One of the few truly famous actors who lived well into the age of television, but never made an appearance acting on a television program.
6
He came to Hollywood's attention after eight years on stage with his performance as Killer Mears in "The Last Mile." His subsequent screen tests were not a big success, but after John Ford saw him twice in the role, Fox allowed him to hire the actor for his debut feature film, "Up the River.".
7
Harold Clurman on Tracy: " He was the universal American: honest, calm, considerate, free of all phoniness. There was in him no petty motive or concealed malice. He was a man.".
8
Katharine Hepburn on Tracy: "He's like an old oak tree, or the summer, or the wind. He belongs to an era when men were men.".
9
Director Vincente Minelli quoted the actor as saying, " it was a badge of honor for an actor to be a drunk.".
Twice earned Best Actor Oscar nominations for playing "foreign" fishermen: as Manuel in Captains Courageous (1937) for which he did win his first Oscar, and then as The Old Man in The Old Man and the Sea (1958), almost 20 years later.
12
Was announced as co star with Paul Newman and Robert Mitchum in the Jerry Wald production of The Enemy Within, based on the book by Attorney General Robert Kennedy, which at 1962/63 was in preparation for Twentieth Century Fox.
He was making a cup of coffee on the morning of 10 June 1967 when he suffered a sudden heart attack. Katharine Hepburn found him dead on the kitchen floor.
18
Was seriously ill with emphysema as well as diabetes when he made his final film Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967).
Received a posthumous Best Actor Academy Award nomination for his film Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967). His widow Louise attended the ceremony in the event that he would win. However, the award went instead to Rod Steiger for In the Heat of the Night (1967).
23
Warner Bros. bought the rights to the book "Mute Witness" about a Boston detective who ate a lot of ice cream and never solved a case with Tracy in mind to star. Upon Tracy's death, a chase scene was added to the script, the location changed to San Francisco, and the character - Detective Frank Bullitt - changed to be played by Steve McQueen.
24
Attended the Democratic National Convention in 1944.
25
He is featured as a character in the mystery novel, "Dead at the Box Office" by John Dandola, which is set during the World Premiere of Edison, the Man (1940).
His son, John Tracy, died June 15, 2007, at his son's home in Acton, Calif. He was 82. Cause of death, following a long illness, was unknown. His sister, Louise Treadwell "Susie" Tracy, announced his death.
Longtime companion Katharine Hepburn did not attend his funeral out of respect to his family.
31
His father, John Tracy, worked as a clerk at a railroad office.
32
Was supposed to star in Ten North Frederick (1958), but had to withdraw due to poor health and was replaced by Gary Cooper.
33
Advertised Lucky Strike cigarettes.
34
Tracy's political views are disputed. Some sources state that he was an arch conservative during the 1930s, but his views moderated after he met Katharine Hepburn. Others say that he was always a moderate Democrat. He often said he believed actors had no place in politics.
35
Didn't like to rehearse and would read through a scene only once, five days before shooting. He also never liked to shoot a scene more than once, and in most cases he didn't have to.
36
In 1935, MGM bought Tracy's contact from 20th Century-Fox, as Louis B. Mayer respected his talent and thought he would be a good second lead, particularly in support of the studio's #1 male star, Clark Gable. Tracy had never developed into a star in his five years at Fox (which was merged with Darryl F. Zanuck's 20th Century Pictures), and Fox had cooled on him. After four years of playing second-fiddle to Gable (and inevitably losing the girl to the man they called "The King" of Hollywood), Tracy came into his own as a star in MGM vehicles such as Captains Courageous (1937) and Boys Town (1938), for both of which he won back-to-back Best Actor Oscars. Though he remained friends with Gable, the two never co-starred together after 1940.
37
Has three films on the American Film Institute's 100 Most Inspiring Movies of All Time. They are: Captains Courageous (1937) at #94, Boys Town (1938) at #81 and _Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967)_ at #35.
38
His performance as Henry Drummond in Inherit the Wind (1960) is ranked #67 on Premiere Magazine's 100 Greatest Performances of All Time (2006).
39
When he needed a break, he would often come back to Milwaukee and frequent the local watering holes. However, finding him proved to be an almost impossible challenge for Katharine Hepburn, because there are so many bars in Milwaukee.
40
Named the #9 Greatest Actor on The 50 Greatest Screen Legends List by The American Film Institute
41
He was voted the 19th Greatest Movie Star of all time by Premiere Magazine.
42
Katharine Hepburn, his frequent screen partner and longtime flame, never watched Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967) because it was his last film and watching it with him gone was too painful for her.
43
His father was of Irish descent and his mother was descended from the earliest English settlers in America.
44
He is often mentioned alongside Laurence Olivier and Marlon Brando as the greatest movie actor of all time. Unlike the other two, however, Tracy was not already successful and well-known as a stage actor before getting into films.
45
Son John was born deaf; as a result, his wife, Louise, became an activist for deaf education, establishing the John Tracy Clinic at USC.
46
Had two children from his marriage to Louise Treadwell: Son, John Ten Broeck Tracy (born 26 June 1924, died 15 June 2007) and daughter, Louise Treadwell 'Susie' Tracy (born July 1 1932).
47
He was voted the 15th Greatest Movie Star of all time by Entertainment Weekly.
Tracy was offered the role of The Penguin in the TV series Batman (1966) before Burgess Meredith. He said he would only accept the role if he was allowed to kill Batman.
51
In 1956/57 when his longtime friend Humphrey Bogart was dying of cancer, Tracy and Katharine Hepburn were two of the few people who visited Bogie (and wife Lauren Bacall) at their home on an almost daily basis. They would sit together at Bogie's bedside for half an hour or so every evening in the months and weeks leading up to his death. After Bogie's death, Bacall requested that Tracy deliver the eulogy at the funeral. He apologetically declined, saying it would simply be too difficult for him. He felt he would be too emotional and wouldn't be able to do it. Bacall understood and director John Huston delivered the eulogy instead.
52
Attended no fewer than six high schools: Wauwatosa (WI) High School; St. John's Cathedral School (Milwaukee); St. Mary's (near Topeka, Kansas); Rockhurst High School (Kansas City, Mo.) ; Marquette Academy (Milwaukee); WWI service; Northwestern Military and Naval Academy (Lake Geneva, WI); and West Division High School (Milwaukee), from which he graduated in 1921.
53
Attended Ripon College in Ripon, Wisconsin but did not graduate.
54
His Best Actor Oscar for Boys Town (1938) is inscribed with the name "Dick Tracy."
55
Interred at Forest Lawn, Glendale, California, USA, in the Garden of Everlasting Peace, on the right just after entering.
56
Born at 1:57am-CST
57
Ranked #64 in Empire (UK) magazine's "The Top 100 Movie Stars of All Time" list. [October 1997]
58
Sometimes people confuse Spencer Tracy and James Whitmore. The two sometimes look as if they could have been brothers.
