“Goodbye” Spencer Tracy – Died 10 June 1967
Spencer Bonaventure Tracy (April 5, 1900 – June 10, 1967) was an American actor and one of the major stars of Hollywood’s Golden Age. In a screen career that spanned 37 years, he was nominated for nine Academy Awards for Best Actor and won two, sharing the record for nominations in this category with Laurence Olivier.
Tracy spent seven years in the theatre until his performance in The Last Mile caught the attention of Hollywood. After a successful film debut in Up the River, Tracy was signed to a contract with Fox Film Corporation. In 1935, Tracy joined Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and his career flourished with a series of hit films, and in 1937 and 1938 he won consecutive Oscars for Captains Courageous and Boys Town. By the 1940s, Tracy was one of the studio’s top stars and in 1942 he appeared with Katharine Hepburn in Woman of the Year. He went on to star in nine movies over 25 years with Hepburn.
His personal life was troubled, with a lifelong-struggle against alcoholism. Tracy became estranged from his wife in the 1930s but never divorced, conducting a long-term relationship with Katharine Hepburn in private. His last film, Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner (1967), was completed 17 days before Tracy’s death. During his career, Tracy appeared in 75 films.
