Spencer Bonaventure Tracy was born on April 5, 1900 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and died June 10, 1967 of a heart attack in Beverly Hills, California. Tracy’s early acting career began when he was a student at Ripon College in Wisconsin after a stint in the Navy during World War I with his childhood friend, Pat O’Brien. Eventually both Tracy and O’Brien went to Broadway where Tracy played alongside O’Brien as a robot in Kavel Capek’s sci-fi play R.U.R. Tracy played in theaters around New York and the northeast and in 1930, played a convicted killer in The Last Mile.

Film director John Ford saw him and immediately wanted him to play opposite Humphrey Bogart in Up the River (1930). This was the beginning of Spencer Tracy’s amazing film career. He signed with Fox Studios where he stayed until 1935 when he went to MGM. In 1942 Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn starred together in Woman of the Year and so began their lifelong relationship that lasted until he died three weeks after completing their final film –Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner. Many people believe that Spencer Tracy’s strongest roles were the ones he played at the end of his career – Inherit the Wind, Judgment at Nuremberg, The Old Man and the Sea and others.

1930 The Strong Arm (Short)

1930 Taxi Talk (Short) – Taxi Driver

1930 The Hard Guy (Short) – Guy

1930 Up the River – Saint Louis

1931 Quick Millions – Daniel J. ‘Bugs’ Raymond

1931 Six Cylinder Love – William Donroy

1931 Goldie – Bill

1932 She Wanted a Millionaire – William Kelley

1932 Sky Devils – Wilkie

1932 Disorderly Conduct – Dick Fay

1932 Young America – Jack Doray

1932 Society Girl – Briscoe

1932 The Painted Woman – Tom Brian

1932 Me and My Gal – Danny Dolan

1932 20,000 Years in Sing Sing – Tommy Connors

1933 Face in the Sky – Joe Buck

1933 Shanghai Madness – Pat Jackson

1933 The Power and the Glory –Tom Garner

1933 The Mad Game – Edward Carson

1934 The Show-Off – J. Aubrey Piper

1934 Looking for Trouble – Joe Graham

1934 Bottoms Up – ‘Smoothie’ King

1934 Now I’ll Tell – Murray Golden

1934 Marie Galante – Dr. Crawbett

1935 It’s a Small World – Bill Shevlin

1935 The Murder Man – Steve Grey

1935 Dante’s Inferno – Jim Carter

1935 Whipsaw – Ross McBride

1936 Riffraff – Dutch Muller

1936 Fury – Joe Wilson

1936 San Francisco – Father Mullin

1936 Libeled Lady – Haggerty

1937 They Gave Him a Gun – Fred P. Willis

1937 Captains Courageous – Manuel

1937 Big City – Joe Benton

1937 Mannequin – John L. Hennessey

1938 Test Pilot – Gunner

1938 Boys Town – Father Flanagan

1939 Stanley and Livingstone – Henry M. Stanley

1940 I Take This Woman – Karl Decker

1940 Young Tom Edison – Man Admiring Portrait of Thomas A. Edison (uncredited)

1940 Northwest Passage – Major Rogers

1940 Edison, the Man – Thomas A. Edison

1940 Boom Town – Square John Sand

1941 Men of Boys Town – Father Flanagan

1941 Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde – Dr. Henry Jekyll / Mr. Hyde

1942 Woman of the Year – Sam Craig

1942 Tortilla Flat – Pilon

1942 Keeper of the Flame – Steven ‘Stevie’ O’Malley

1943 A Guy Named Joe – Pete Sandidge

1944 The Seventh Cross – George Heisler

1944 Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo – Lieutenant Colonel James H. Doolittle

1945 Without Love – Pat Jamieson

1947 The Sea of Grass – Col. James B. Jim Brewton

1947 Cass Timberlane – Cass Timberlane

1948 State of the Union – Grant Matthews

1949 Edward, My Son – Arnold Boult

1949 Adam’s Rib – Adam Bonner

1949 Malaya – Carnahan

1950 Father of the Bride – Stanley T. Banks

1951 Father’s Little Dividend – Stanley Banks

1951 The People Against O’Hara – James P. Curtayne

1952 Pat and Mike – Mike Conovan

1952 Plymouth Adventure – Capt. Christopher Jones

1953 The Actress – Clinton Jones

1954 Broken Lance – Matt Devereaux

1955 Bad Day at Black Rock – John J. Macreedy

1956 The Mountain – Zachary Teller

1957 Desk Set – Richard Sumner

1958 The Old Man and the Sea – The Old Man / Narrator

1958 The Last Hurrah – Mayor Frank Skeffington

1960 Inherit the Wind – Henry Drummond

1961 The Devil at 4 O’Clock – Father Matthew Doonan

1961 Judgment at Nuremburg – Chief Judge Dan Haywood

1962 How the West Was Won – Narrated By (voice)

1963 It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World – Capt. T. G. Culpepper

1967 Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner – Matt Drayton

Academy Awards, USA
1939 Won Oscar – Best Actor in a Leading Role: Boys Town
1938 Won Oscar – Best Actor in a Leading Role: Captains Courageous
1968 Nominated Oscar Best Actor in a Leading Role: Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner
1962 Nominated Oscar Best Actor in a Leading Role: Judgment at Nuremburg
1961 Nominated Oscar Best Actor in a Leading Role: Inherit the Wind
1959 Nominated Oscar Best Actor in a Leading Role: The Old Man and the Sea
1956 Nominated Oscar Best Actor in a Leading Role: Bad Day at Black Rock
1951 Nominated Oscar Best Actor in a Leading Role: Father of the Bride
1937 Nominated Oscar Best Actor in a Leading Role: San Francisco

Golden Globes, USA
1954 Won Golden Globe Best Motion Picture Actor – Drama: The Actress
1968 Nominated Best Motion Picture Actor – Drama: Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner
1959 Nominated Best Motion Picture Actor – Drama: The Old Man and the Sea
1961 Nominated Best Motion Picture Actor – Drama: Inherit the Wind

BAFTA
1969 Won BAFTA Film Award Best Actor: Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner
1961 Nominated BAFTA Film Award Best Foreign Actor: Inherit the Wind
1959 Nominated BAFTA Film Award Best Foreign Actor: The Last Hurrah – USA
1957 Nominated BAFTA Film Award Best Foreign Actor: The Mountain
1954 Nominated BAFTA Film Award Best Foreign Actor: The Actress – USA

Cannes Film Festival
1955 Won Best Actor: Bad Day at Black Rock

David di Donatello Awards
1968 Won David – Best Foreign Actor: Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner
1962 Won David – Best Foreign Actor: Judgment at Nuremburg

Fotogramas de Plata
1963 Won Fotogramas de Plata – Best Foreign Performer: Judgment at Nuremburg

Laurel Awards
1961, 1968 Nominated Golden Laurel

National Board of Review
1958 Won – NBR Award: The Old Man and the Sea, The Last Hurrah

New York Film Critics Circle Awards
1967, 1939, 1937, 1937 2nd Place NYFCC Awards