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Spencer Tracy

Spencer Tracy

Known For Acting
Birthday Apr 05, 1900
Died Jun 10, 1967 (67)
Birthplace Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA
Popularity 0.4 (history)
Updated Aug 10, 2025 (Update)
Entry Date Apr 13, 2024
Links TMDb IMDb
Biography

Spencer Bonaventure Tracy 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 d ... iscovered 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.

Known For

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Filmography

Myrna Loy: So Nice to Come Home To

Myrna Loy: So Nice to Come Home To

1990

as (archive footage)

That's Entertainment, Part II

That's Entertainment, Part II

1976

as (archive footage)

That's Entertainment!

That's Entertainment!

1974

as (archive footage) (uncredited)

Guess Who's Coming to Dinner

Guess Who's Coming to Dinner

1967

as Matt Drayton

The Big Parade of Comedy

The Big Parade of Comedy

1964

as Haggerty in 'Libeled Lady' (archive footage)

It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World

It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World

1963

as C. G. Culpepper

How the West Was Won

How the West Was Won

1962

as Narrator (voice)

Judgment at Nuremberg

Judgment at Nuremberg

1961

as Dan Haywood

The Devil at 4 O'Clock

The Devil at 4 O'Clock

1961

as Father Matthew Doonan

Inherit the Wind

Inherit the Wind

1960

as Henry Drummond

The Last Hurrah

The Last Hurrah

1958

as Mayor Frank Skeffington

The Old Man and the Sea

The Old Man and the Sea

1958

as The Old Man

Desk Set

Desk Set

1957

as Richard Sumner

The Mountain

The Mountain

1956

as Zachary Teller

Bad Day at Black Rock

Bad Day at Black Rock

1955

as John J. Macreedy

Broken Lance

Broken Lance

1954

as Matt Devereaux

The Actress

The Actress

1953

as Clinton Jones

Pat and Mike

Pat and Mike

1952

as Mike Conovan

Plymouth Adventure

Plymouth Adventure

1952

as Capt. Christopher Jones

Father's Little Dividend

Father's Little Dividend

1951

as Stanley Banks

The People Against O'Hara

The People Against O'Hara

1951

as James P. Curtayne

Father of the Bride

Father of the Bride

1950

as Stanley T. Banks

Edward, My Son

Edward, My Son

1949

as Arnold Boult

Adam's Rib

Adam's Rib

1949

as Adam Bonner

Malaya

Malaya

1949

as Carnaghan

State of the Union

State of the Union

1948

as Grant Matthews

The Sea of Grass

The Sea of Grass

1947

as Col. James B. Brewton

Cass Timberlane

Cass Timberlane

1947

as Cass Timberlane

Without Love

Without Love

1945

as Pat Jamieson

The Seventh Cross

The Seventh Cross

1944

as George Heisler

Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo

Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo

1944

as Lt. Col. Jimmy Doolittle

Twenty Years After

Twenty Years After

1944

as (archive footage)

His New World

His New World

1943

as Narrator (voice)

A Guy Named Joe

A Guy Named Joe

1943

as Pete Sandidge

Keeper of the Flame

Keeper of the Flame

1943

as Stevie O'Malley

Woman of the Year

Woman of the Year

1942

as Sam Craig

Ring of Steel

Ring of Steel

1942

as Narrator (voice)

Tortilla Flat

Tortilla Flat

1942

as Pilon

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

1941

as Dr. Henry 'Harry' Jekyll / Mr. Hyde

Men of Boys Town

Men of Boys Town

1941

as Edward Flanagan

I Take This Woman

I Take This Woman

1940

as Karl Decker

Northwest Passage

Northwest Passage

1940

as Major Robert Rogers

Edison, the Man

Edison, the Man

1940

as Thomas A. Edison

Boom Town

Boom Town

1940

as Square John Sand

Young Tom Edison

Young Tom Edison

1940

as Man Admiring Portrait of Thomas A. Edison

Stanley and Livingstone

Stanley and Livingstone

1939

as Henry M. Stanley

Boys Town

Boys Town

1938

as Father Flanagan

Mannequin

Mannequin

1938

as John Hennessey

Test Pilot

Test Pilot

1938

as Gunner Morse

They Gave Him a Gun

They Gave Him a Gun

1937

as Fred P. Willis

Big City

Big City

1937

as Joe Benton

Captains Courageous

Captains Courageous

1937

as Manuel Fidello

Fury

Fury

1936

as Joe Wilson

Riffraff

Riffraff

1936

as Dutch

San Francisco

San Francisco

1936

as Father Tim Mullin

Libeled Lady

Libeled Lady

1936

as Warren Haggerty

Dante's Inferno

Dante's Inferno

1935

as Jim Carter

The Murder Man

The Murder Man

1935

as Steven 'Steve' Grey

It's A Small World

It's A Small World

1935

as Bill Shevlin

Whipsaw

Whipsaw

1935

as Ross 'Mac' McBride aka Danny Ross Ackerman

Marie Galante

Marie Galante

1934

as Dr. Crawbett

Now I'll Tell

Now I'll Tell

1934

as Murray Golden

Looking for Trouble

Looking for Trouble

1934

as Joe Graham

The Show-Off

The Show-Off

1934

as J. Aubrey Piper

Bottoms Up

Bottoms Up

1934

as 'Smoothie' King

Man's Castle

Man's Castle

1933

as Bill

Shanghai Madness

Shanghai Madness

1933

as Pat Jackson

Face in the Sky

Face in the Sky

1933

as Joe Buck

The Power and the Glory

The Power and the Glory

1933

as Tom Garner

The Mad Game

The Mad Game

1933

as Edward Carson

Young America

Young America

1932

as Jack Doray

Sky Devils

Sky Devils

1932

as Wilkie

Disorderly Conduct

Disorderly Conduct

1932

as Dick Fay

Me and My Gal

Me and My Gal

1932

as Danny Dolan

The Painted Woman

The Painted Woman

1932

as Tom Brian

20,000 Years in Sing Sing

20,000 Years in Sing Sing

1932

as Tommy Connors

She Wanted a Millionaire

She Wanted a Millionaire

1932

as William Kelley

Society Girl

Society Girl

1932

as Briscoe

Quick Millions

Quick Millions

1931

as Daniel J. 'Bugs' Raymond

Goldie

Goldie

1931

as Bill

Six Cylinder Love

Six Cylinder Love

1931

as William Donroy

Up the River

Up the River

1930

as Saint Louis

Taxi Talks

Taxi Talks

1930

as Taxi Driver

The Hard Guy

The Hard Guy

1930

as Guy

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Organization Category Movie
Academy Awards Best Actor Captains Courageous Won
Academy Awards Best Actor Judgment at Nuremberg Nominated
Golden Globes Best Actor The Old Man and the Sea Nominated
Television Credits

No data available

No data available

Popularity Metrics

Popularity History


Year Month Avg Max Min
2024 5 10 11 8
2024 6 9 15 5
2024 7 15 21 6
2024 8 14 28 5
2024 9 8 17 2
2024 10 7 14 3
2024 11 5 12 2
2024 12 6 10 3
2025 1 8 18 2
2025 2 4 9 1
2025 3 1 8 0
2025 4 0 1 0
2025 5 2 3 1
2025 6 1 2 0
2025 7 0 0 0
2025 8 0 1 0

Trending Rank


Year Month Avg Rank Max Rank
2024 5 572 163
2024 6 414 86
2025 1 324 131
2025 7 550 519

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