Spencer Tracy - Early Life

Early Life

Tracy was born on April 5, 1900 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He was the second son of Caroline (née Brown) and John Edward Tracy, a truck salesman. His mother was a Presbyterian from a wealthy Midwestern family and his father was of Irish Catholic background. He had one brother, Carroll, four years his senior. The young Spencer was a difficult and hyper child  with poor school attendance. Raised as a Catholic, at nine years old he was placed in the hands of Dominican nuns in the hope of transforming his behavior. Later in life he remarked, "I never would have gone back to school if there had been any other way of learning to read the subtitles in the movies." He became fascinated with motion pictures, watching the same ones repeatedly and then re-enacting scenes to his friends and neighbors. Tracy attended several Jesuit academies in his teenage years, which he claimed took the "badness" out of him and his grades improved. At Marquette Academy he met future actor Pat O'Brien, and the pair began attending plays together, awakening Tracy's interest in the theatre.

With little care for his studies and "itching for a chance to go and see some excitement", Tracy enrolled in the Navy when he turned eighteen. He was sent to the Naval Training Station in North Chicago, where he was still a student when World War One came to an end. He achieved the rank of seaman second class, but never went to sea and was discharged in February 1919. John Tracy's desire to see one of his sons gain a college degree drove Tracy back to High School to finish his diploma. Studies at two more institutions plus the additional allowance of "war credits" won Tracy a place at Ripon College. He entered Ripon in February 1921, declaring his intention to major in medicine.

"It helped me develop memory for lines that has been a godsend since I started stage work; it gave me something of a stage presence; and it helped get rid of my awkwardness. Also, I gradually developed the ability to speak extemporaneously".

—Tracy was a key member of his college debating team, which he later said helped with his acting career.

Tracy was a popular student at Ripon, where he served as president of his hall and was involved in a number of college activities. He made his stage debut in June 1921, playing the male lead in The Truth. Tracy was very well received in this role  and he quickly developed a passion for the stage. He formed an acting company with friends, which they called "The Campus Players" and took on tour. As a member of the college debate team, Tracy excelled in arguing and public speaking. It was during a tour with his debate team that Tracy auditioned for the American Academy of Dramatic Arts (AADA) in New York City. He was offered a scholarship to attend the school after performing a scene from one of his earlier roles. Tracy left Ripon, and began classes at AADA in April 1922. He was deemed fit to progress to the senior class, allowing him to join the academy stock company. Tracy made his New York debut in October 1922, in a play called The Wedding Guests, and then his Broadway debut three months later playing a wordless robot in R.U.R. He graduated from AADA in March 1923.