Lee Tracy

William Lee Tracy (born April 14, 1898 in Atlanta , Georgia , † October 18, 1968 in Santa Monica , California ) was an American film and stage actor .

Life

Lee Tracy was the son of a constantly assembling railroad worker. As a result, he spent his childhood in too many cities for him to call one of them home. After visiting the Western Military Academy Tracy began an apprenticeship as an engineer , however, she had to quickly interrupt to as a lieutenant in the First World War to fight. In his late teens Tracy decided to give acting a chance and was in 1924, after a few supporting roles, star of the Broadway -Stücks The Show Off by George Kelly . Due to his appearance, he was always committed to a role as a columnist or journalist both in the theater and in film , including in 1928 in The Front Page and 1932 in the film Blessed Event . This should be the first appearance in a Walter Winchell play or film. Shortly thereafter, in 1929, Tracy made his film debut in a supporting role in the sports drama Salute . He quickly became a sought-after actor through films such as The Half Naked Truth (1932), Dinner at eight (1932) and Sexbombe (1933).

In his private life, Tracy made headlines again and again , mainly because of his alcohol problem . In 1933 he was filming the film Scream of the Haunted in Mexico when, on November 19, while drunk, he urinated from the balcony of the hotel on a military parade that was just below. Tracy, who was briefly imprisoned, had to leave the role to Stuart Erwin . Even director Howard Hawks was replaced by Jack Conway because he had admitted to Tracy despite the escapade. After this incident, Tracy's career took a sharp turn, after which he only played in insignificant B-movies, especially westerns or film dramas. By 1943, the actor appeared in over 20 films before he, like other American men, obeyed the draft and had to fight in World War II . In the 1950s, Tracy attracted attention mainly through leading roles in three television series.

In 1964 he also experienced a late film comeback: in The Candidate, he took on the role of the fictional US President Art Hockstader , whose character was based on that of Harry S. Truman . For his performance, Tracy was nominated for both an Oscar and a Golden Globe in 1965, but received nothing. Three years later, Lee Tracy died of cancer at the age of 70 . He was survived by his wife, Helen Thomas Tracy, whom he married on July 19, 1938. The couple had no children. His grave is in Evergreen Cemetery in Shavertown , Pennsylvania . Tracy always had his second home in Shavertown. Today a star on the Walk of Fame commemorates Lee Tracy.

Filmography (selection)

• 1929: Big Time
• 1929: Salute
• 1930: Liliom
• 1930: Born Reckless
• 1932: The mysterious Dr. X (Doctor X)
• 1932: The Half Naked Truth
• 1932: Blessed Event
• 1933: Dinner at Eight (Dinner at Eight)
• 1933: Sex Bomb (Bombshell)
• 1934: The Lemon Drop Kid
• 1935: Carnival
• 1937: Behind the Headlines
• 1939: The Spellbinder
• 1942: The Pay Off
• 1947: High Tide
• 1951–1952: The Amazing Mr. Malone (TV series, 13 episodes)
• 1952–1953: Martin Kane, Private Eye (TV series, six episodes)
• 1959: New York Confidential (TV series, 39 episodes)
• 1964: The candidate (The Best Man)
• 1965: Ben Casey (TV series, an episode)

Web links

• Lee Tracy in the Internet Movie Database (English)
• Lee Tracy on findagrave.com , with photo