Photoplay (Jul-Dec 1956)

li’lains season was over, Spence had proposed and Louise had accepted. They were narried on July 28, 1923, and they’ve ,;tayed married ever since, through the lean years and the fat ones. Perhaps one reason for the success of heir marriage is that it has been kept feparate from Spence’s career. In a town vhere a star’s private life is considered public property, Spencer and Louise Tracy |iave avoided the spotlight and shielded heir home and home life from prying eyes, [t is no secret that their happiness was parly shadowed by the hearing deficiency if their first child, John, who is now |hirty-one, but it is something Spence lever talks about for publication. Neither s it any secret that he and Louise founded he John Tracy School for the training of ither children similarly handicapped. But gain this is a fact which is never allowed |0 serve as an excuse for any publicity onnected with Spencer Tracy, the star. Today, Spence is quietly proud of all his on has accomplished, despite his handiap. John was graduated from college with Lonors, is carving out his own career as a artoonist, is happily married and the ather of a three-year-old son. Spence and his wife have the kind of /arm, affectionate relationship you find etween two people who have shared both appiness and sorrow — who understand ach other completely and have found their jiay to a mature, undemanding love. When jiOuise Treadwell became Louise Tracy, he gave up her own acting ambitions, f^illingly and entirely. John was born when he and Spence had been married a year. I’heir second child, Suzy, was born in p32, after success on the stage had brought {■pence to Hollywood and greater success, [.ouise’s part in that success was to pro!ide a home, a haven. A charming, dig|ified woman, she now spends most of her a yme at the Tracy ranch near Encino, com; ;ig into town only rarely, w 1 Spence has a far more difficult, seeking e bmperament than his wife’s. He loves the t anch, which he likes to believe is a real n ne. It isn’t. Real ranches don’t lose money; ; ,iis one does, mainly because its owner’s i [leas of ranching are strictly his own. nipence has acres of rich pasture in which ) e refuses to plant money-making crops le ecause he needs them to support the race It orses and polo ponies he has acquired at I) ifferent times and never sold. He can’t 5, ear to sell them, because if he did they ;[ {light have to go to work. He also raises y irkeys and chickens, all of which die of 1 Id age because Spence can’t bear to have iiem killed or sent to market. I But, since there has always been a jl xeak of restlessness in Spence, he could ti ever be happy as a full-time gentleman 10 irmer. He needs the stimulation of people ei nd activity and new scenes. So, while he ol working on a picture, he lives from liilonday to Friday in a small, comfortable lij dllywood apartment, spending only his ooi eekends at the ranch. lie He is bored by gaudy night spots, but 0) e loves good food and knows which lof ijstaurants serve the best. He has a great tir iiany friends, most of them connected with it! le film industry. Among the closest are kl umphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall, lej tewart Granger and Jean Simmons, Leo urocher and Laraine Day, Garson Kanin ,,, id Ruth Gordon, directors George Cukor 4 ad William Wyler, executive Benny Thau, ,js lent Bert Allenberg, Clifton Webb, Rich,1, 'd Burton, Ernest Hemingway — and the 11 dest friend of all, Pat O’Brien. It is no i, „( ;cident that all these people are witty j, ad entertaining conversationalists. Spence i m’t abide dullness, in himself or otliers. Several years ago, he took up oil paint,, ig as a hobby, but he is not one of those if nateur painters who shows his efforts at le ' , .k the drop of a hint. Only his family and a few very close friends have ever seen a completed Tracy landscape. He is even reticent about the fact that he paints at all. While on location at Lone Pine, California, making “Bad Day at Black Rock,” Spence disappeared one morning when some scenes in which he didn’t appear were scheduled for shooting. No one knew where he had gone. Finally, he was discovered at Whitney Point, a spot on the mountainside commanding a magnificent view which he was trying to paint. “Why didn’t you tell me you were going up there?” asked the studio publicity man assigned to the company. “I’d have sent a photographer up to get some shots of you painting.” “That’s why,” Spence said, with a grin. It’s not that he isn’t cooperative. Simply, some things are his own property, not to be exploited for the sake of publicity. Spence can be stubborn about such things — about anything that he feels conflicts with his integrity as a person or as an actor. He has a temper which has earned the awed respect of front-office brass. But it’s notable that less exalted studio workers — grips, wardrobe men, bit players — speak more of his kindness than of his temper. Younger actors he has worked with, especially, idolize him. People like Jean Simmons, Bob Wagner, Van Johnson, will tell you by the hour of his patience and helpfulness at times when they were unsure of themselves. If there is time between pictures, Spence likes to take a trip of some kind. For instance, as soon as “The Mountain” was finished, he took off for Paris, along with Robert Wagner and Barbara Darrow. Assuming the role of tourist-guide, Spence showed them what he calls “My Paris” — the little cafes, the art galleries, the colorful side streets. Spence and Bob Wagner had worked together before, in “Broken Lance,” and while shooting “The Mountain” they became even closer friends. Bob has long idolized Spence, and apparently the “master” has a high regard for his young “protege,” for it was Spence who picked Bob to play opposite him and insisted that he get co-star billing. “The Mountain” is an exciting, breathtaking picture. It tells the story of many conflicts — between right and wrong, kindness and greed, younger and older brother, and most of all, between man and mountain. Most of the picture deals with the ascent and descent of the famous and hazardous Mont Blanc. In order to prepare for the rigors ahead, Spence and Bob arrived in the village of Chamonix, France — which lies within the shadow of Mont Blanc — three weeks ahead of schedule. For days they worked with Alpine guides, practiced climbing over snow and ice, jumping over crevasses, climbing steep, craggy cliffs. Charles Balmat, one of the most famous Alpine guides, was in charge of training the men. “You can always tell an American in the Alps,” says Balmat. “They always want to get to the top in fifteen minutes. You can’t do that in the Alps.” Throughout all the arduous training and filming, Spence kept up with the pace set by the guides. He was in constant danger, and at no time during the climb did he — or anyone else — feel safe. The first day of climbing, the weather was calm and beautiful. As they proceeded on their way, everyone felt good and confidently exclaimed, “This is a cinch!” Then, just a short way up the mountain, they suddenly found therriselves in the midst of what Charles Balmat called “the worst stoi'm Chamonix has ever had.” As lightning 25 proven (including blood-building Bfolic ocid), 11 minerals, choline, inositol and methionine Yes. we'll send you this $5.00 ply tree to prove how much ier and peppier you may feel after a few days' trial! 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