Actor in a 
LEE TRACY
Lee Tracy
- © Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
- (Lee Tracy in Dinner at Eight, 1933)
Biography
BIO
Lee Tracy was born William Lee Tracy in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1898. He studied electrical engineering before serving as a 2nd lieutenant in World War I (he also served again in World War II).
In the early 1920s, he decided to work as an actor and made his Broadway debut in 1924. He appeared in 16 productions through 1965, including a starring role in The Best Man (1960-1961) in a role that also garnered him a Tony Award nomination. He also starred in his final Broadway play, the short-lived Minor Miracle (1965).
After many Broadway credits through the latter half of the 1920s, Tracy made his screen debut for Fox Film in 1929. Primarily regarded as a character actor, he co-starred in the classic comedy Dinner at Eight (1934), directed by George Cukor.
His film career was temporarily disrupted while on location in Mexico filming Viva Villa! (1934) when he stood on a hotel balcony and allegedly urinated on a military parade that was passing below. It morphed into an international incident; he was fired from the film and his contract with MGM terminated.
Tracy returned from World War II to continue his career and move into television roles in the 1950s. He starred in three television series:
- The Amazing Mr. Malone (1951-1952),
- Martin Kane (1952-1953) and
- New York Confidential (1959).
After appearing in more than 35 feature films, Tracy received an Academy Award nomination for Actor in a Supporting Role for his last film The Best Man (1964). It was a reprisal of his 1960 Broadway role.
Tracy married Helen Wyse in 1938.
He died in Santa Monica, California of cancer, in 1968, at the age of 70.
Additional Broadway stage history is available at: 
Additional biographical information is available at: 
