Tracy, Spencer

Tracy, Spencer, 1900–1967, American film actor, b. Milwaukee, Wis. He began his career as an actor in summer stock and went into film work in 1930. His fine character portrayals won him Academy Awards for Captains Courageous (1937) and Boys Town (1938). An actor of rugged strength and sensitivity, he appeared in Cass Timberlane (1947), Father of the Bride (1950), The Last Hurrah (1958), and as the only character in The Old Man and the Sea (1958). Tracy and Katharine Hepburn, together in nine films, including Woman of the Year (1942) and Desk Set (1957), provided the screen with a delightful, intelligent team.

See biography by J. Curtis (2011); D. Deschner, The Complete Films of Spencer Tracy (1987); G. Kanin, Tracy and Hepburn (1971).

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