{"id":234,"date":"2013-07-25T20:54:28","date_gmt":"2013-07-25T20:54:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wcftr.wordpress.com\/?p=234"},"modified":"2022-10-04T20:19:00","modified_gmt":"2022-10-04T20:19:00","slug":"234","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wcftr.commarts.wisc.edu\/index.php\/2013\/07\/25\/234\/","title":{"rendered":"Spencer Tracy in Wisconsin"},"content":{"rendered":"

Spencer Tracy in Wisconsin<\/p>\n

by Kathleen Kosiec<\/p>\n

While refiling at WCFTR one afternoon, I noticed an interesting set of photographs in the Spencer Tracy name file. Unlike many of the other publicity and film images in the rest of the collection, these photographs weren\u2019t from the set of a classic film, but instead capture Tracy as a young college student before he left for Hollywood. Tracy\u2019s striking features are instantly recognizable, and I thought the set of candid photographs from the early 1920s <\/b>was perfect for showcasing Tracy\u2019s connection to Wisconsin.<\/p>\n

\"Image\"<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The photographs were developed from negatives obtained from the private collection of Robert Edgers. Edgers\u2019 father, Kenneth Edgers, was Tracy\u2019s high school friend from Northwestern Military and Naval Academy in Lake Geneva, and later Ripon College. The 10 photos are of Tracy during 1920-1922, including his time with Ripon\u2019s Campus Players and their traveling production of \u201cThe Truth,\u201d which ran from December 22, 1921 to January 6, 1922.<\/p>\n

Also included in the set are several photographs of Tracy\u2019s parents, John E. Tracy and Carrie Brown Tracy. In one photograph, they stand proudly in front of their Kissel automobile, from the now-defunct Wisconsin-based auto manufacturer that ceased production in 1930.<\/p>\n

\"Image\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Long before he was a major Hollywood star, Spencer Tracy was a college student simply majoring in medicine at Ripon College. Making his acting debut at Ripon, Tracy would star in several plays during his college years. In 1921, his classmates voted him cleverest and most talented, and he tied 2nd for most popular. Although clearly well-liked among his classmates, Tracy never graduated from Ripon, leaving for Hollywood in 1922.
\n<\/i><\/p>\n

Spencer Tracy enjoyed a long and successful career as an actor, nominated for his first Best Actor Academy Award for San Francisco <\/i>in 1936. The next year Tracy would win in that category for his role in Captains Courageous<\/i>. In 1942, Tracy starred in his first of 9 films with Katharine Hepburn in Woman of the Year<\/i>. The two were also a couple off-screen, even though Tracy never divorced his wife. Considered somewhat of an open secret in Hollywood, Hepburn and Tracy continued their affair until Tracy\u2019s passing in 1967. Tracy completed his final film, Guess Who\u2019s Coming to Dinner<\/i>, only weeks before his death.<\/p>\n

In 1940, Ripon College awarded Tracy an honorary degree. It\u2019s possible Tracy may have reunited with Kenneth Edgers when he returned to Wisconsin to accept his degree, since Robert Edgers noted his father and Tracy remained life-long friends.<\/p>\n

\"Image\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Photo captions<\/span><\/p>\n

Photo 1. Notes: Spencer Tracy posing along railroad track, Wisconsin, 1920-1922; snapshot labeled \u201cSpence.\u201d<\/p>\n

Photo 2. Notes: Spencer Tracy and his college friends on the steps of West Hall at Ripon, College, Ripon, Wisconsin, February 1921-March 1922; Spencer Tracy is on far right, with arm draped around Kenneth Edgers, other three men unknown; labeled \u201cSome of the West Gang.\u201d<\/p>\n

Photo 3. Notes: John E. Tracy and Carrie Brown Tracy, Spencer Tracy\u2019s parents, in front of their Kissel automobile.<\/p>\n

Photo 4. Notes: Kenneth Edgers (L) and Spencer Tracy (R), Wisconsin, 1920-1922; snapshot labeled \u201cPals\u201d from photo album of Kenneth Edgers (Tracy\u2019s roommate at Northwestern Military and Naval Academy in Lake Geneva and Ripon College, 1920-1922).<\/p>\n

References<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cPerforming Arts-Spencer Tracy.\u201d Lane Library-Ripon College. Accessed April 15, 2013. http:\/\/www.ripon.edu\/library\/archives\/performing-arts\/<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Spencer Tracy in Wisconsin by Kathleen Kosiec While refiling at WCFTR one afternoon, I noticed an interesting set of photographs in the Spencer Tracy name file. Unlike many of the other publicity and film images …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":244,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"aside","meta":[],"categories":[4],"tags":[38,41,42],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wcftr.commarts.wisc.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/234"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wcftr.commarts.wisc.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wcftr.commarts.wisc.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wcftr.commarts.wisc.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wcftr.commarts.wisc.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=234"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/wcftr.commarts.wisc.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/234\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":626,"href":"https:\/\/wcftr.commarts.wisc.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/234\/revisions\/626"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wcftr.commarts.wisc.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wcftr.commarts.wisc.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=234"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wcftr.commarts.wisc.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=234"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wcftr.commarts.wisc.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=234"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}