Spencer Tracy
Known for Acting · 115 credits
- Born
- 1900-04-05
- Died
- 1967-06-10
- Place of birth
- Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA
- Also known as
- Spencer Bonaventure Tracy · Спенсер Трэйси · Спенсер Треси
Biography
Spencer Bonaventure Tracy (April 5, 1900 – June 10, 1967) 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 discovered 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
TV Shows (1)
Movies (114)
It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World
1963
as C. G. Culpepper
How the West Was Won
1962
as Narrator (voice)
Judgment at Nuremberg
1961
as Dan Haywood
Bad Day at Black Rock
1955
as John J. Macreedy
Guess Who's Coming to Dinner
1967
as Matt Drayton
Captains Courageous
1937
as Manuel Fidello
Marie Galante
1934
as Dr. Crawbett
Adam's Rib
1949
as Adam Bonner
Inherit the Wind
1960
as Henry Drummond
Rat Pack
2022
as Self (archive footage)
Fury
1936
as Joe Wilson
Father of the Bride
1950
as Stanley T. Banks
San Francisco
1936
as Father Tim Mullin
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
1941
as Dr. Henry 'Harry' Jekyll / Mr. Hyde
Desk Set
1957
as Richard Sumner
Broken Lance
1954
as Matt Devereaux
Woman of the Year
1942
as Sam Craig
The Old Man and the Sea
1958
as The Old Man
Father's Little Dividend
1951
as Stanley Banks
A Guy Named Joe
1944
as Pete Sandidge
James Stewart: A Wonderful Life
1987
as Self (archive footage)
Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo
1944
as Lt. Col. Jimmy Doolittle
That's Entertainment!
1974
as (archive footage) (uncredited)
Young America
1932
as Jack Doray
Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?
1975
as Self (archive footage)
Tortilla Flat
1942
as Pilon
Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood
2018
as Self (archive footage)
Disorderly Conduct
1932
as Dick Fay
The Sea of Grass
1947
as Col. James B. Brewton
La Classe américaine
1993
as The Professional Witness (archive footage)
Test Pilot
1938
as Gunner Morse
Cavalcade of the Academy Awards
1940
as Self
State of the Union
1948
as Grant Matthews
Libeled Lady
1936
as Warren Haggerty
DEVO
2024
as Henry Drummond (archive footage) (uncredited)
Boom Town
1940
as Square John Sand
Bogart: The Untold Story
1997
as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage
1983
as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
The Mountain
1956
as Zachary Teller
Plymouth Adventure
1952
as Capt. Christopher Jones
Northwest Passage
1940
as Major Robert Rogers
That's Entertainment, Part II
1976
as (archive footage)
Malaya
1949
as Carnaghan
Hollywood: The Dream Factory
1972
as Self (archive footage)
The Making of a Legend: Gone with the Wind
1988
as Self (archive footage)
Pat and Mike
1952
as Mike Conovan
Something a Little Less Serious: A Tribute to 'It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World'
1991
as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
Mannequin
1938
as John Hennessey
The Big Parade of Comedy
1964
as Haggerty in 'Libeled Lady' (archive footage)
The Last Hurrah
1958
as Mayor Frank Skeffington
Sky Devils
1932
as Wilkie
Boys Town
1938
as Father Flanagan
20,000 Years in Sing Sing
1932
as Tommy Connors
Stanley and Livingstone
1939
as Henry M. Stanley
Young Tom Edison
1940
as Man Admiring Portrait of Thomas A. Edison
The Seventh Cross
1944
as George Heisler
Edison, the Man
1940
as Thomas A. Edison
From the Ends of the Earth
1939
as Self
Twenty Years After
1944
as (archive footage)
The Actress
1953
as Clinton Jones
Dante's Inferno
1935
as Jim Carter
Keeper of the Flame
1943
as Stevie O'Malley
Men of Boys Town
1941
as Edward Flanagan
Hollywood: Style Center of the World
1940
as Self
The Romance of Celluloid
1937
as Self (archive footage)
Society Girl
1932
as Briscoe
A New Romance of Celluloid: The Miracle of Sound
1940
as Self
Myrna Loy: So Nice to Come Home To
1990
as (archive footage)
Up the River
1930
as Saint Louis
The Spencer Tracy Legacy: A Tribute by Katharine Hepburn
1986
as Self (archive footage)
Without Love
1945
as Pat Jamieson
It's A Small World
1935
as Bill Shevlin
Bottoms Up
1934
as 'Smoothie' King
Cass Timberlane
1947
as Cass Timberlane
Big City
1937
as Joe Benton
1939: Hollywood's Greatest Year
2009
as Self (archive footage)
Quick Millions
1931
as Daniel J. 'Bugs' Raymond
Edward, My Son
1949
as Arnold Boult
Whipsaw
1935
as Ross 'Mac' McBride aka Danny Ross Ackerman
The People Against O'Hara
1951
as James P. Curtayne
Gene Kelly - An American in Hollywood
2025
as Self (archive footage)
The Murder Man
1935
as Steven 'Steve' Grey
Ingrid Bergman Remembered
1996
as Self (archive footage)
The Devil at 4 O'Clock
1961
as Father Matthew Doonan
Face in the Sky
1933
as Joe Buck
The Power and the Glory
1933
as Tom Garner
Hollywood Hobbies
1939
as Self (uncredited)
Now I'll Tell
1934
as Murray Golden
Goldie
1931
as Bill
Man's Castle
1933
as Bill
Hidden Hollywood: Treasures from the 20th Century Fox Film Vaults
1997
as Self (Archival Footage)
They Gave Him a Gun
1937
as Fred P. Willis
Classic Movie Bloopers: Uncensored
2013
as Self (archive footage)
I Take This Woman
1940
as Karl Decker
Hollywood Goes to Town
1938
as Self
Shanghai Madness
1933
as Pat Jackson
Hidden Hollywood II: More Treasures from the 20th Century Fox Vaults
1999
as (archive footage)
Riffraff
1936
as Dutch
Me and My Gal
1932
as Danny Dolan
Brasileiros em Hollywood
1970
as Self (archive footage)
Movie Tough Guys
1991
as Self (archive footage)
The Mad Game
1933
as Edward Carson
Northward, Ho!
1940
as Himself
Six Cylinder Love
1931
as William Donroy
Another Romance of Celluloid
1938
as Self (uncredited)
Looking for Trouble
1934
as Joe Graham
The Hard Guy
1930
as Guy
Ring of Steel
1942
as Narrator (voice)
Heart of a Servant: The Father Flanagan Story
2024
as Fr. Edward Flanagan (archive footage)
She Wanted a Millionaire
1932
as William Kelley
Taxi Talks
1930
as Taxi Driver
The Show-Off
1934
as J. Aubrey Piper
The Painted Woman
1932
as Tom Brian
His New World
1943
as Narrator (voice)
About Spencer Tracy
Spencer Bonaventure Tracy (April 5, 1900 – June 10, 1967) 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 discovered 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 compan… With 115 credits spanning from 1930 to 2025, Spencer Tracy has appeared in 114 films and 1 TV show.
Fans searching for Spencer Tracy movies, Spencer Tracy filmography, or the latest projects starring Spencer Tracy can stream many of these titles on Bowood.TV, free and in HD, with no subscription required.
Most Popular Spencer Tracy Movies
- It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963) — as C. G. Culpepper
- How the West Was Won (1962) — as Narrator (voice)
- Judgment at Nuremberg (1961) — as Dan Haywood
- Bad Day at Black Rock (1955) — as John J. Macreedy
- Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967) — as Matt Drayton
Where to Watch Spencer Tracy Films
Most Spencer Tracy movies and series are available to stream on Bowood.TV in full HD, completely free and without signup. Browse the complete filmography above to jump directly to any title. For more films and the latest web series featuring Spencer Tracy, check our movies catalogue and browse page.