Lee Tracy | |
|---|---|
 Tracy in the 1928Broadway production ofThe Front Page | |
| Born | William Lee Tracy (1898-04-14)April 14, 1898 Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. |
| Died | October 18, 1968(1968-10-18) (aged 70) Santa Monica, California, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1920–1965 |
| Spouse(s) | Helen Thomas Wyse (m.1938–1968; his death) |
William Lee Tracy (April 14, 1898 – October 18, 1968) was anAmerican stage, film, and television actor. He is known foremost for his portrayals between the late 1920s and 1940s of fast-talking, wisecracking news reporters,press agents, lawyers, and salesmen. From 1949 to 1954, he was also featured in the weekly radio and television versions of the seriesMartin Kane: Private Eye, as well as starring as the newspaper columnist Lee Cochran in the 1958–1959 British-Americancrime dramaNew York Confidential. In 1960 he was nominated for aTony Award for Best Actor in a Play for his performance in the original theatrical version ofThe Best Man. Later, in 1964, he was nominated for anAcademy Award for Best Supporting Actor and aGolden Globe for his supporting role in the film version ofThe Best Man.
Born in 1898 in Atlanta, Georgia, Tracy was the only child of Ray (née Griffith) and William L. Tracy, arailroader.[1] His father's profession often required the family to relocate, so young Tracy grew up in a variety of locations, including Atlanta,Louisville,Kansas City,St. Louis, and laterSayre, Pennsylvania, where his father was employed as superintendent of alocomotive shop.[1][2] Lee during his teenage years studied at theWestern Military Academy inAlton, Illinois and graduated from thatpreparatory school before briefly attendingUnion College inNew York to pursue a degree in electrical engineering.[2] His studies there were interrupted by his induction into the United States Army during the final weeks ofWorld War I. Although he served in the army for only a short time, he quickly rose to the rank of second lieutenant, a promotion likely attributable to his prior education at Western Military Academy and to his knowledge in engineering.[2][3]
Soon after his discharge from the army, Tracy decided to alter his career plans, abandoning engineering and turning instead to acting and to working in local stage productions. As early as 1920, in that year's federal census for Pennsylvania, he officially identifies his occupation as "actor, theatrical company".[1] His rise in the ranks in theatre, as in his brief military service, proved to be rapid. After performing for two years in productions with traveling companies, Tracy began performing regularly invaudeville in New York, earning a steady salary of $35 a week.[4] By 1924 he made his Broadway debut in the original production ofGeorge Kelly's playThe Show-Off. Two years later, he starred in the hit production ofBroadway, for which he received theNew York Drama Critics Award. Then, in 1928, his stage performance as the "hard-drinking, fast talking" news reporter Hildy Johnson in the original Broadway production ofThe Front Page received widespread popular and critical acclaim.[2][4]
In 1929, Tracy arrived in Hollywood, where he played a news reporter in several films, although he was not cast in that role for the 1931 screen version ofThe Front Page. Despite Tracy's success portraying the character Hildy Johnson in the Broadway production, the film's producers didn't think he had enough star power to attract large audiences to movie theaters. They instead castPat O'Brien in the part. Undeterred, Tracy continued to gain admirers of his work among studio executives and moviegoers. Rather than signing with a single studio, Tracy freelanced among various studios.
In 1932Harry Cohn, president of then-minor-leagueColumbia Pictures, wanted to hire Lee Tracy but was concerned about Tracy's fondness for alcohol. Cohn's biographerBob Thomas quotes from Cohn's discussion with Tracy:
"Will you give me your promise you'll never take a drink during a picture?" Cohn asked. "No, I won't promise," Tracy replied. "I'm telling you that I never drink when I'm doing a picture -- except on Saturday night, and then I might not know my own name."
"I want your promise," Cohn insisted. "I won't give it to you," Tracy declared. "Before she passed away, my own mother asked me to promise never to take a drink. I wouldn't do it. I didn't want to promise her something I couldn't keep. Now if I wouldn't promise my own mother, I'm certainly not going to promise you."
Cohn stared at Tracy for a moment. The injection of motherhood had a curious effect on him. "That's good enough for me," he said. Lee Tracy made three films for Columbia --Washington Merry-Go-Round,The Night Mayor, andCarnival -- all without mishap.[5]
In 1932 Tracy again received praise for his portrayal of Alvin Roberts, aWalter Winchell-typegossip columnist, inBlessed Event (1932). That same year, he playedLupe Vélez's frenetic manager inGregory LaCava'sThe Half-Naked Truth. The year 1933 attracted further attention to Tracy as he starred as a columnist inAdvice to the Lovelorn and portrayedJohn Barrymore's agent in the directorGeorge Cukor's highly successful productionDinner at Eight.
Lee Tracy's flourishing film career was temporarily disrupted on November 19, 1933, while he was on location in Mexico filmingViva Villa! withWallace Beery. Tracy made an insulting gesture from aMexico City balcony. There are two versions of what happened. The popular anecdote, as recounted by the actor and producerDesi Arnaz in his autobiographyA Book (1976), has Tracy standing on the balcony and urinating down onto a passing military parade.[6] Elsewhere in his autobiography, Arnaz claims that from then on, if one watched other crowds of spectators, they would visibly disperse any time an American stepped out onto a balcony.[6] However, other crew members there at the time disputed this story, giving a sharply different account of events. In his autobiography,Charles G. Clarke, who photographed the picture, said that he was standing outside the hotel during the parade and the incident never happened.[7] Tracy, he said, was standing on the balcony observing the parade when a Mexican in the street below made an obscene gesture at him. Tracy replied in kind; and the next day a local newspaper printed a story that, in effect, Tracy had insulted Mexico, Mexicans in general, and their national flag in particular. The story caused an uproar in Mexico, and MGM decided to remove Tracy from the production so authorities would allow the studio to continue filming there. ActorStuart Erwin replaced Tracy. The film's original director,Howard Hawks, refused to testify against Tracy and was also fired from the project.Jack Conway replaced him.
After Tracy was released from MGM, he resumed freelancing with other studios until 1936, when he signed withRKO Radio Pictures. He remained there through 1940, making seven feature films.
In 1942 he announced plans to partner withJack Schwarz and co-produce a series of feature films forPRC release, only to forsake the deal when he was accepted by theU. S. Army for military service. Just before he reported for duty as a first lieutenant in the Army Military Police Corps,[8] Tracy did manage to make one quickie feature with Schwarz,The Payoff (1942).Motion Picture Herald called it "by far the best picture to come from Producers Releasing Corp. Lee Tracy, with all the fire ofThe Front Page, returns to the screen before reporting to the Army, and does exceptionally well with the part of the reporter."[9]
Tracy's career after the war focused increasingly on radio work and performing on the rapidly expanding medium of television. Between 1949 and 1954, he performed on both the radio and televised versions of the weekly seriesMartin Kane: Private Eye, in which he was one of four actors to play the title role. In 1958, he returned to the role of newspaper reporter in the syndicated seriesNew York Confidential.
Tracy did continue to return periodically to the big screen. In 1964, he portrayed the former president of the United States "Art Hockstader", a fictitious character loosely based onHarry Truman, in both the stage and film adaptations ofGore Vidal's novelThe Best Man. The movie version featuredHenry Fonda andCliff Robertson. Tracy received his onlyAcademy Award nomination, as Best Supporting Actor, for his performance in the film.[6]
In July 1938, he wed Helen Thomas Wyse (also cited as Wyze) in a small ceremony at the home of a Presbyterian minister inYuma, Arizona.[10] The couple remained together over 30 years, until Lee's death. They had no children.[citation needed]
Tracy's final acting performance was in the role of Father Maurice Britt in the Broadway productionMinor Miracle in 1965.[11][12] Three years later, after being diagnosed with advanced liver cancer, he underwent surgery atSt. John's Hospital inSanta Monica, California to treat the disease.[4] His condition following the operation steadily worsened over "several months", and on October 16, 1968, the 70-year-old actor had to re-enter the hospital, where he died two days later.[4][13] He was buried beside his parents at Evergreen Cemetery inShavertown, Pennsylvania.[13]
| Year | Program | Episode/source |
|---|---|---|
| 1945 | Old Gold Comedy Theatre | Boy Meets Girl[14] |
