10th June, 1967, Spencer Tracy died aged 67...
Spencer Tracy is one of Hollywood's true legends, he made 75 feature films in a career that spanned 37 years, made Academy Award history and had a secret relationship with a Hollywood star.
Tracy is seen as one of the greatest actors to have graced the screen, here are some facts about the man that show his worth of the term legend:
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He was nominated for Best Actor by the Academy nine times, the only other person to have that many nominations for Best Actor is Laurence Olivier. Olivier only won it once, whereas Tracy won it twice.
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His last film was Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967) which was completed 17 days before Tracy's death. Katharine Hepburn never saw the finished film as she said it was too painful to watch. Tracy died of of a heart attack and had spent the previous 2 years at home with Hepburn, who cared for him. Even after his death MGM concealed the relationship between Tracy and Hepburn, stating that the housekeeper had found Tracy dead, but Hepburn claims that it was she that was with him as he died.
A tribute to a true great, rest in peace, Spencer Tracy.
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Also, he was the first person to win the Best Actor Oscar twice, he now shares the honour with 7 other actors and was surpassed by Daniel Day-Lewis in 2012.
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Furthermore, he was the first person to win the award consecutively in 1937 and 1938, which he now shares with Tom Hanks who won it twice in a row in 1993 and 1994.
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Tracy had a secret relationship with Katharine Hepburn. The studio wanted to protect their stars and made sure that the knowledge of the love affair was only known within the quarters of the studio. They first met in 1942, during the filming of Woman of the Year and carried on their relationship for over 25 years. Tracy was married but his wife was estranged and although he never divorced, he and Hepburn were a couple until his dying day.
