Born in Atlanta, GA; educated at Union College. How's this for a guaranteed career-killer: get drunk and urinate on a passing military parade in a foreign country. That's just what Tracy did in Mexico while filming VIVA VILLA! in 1934, creating a minor international incident that not only got him fired from the picture, but severely damaged the career of this enormously talented actor. With his rat-a-tat dialogue delivery, expressive gestures, and a devilish twinkle in his eyes, Tracy could've been one of the most popular character actors of all time, instead of merely a filmbuff favorite. He was a popular Broadway star throughout the 1920s, creating the role of Hildy Johnson in the original stage production of The Front Page. Soon after, talkies were invented and Hollywood beckoned (though Pat O'Brien played Hildy in the 1931 movie). Tracy ran up a string of remarkable performances as reporters, press agents, and con artists in such snappy movies as DOCTOR X, LOVE IS A RACKET, THE STRANGE LOVE OF MOLLY LOUVAIN, NIGHT MAYOR, THE HALF-NAKED TRUTH (all 1932), DINNER AT EIGHT, THE NUISNANCE, ADVICE TO THE LOVELORN, BOMBSHELL (all 1933), and THE LEMON DROP KID (1934); he also played a naive congressman in WASHINGTON MERRY-GO-ROUND (1932) and a small-town businessman who goes back in time in TURN BACK THE CLOCK (1933). When work became harder to get, Tracy found employment in such RKO programmers as BEHIND THE HEADLINES, CRIMINAL LAWYER (both 1937), CRASHING HOLLYWOOD (1938), THE SPELLBINDER (1939), and MILLIONAIRES IN PRISON (1940). After World War II, he retired -- though he worked briefly in early TV (including one season of "Martin Kane, Private Eye"). He returned to the big screen just once, to recreate his Broadway role as the Trumanesque president in THE BEST MAN (1964, earning an Oscar® nomination). But his archetypal performance can be seen in BLESSED EVENT (1932), in which he plays a Walter Winchell-like columnist who raises the art of gossip to hilariously uncharted depths.  Nominated for Supporting Actor 1964: THE BEST MAN 1 nomination