Spencer Tracy was born on April 5, 1900 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He and William Joseph "Pat" O'Brien attended Marquette Academy and enlisted in the Navy together at the start of World War I. Tracy made the decision to become an actor after appearing in several plays at Ripon College. He first established himself as a Broadway actor, rooming with Pat O'Brien and attending the Academy of Dramatic Arts, then set off for Hollywood after being "discovered" by John Ford. Before he was finished, he would be widely acknowledged by his peers as the best actor in the business.
As proof, he won back-to-back Oscars for his roles in Captains Courageous (1937) and Boys Town (1938) (one of only two actors to accomplish this feat; Tom Hanks was the other). He was nominated a total of nine times; only Jack Nicholson has had more nominations. He was also voted #9 on the American Film Institute list of greatest actors.
Tracy made a total of nine films with Katharine Hepburn, and they had a great friendship from 1942 until his death. A few weeks after finishing their last film together, Guess Who's Coming to Dinner? (1967), he died of a heart attack. Because he was a Catholic, he had never divorced his wife, Louise.
You can find out more about Spencer Tracy by visiting the Web pages I've collected. This article has four pages, so click on the links below for Parts II-IV.
Part I: Introduction
Part II: Spencer Tracy Tributes and Other Pages
Part III: Movie Reviews & Where to Find His Movies
Part IV: Books, Photos, Art, and Posters
