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Lee Tracy

Lee Tracy

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

William Lee Tracy (April 14, 1898 – October 18, 1968) was an American actor. He was nominated for an Oscar and a Golden Globe for his supporting role in the 1964 film The Best Man. In 1929, Tracy arrived in Hollywood, where he played the role of newspapermen in several films. He, for example, played a Walter Winchell-type gossip columnist in Blessed Event (1932). Tracy also starred as the columnist in Advice to the Lovelorn (1933), very loosely based on the novel Miss Lonelyhearts by Nathanael West; and he played a conscience-stricken editor in the 1943 drama The Power of the Press, based on a story by former newspaperman Samuel Fuller.

Tracy played "The Buzzard," the criminal who leads Liliom (Charles Farrell) into a fatal robbery, in the film version of Liliom (1930). He also played Lupe Vélez's frenetic manager in Gregory LaCava's The Half-Naked Truth (1932) and portrayed John Barrymore's agent in Dinner at Eight (1933), directed by George Cukor.

Lee Tracy's flourishing film career was temporarily disrupted on 19 November 1933, while he was on location in Mexico filming the Wallace Beery vehicle Viva Villa! According to the actor and producer Desi Arnaz, in his published autobiography The Book (1976), Tracy stood on a balcony in Mexico City and urinated down onto a passing military parade. 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. However, other crew members there at the time disputed this story, giving a sharply different account of events. In his autobiography, Charles G. Clarke, the cinematographer on the picture, said that he was standing outside the hotel during the parade and the incident never happened. 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 sacrifice Tracy in order to be allowed to continue filming there. The young actor Stuart Erwin replaced Tracy. The film's original director, Howard Hawks, was also fired for his refusal to testify against Tracy. Jack Conway replaced him.

During World War II, Tracy returned to military service. Later, he had two television series in the 1950s. One was Martin Kane: Private Eye, in which he was one of four actors to play the title role. The others were William Gargan, Lloyd Nolan, and Mark Stevens. In 1958, he returned to a newspaper reporter role in the syndicated New York Confidential. After World War II, his screen career was largely relegated to television, but he portrayed the former President of the United States, Art Hockstader, a character loosely based on Harry Truman, in both the stage and film versions of The Best Man (1964), written by Gore Vidal. The movie version featured Henry Fonda and Cliff Robertson. Tracy received his only Academy Award nomination, as Best Supporting Actor, for his performance in the film.

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See more:
Profiles in Courage

Profiles in Courage

1964

as Senator Robert A. Taft

The Big Parade of Comedy

The Big Parade of Comedy

1964

as Space in 'Bombshell' (archive footage)

The Best Man

The Best Man

1964

as President Art Hockstader

Going My Way

Going My Way

1962

Ben Casey

Ben Casey

1961

87th Precinct

87th Precinct

1961

New York Confidential

New York Confidential

1959

as Lee Cochran

Martin Kane, Private Eye

Martin Kane, Private Eye

1949

Lights Out

Lights Out

1949

High Tide

High Tide

1947

as Hugh Fresney

I'll Tell the World

I'll Tell the World

1945

as Gabriel Patton

Betrayal from the East

Betrayal from the East

1945

as Eddie Carter

Power of the Press

Power of the Press

1943

as Griff Thompson

The Payoff

The Payoff

1942

as Brad McKay

Millionaires in Prison

Millionaires in Prison

1940

as Nick Burton

The Spellbinder

The Spellbinder

1939

as Jed Marlowe

Fixer Dugan

Fixer Dugan

1939

as Charlie "Fixer" Dugan

Crashing Hollywood

Crashing Hollywood

1938

as Michael Winslow

Behind The Headlines

Behind The Headlines

1937

as Eddie Haines

Criminal Lawyer

Criminal Lawyer

1937

as Brandon

Cinema Circus

Cinema Circus

1937

as Himself - Ringmaster

Wanted: Jane Turner

Wanted: Jane Turner

1936

as Tom Mallory

Sutter's Gold

Sutter's Gold

1936

as Pete Perkin

Pirate Party on Catalina Isle

Pirate Party on Catalina Isle

1935

as Pirate (uncredited)

Two-Fisted

Two-Fisted

1935

as Hap Hurley

Carnival

Carnival

1935

as Chick Thompson

The Lemon Drop Kid

The Lemon Drop Kid

1934

as Wally Brooks aka The Lemon Drop Kid

You Belong to Me

You Belong to Me

1934

as Bud Hannigan

I'll Tell the World

I'll Tell the World

1934

as Stanley Brown

Dinner at Eight

Dinner at Eight

1933

as Max Kane

Advice to the Lovelorn

Advice to the Lovelorn

1933

as Toby Prentiss

Bombshell

Bombshell

1933

as E.J. 'Space' Hanlon

Turn Back the Clock

Turn Back the Clock

1933

as Joe Gimlet

The Nuisance

The Nuisance

1933

as Joseph Phineas 'Joe' Stevens

Private Jones

Private Jones

1933

as Pvt. William 'Bill' Jones

Clear All Wires!

Clear All Wires!

1933

as Buckley Joyce Thomas

The Half-Naked Truth

The Half-Naked Truth

1932

as Jimmy Bates

Washington Merry-Go-Round

Washington Merry-Go-Round

1932

as Button Gwinett Brown

Blessed Event

Blessed Event

1932

as Alvin Roberts

The Night Mayor

The Night Mayor

1932

as Mayor Bobby Kingston

Doctor X

Doctor X

1932

as Lee Taylor

Love Is a Racket

Love Is a Racket

1932

as Stanley Fiske

The Strange Love of Molly Louvain

The Strange Love of Molly Louvain

1932

as Scott 'Scotty' Cornell

She Got What She Wanted

She Got What She Wanted

1930

Liliom

Liliom

1930

as The Buzzard

Born Reckless

Born Reckless

1930

as Bill O'Brien

Big Time

Big Time

1929

as Eddie Burns

Salute

Salute

1929

as Radio Announcer (uncredited)