Bennett
|
| Sky Devils
|
Wilkie
|
United Artists
|
Co-written by Robert Benchley
|
| Disorderly Conduct
|
Dick Fay
|
Fox
|
|
| Young America
|
Jack Doray
|
Fox
|
Directed by Frank Borzage
|
| Society Girl
|
Briscoe
|
Fox
|
|
| The Painted Woman
|
Tom Brian
|
Fox
|
|
| Me and My Gal
|
Danny Dolan
|
Fox
|
With Joan Bennett
|
| 20,000 Years in Sing Sing
|
Tommy Connors
|
Warner Bros.
|
With Bette Davis
|
| 1933
|
Face in the Sky
|
Joe Buck
|
Fox
|
With Stuart Erwin
|
| Shanghai Madness
|
Pat Jackson
|
Fox
|
With Fay Wray
|
| The Power and the Glory
|
Tom Garner
|
Fox
|
Written by Preston Sturges
|
| The Mad Game
|
Edward Carson
|
Fox
|
With Claire Trevor
|
| Man's Castle
|
Bill
|
Columbia
|
With Loretta Young
|
| 1934
|
The Show-Off
|
J. Aubrey Piper
|
MGM
|
Tracy's first MGM film
|
| Looking for Trouble
|
Joe Graham
|
20th Century Pictures with United Artists
|
With Jack Oakie
|
| Bottoms Up
|
"Smoothie" King
|
Fox
|
|
| Now I'll Tell
|
Murray Golden
|
Fox
|
With Helen Twelvetrees
|
| Marie Galante
|
Dr. Crawbett
|
Fox
|
|
| 1935
|
It's a Small World
|
Bill Shevlin
|
Fox
|
With Wendy Barrie
|
| The Murder Man
|
Steven "Steve" Grey
|
MGM
|
First credited screen role of James Stewart
|
| Dante's Inferno
|
Jim Carter
|
Fox
|
With Claire Trevor and dancer Rita Hayworth (billed as Rita Cansino)
|
| Whipsaw
|
Ross "Mac" McBride
|
MGM
|
With Myrna Loy
|
| 1936
|
Riffraff
|
Dutch Muller
|
MGM
|
With Jean Harlow and Mickey Rooney
|
| Fury
|
Joe Wilson
|
MGM
|
With Sylvia Sidney
|
| San Francisco
|
Father Tim Mullin
|
MGM
|
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
|
MGM
|
The film was nominated for Best Picture, but lost out to The Great Ziegfeld. With William Powell, Jean Harlow, and Myrna Loy
|
| 1937
|
They Gave Him a Gun
|
Fred P. Willis
|
MGM
|
With Gladys George
|
| Captains Courageous
|
Manuel Fidello
|
MGM
|
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
|
MGM
|
With Luise Rainer
|
| Mannequin
|
John L. Hennessey
|
MGM
|
With Joan Crawford
|
| 1938
|
Test Pilot
|
Gunner Morris
|
MGM
|
With Clark Gable and Myrna Loy
|
| Boys Town
|
Father Flanagan
|
MGM
|
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
|
MGM
|
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
|
Columbia
|
Short subject showing Tracy accepting his Academy Award for Boys Town
|
| Hollywood Goes to Town
|
Himself
|
MGM
|
Short subject, showing notable Hollywood performers preparing for the world premiere of Marie Antoinette
|
| 1939
|
Stanley and Livingstone
|
Henry M. Stanley
|
20th Century Fox
|
With Nancy Kelly
|
| For Auld Lang Syne
|
Himself
|
Will Rogers Memorial Commission
|
Fund-raising short film in which several actors, including Tracy, appeal for funds for the Will Rogers Memorial Hospital
|
| Hollywood Hobbies
|
Himself
|
MGM
|
Behind-the-scenes short film
|
| 1940
|
I Take This Woman
|
Dr. Karl Decker
|
MGM
|
With Hedy Lamarr
|
| Young Tom Edison
|
Man Admiring Portrait of Thomas A. Edison
|
MGM
|
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
Uncredited
|
| Northwest Passage
|
Major Rogers
|
MGM
|
With Walter Brennan
|
| Edison, the Man
|
Thomas Edison
|
MGM
|
|
| Boom Town
|
Jonathan Sand
|
MGM
|
With Clark Gable, Claudette Colbert, and Hedy Lamarr
|
| Northward, Ho!
|
Himself
|
MGM
|
Behind-the-scenes short film about the filming of Northwest Passage
|
| 1941
|
Men of Boys Town
|
Father Flanagan
|
MGM
|
With Mickey Rooney
|
| Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
|
Dr. Henry Jekyll / Mr Edward Hyde
|
MGM
|
With Ingrid Bergman and Lana Turner
|
| 1942
|
Woman of the Year
|
Sam Craig
|
MGM
|
First film with Katharine Hepburn
|
| Tortilla Flat
|
Pilon
|
MGM
|
With John Garfield
|
| Ring of Steel
|
Narrator
|
Warner Brothers
|
Military documentary for U.S. Office for Emergency Management
|
| 1943
|
Keeper of the Flame
|
Steven "Stevie" O'Malley
|
MGM
|
With Katharine Hepburn
|
| His New World
|
Narrator
|
MGM
|
War documentary
|
| A Guy Named Joe
|
Pete Sandidge
|
MGM
|
With Van Johnson
|
| 1944
|
The Seventh Cross
|
George Heisler
|
MGM
|
|
| Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo
|
Lieutenant Colonel James H. Doolittle
|
MGM
|
With Van Johnson and Robert Walker
|
| 1945
|
Without Love
|
Pat Jamieson
|
MGM
|
With Katharine Hepburn
|
| 1947
|
The Sea of Grass
|
Col. James B. "Jim" Brewton
|
MGM
|
With Katharine Hepburn
|
| Cass Timberlane
|
Cass Timberlane
|
MGM
|
With Lana Turner
|
| 1948
|
State of the Union
|
Grant Matthews
|
MGM
|
With Katharine Hepburn
|
| 1949
|
Edward, My Son
|
Arnold Boult
|
MGM
|
With Deborah Kerr
|
| Adam's Rib
|
Adam Bonner
|
MGM
|
With Katharine Hepburn
|
| Malaya
|
Canaghan
|
MGM
|
With James Stewart and Lionel Barrymore
|
| Some of the Best
|
Himself
|
MGM
|
Retrospective of MGM's history
|
| 1950
|
Father of the Bride
|
Stanley T. Banks
|
MGM
|
Nominated—Academy Award for Best Actor. With Joan Bennett and Elizabeth Taylor
|
| 1951
|
Father's Little Dividend
|
Stanley T. Banks
|
MGM
|
With Joan Bennett and Elizabeth Taylor
|
| The People Against O'Hara
|
James P. Curtayne
|
MGM
|
With Pat O'Brien
|
| For Defense for Freedom for Humanity
|
Himself
|
MGM
|
Short film in which Tracy urges support for Red Cross fund-raising
|
| 1952
|
Pat and Mike
|
Mike Conovan
|
MGM
|
With Katharine Hepburn
|
| Plymouth Adventure
|
Captain Christopher Jones
|
MGM
|
With Gene Tierney
|
| 1953
|
The Actress
|
Clinton Jones
|
MGM
|
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] With Jean Simmons
|
| 1954
|
Broken Lance
|
Matt Devereaux
|
20th Century Fox
|
With Robert Wagner
|
| 1955
|
Bad Day at Black Rock
|
John J. Macreedy
|
MGM
|
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
|
The Mountain
|
Zachary Teller
|
Paramount
|
Nominated—BAFTA Award for Best Foreign Actor
|
| 1957
|
Desk Set
|
Richard Sumner
|
20th Century Fox
|
With Katharine Hepburn, and Tracy's last film with Zanck and Schneck and Fox
|
| 1958
|
The Old Man and the Sea
|
The Old Man / Narrator
|
Warner Bros.
|
NBR Award for Best Actor (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]
|
| The Last Hurrah
|
Mayor Frank Skeffington
|
Columbia
|
NBR Award for Best Actor (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
|
Inherit the Wind
|
Henry Drummond
|
United Artists
|
Nominated—Academy Award for Best Actor
Nominated—BAFTA Award for Best Foreign Actor
Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama
|
| 1961
|
The Devil at 4 O'Clock
|
Father Matthew Doonan
|
Columbia
|
With Frank Sinatra
|
| Judgment at Nuremberg
|
Chief Judge Dan Haywood
|
United Artists
|
Fotogramas de Plata Award for Best Foreign Performer
Nominated—Academy Award for Best Actor - With Burt Lancaster, Marlene Dietrich, Richard Widmark, Judy Garland, Montgomery Clift
|
| 1962
|
How the West Was Won
|
Narrator (voice)
|
MGM
|
|
| 1963
|
It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World
|
Captain T. G. Culpeper
|
United Artists
|
With Milton Berle, Sid Caesar, Ethel Merman, Jonathan Winters, Mickey Rooney, Buddy Hackett, many more
|
| 1967
|
Guess Who's Coming to Dinner
|
Matt Drayton
|
Columbia
|
With Katharine Hepburn and Sidney Poitier
BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role (post-humous)
Nominated—Academy Award for Best Actor (post-humous)
Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama (post-humous)
Nominated—New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor (post-humous)[citation needed]
(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)[1]
- 1950 - 9th (US)
- 1951 - 10th (US)
