Who Are...TRACY AND HEPBURN?

You really should know who TRACY AND HEPBURN are! This is one of the best pairings in film history. Although, they never married each other (Tracy was already married), the chemistry between the two of them was magic on and off the screen and lasted some twenty-five years. Tracy and Hepburn made nine films together, the first, being Woman of the Year in 1942. Four more, and also my favorites, are suggested here. Tracy and Hepburn were caring people. When their dear friend Humphrey Bogart was dying of throat cancer, they were two of the only people who visited him and his wife, Lauren Bacall. They were at their home on practically every evening up until his death. After Humphrey Bogart died, Lauren Bacall wanted Spencer Tracy to give her husband's eulogy, but Tracy had to decline; it was too emotionally painful for him. John Huston ended up giving the eulogy instead. I hope you'll watch these films and grow to love Tracy and Hepburn as much as I do.

A fine place to start is by viewing: Desk Set (1957)? This is my favorite of the nine films Tracy and Hepburn made together. Here they play Richard Sumner and Bunny Watson. Sumner is an efficiency expert who installs a computer which is supposed to aid the research department where Bunny works. The plan backfires.

See that and watch them in the following four films:
Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967) In Spencer Tracy's last film, Tracy and Hepburn play Matt and Christina Drayton, whose daughter brings home her fiance to meet them for the first time. There's something she didn't tell them. Joanna Drayton is played by Katharine Hepburn's niece, Katharine Houghton, who makes her film debut.

A little piece of trivia concerning the memorabilia from this film is in June of 2004, Sotheby's Auction House hosted a two-day estate auction of Katharine Hepburn's personal belongings. The most expensive item was a bronze bust of Spencer Tracy that Hepburn created, which had been featured in Guess Who's Coming To Dinner. This three-inch sculpture sold for $316,000, when its original estimate had been only $3,000 to $5,000.

Woman of the Year (1942) They play Sam Craig and Tess Harding. You have to see the scene when feminist Tess Harding (Katharine Hepburn) tries to cook.
Adam's Rib (1949) Tracy and Hepburn play Adam and Amanda Bonner, a married couple who both have the same profession. They are attorneys. All is well until they are up against each other.
Without Love (1945) They play Pat Jamieson and Jamie Rowan. This is the story of a scientist and his assistant who enter a loveless marriage only to find they cannot escape love.


*Contributed by: Elizabeth Van Cleve Randolph Date: Tues, Sept 19, 2006 / 07:30:28 PST

Academy Awards®
© A.M.P.A.S.®
SPENCER TRACY
1936 Nominated for Best Actor in a Leading Role: SAN FRANCISCO
1937 Won Best Actor in a Leading Role: CAPTAINS COURAGEOUS
1938 Won Best Actor in a Leading Role: BOYS TOWN
1950 Nominated for Best Actor in a Leading Role: FATHER OF THE BRIDE
1955 Nominated for Best Actor in a Leading Role: BAD DAY AT BLACK ROCK
1958 Nominated for Best Actor in a Leading Role : THE OLD MAN AND THE SEA
1960 Nominated for Best Actor in a Leading Role: INHERIT THE WIND
1961 Nominated for Best Actor in a Leading Role: JUDGMENT AT NUREMBERG
1967 Nominated for Best Actor in a Leading Role: GUESS WHO'S COMING TO DINNER

KATHARINE HEPBURN
1932 Won Best Actress in a Leading Role: MORNING GLORY
1935 Nominated for Best Actress in a Leading Role: ALICE ADAMS
1940 Nominated for Best Actress in a Leading Role: THE PHILADELPHIA STORY
1942 Nominated for Best Actress in a Leading Role: WOMAN OF THE YEAR
1951 Nominated for Best Actress in a Leading Role: THE AFRICAN QUEEN
1955 Nominated for Best Actress in a Leading Role: SUMMERTIME
1956 Nominated for Best Actress in a Leading Role: THE RAINMAKER
1959 Nominated for Best Actress in a Leading Role: SUDDENLY, LAST SUMMER
1962 Nominated for Best Actress in a Leading Role: LONG DAY'S JOURNEY INTO NIGHT
1967 Won Best Actress in a Leading Role: GUESS WHO'S COMING TO DINNER
1968 Won Best Actress in a Leading Role: THE LION IN WINTER Co-winner with Barbra Streisand
1981 Won Best Actress in a Leading Role: ON GOLDEN POND