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P•• e Two Lool(ing at Hollywood with Ed Sullivan New Rage Is Spencer Tracy By ED SUWVAN Hollywood, Oal. V OTING contests that are being conducted through. out the country to deter- mine the ranking cinema heroes and heroines reveal that Ameri· can girls are switching from Robert Taylor and Tyrone Pow- er, or at least the type they rep- resent, to the more stalwart type of hero suggested by Spencer Tracy. Every poll shows that Tracy is gaining by leaps and bounds, and theater managers say that the bulk of his votes are coming from girls and women . who have become a trifle wearied of gentler heroes and want their romance raw, rough, and reso- lute. . "A matinee idol, wit h my face? " grinned Tracy when your correspondent apprised him of this new switch in .heartbeats. "Now, don't kid me, Edward. I'm a fairly homely guy, taken by and large. In fact, I don't even use makeup, because the lines in my face and forehead suggest whatever character ap· pears on the film. Now that you bring it to mind, I wasn't even a cute looking kid. "We lived on Logan avenue, Milwaukee, and Pat O'Brien, an- other Milwaukee boy,lived about five blocks away. We were pals from the time we were 14 years old, but neither one of us ever won any beauty prizes at West Side High school, or later at Marquette. So if. the girls are beginning to like me now it's really a surprise. Do you realize that I'll be 38 years old next AprU 5? And although they say that life begins at 40, I think that's sort of a consolation prize they hand out to us old gaiTers." ••• Despite Tracy's disbelief, the fact remains that he is on the upswing of a sensational popu- larity wave. Magnificent per- formances in "Fury," "S a n Francisco," and "C!lptains cou- rageous " sent his celluloid stock soaring higher than the kites he used to fiy over Logan avenue. Six months ago Tracy was rated a fine actor but was not consid· ered a box office draw. Today he is a box office attraction, and the haste with which astute M·G-M officials teamed him first with Luise Rainer in ••Big City" and immediately thereafter with Joan Crawford in " ManneqUin " indicates best his spectacular climb. Girls and women, wearied of prettier heroes, have turned to Tracy. I asked him to tell me about himself. " I'm Irish·American," he start- ed. ••A lot of people think that I'm not a Harp because of my first name, Spencer. That was taken from my mother's best friend, a girl named Daisy Speno cer. My dad was in the trucking business in Milwaukee, and went from there to General' Motors. Nobody in the family ever had been on the stage, but I guess I always had a hankering for it. I met Pat O'Brien first when the two of us were working in a Ium- ber yard after school. Let's see -Pat lIved on 29th street. Tracy CIS the ~uglm.ck taxi clri•• r, Jo. B.Dton. lD ••BIV Clly," Th. virl fa Lufa. RedD.r, who play.ci the role of Jo.·. wif•• Funny how you never forget ad- dresses and nicknames of the kids you grew up with. "After finishing at West Side High I went to the Northwestern Military academy and then to Marquette. The war broke out, and I joined the navy. I was as- signed first to the Great Lakes station and then Norfolk, but never did get on a boat. I came back home and went to Ripon college to get a degree, and I guess it was there that the stage bug really bit me. I got on the debating team and we went on an eastern tour, and it was the dual debates against Bowdoin and·Colby that gave me an idea of how much excitement there was in being on a stage. Cer- tainly it was that debating team experience that persuaded the family to let me attend the Sar- gent school in New York, which was the American academy. ••The family didn't think much of my stage ambitions, I guess. And I'll never forget the thrill when I sent my mother a letter that I was going into the Theater guild show, •R. U. R.' Basil Sid· ney was playing the lead. I didn't tell my family that my pay was $15 a week, but later on they gave me one line to read in the show, and that boosted my salary to $40 a week. Boy, I thought I was really hot stuff when I got that first raise. I gave the doorman of the theater a dollar tip on the way out that Abo" •• E ., • r y poll .how. that Tracy fa VedD· lDv"'"""9lrlahaY. b.com. a trW. w.ari.cl of V.I1· tI.r h.ro •• emcl wemt th.ir ro- ma DC. raw, rouvh. emcl r•• • olut •• night. Many times later I wished I could get my hands on it. " The n followed two years of stock -at White Plains, N. Y.; Cincinnati, Grand Rapids, Pittsburgh, wherever I could get a job. The bank roll was down to the vanishing point, but it was in stock that I got one great break. In. Cincinnati we were playing' Buddies,' and there was a girl in the company who was really a knockout. Her name was Louise Treadwell, fro m Newcastle, Pa., and she was a darn good actress, but, just be- tween you and me, I wasn't In- terested in her acting. How. I ever got up nerve enough to ask her to marry me on what I was making is one of those questions that will never be answered. But she was a bit daffy, too, because she said yes, and we got married. • • • A. the happy·vo.lucky Memu.l iD ••CaptcdDa CoufClveowl,," "By the time we got back to New York we were down to our last few dollars, and the panic was on. When they sent for me to tryout for George M. Cohan's show, •Yellow,' it was a reprieve, a message from Garda. We sat there on the stage of the Hudson theater in New York reading our parts and s 0 r t of sneaking glances up the center aile to see if Mr. Co han was arriving. •Don't be nervous,' Humphrey Bogart whispered to me. He was shaking worse than I was. That first meeting with Cohan was the greatest thrill I ever got out of the theater. He was swell, too. I played in several of his shows and learned more about \".i-.:e .1 tl.e ~.~ie .F•• Letrers published in this department should be written on one side of the paper. If you wish a personal reply plecue inclose a' stamped, self-addressed en"elope. Dear Miss Tln~e: May I tOS8a big, big bouquet? It goes to Don Ameche! He's far handsomer than Bob Taylor; his voice, both speaking and singing, Is indeed bea u tiful. Be- sides all this, he's an excellent and versatile actor. Another thina I admire him for is that he adores his wife and chll- dren. It is a re- 11 ef to find an actor who really loves his wi f e. Long may Don Ameche reign al king I I wish you would print a big picture of Don. Thanks a lot. Sincerely, JOYCE REMPE. Editor's note: Y<>"r hero, 1 see/ And here his ptcture be. ('BCU8e, pliss.) DON Alt.4ECHE F.n thInks he I. handsome. Dear Miss Tin~e: Your critic in yester- day's Tribune 'of ••The Road Back" was in my opinion somehow unfair. As one who reads your critic. with re~larity, I have alway. preferred your criticism in its unfiattering boldness to other crit- ics who merely try to fiatter and thus are of little value. In the case of "The Road Back," how- ever, you appear to be lacking much (if not most) of the facta fo~ the background against which the story of ••The Road Back" plays itself. As a German-Ameri· can who hal actually witnessed" The Road ••A matiD.. Icl 0 L with my f ae• ?" Vrill D• cl' Sp.Dc.r Tracy, ••Now, clOD't !dcl m.':' . acting and the theater from him than from anybody else. "Then •The Last Mile' and the part as Killer Mears that really attracted attention to me. You know the rest of it, Ed. You should; you know that you were the first to come right out and say that I was going to be a great dramatic star. You wrote it in a movie magazine, and I've still got it in my scrapbook." , So much for the chronological details of Tracy's career. What sort of a person is he face to face? I hear you asking. He's a quiet sort of a guy, with a nice smile to relieve his grav- ity. He has a grand sense of humor, and his comments after each camera "take" are always amusing. Director Frank Bor- zage tells me that he has rarely encountered a performer with Tracy's gift for remembering long stretches of dialog. He rarely blows up in a scene. He delivers his lines in a very low and very natural tone of voice, underplaying them. In the early days of sound in. movies they would have had trouble pIcking up his tones. The fishpole ex- tension "mike" made him a movie natural. Men like him instantly, and of late women have developed what amounts to a national crush, He lives quietly in Hollywood, and when his wife is out of town you'll gen- erally find him with his bosom, companion, Bill Grady, M·G-M talent scout, sitting at a wall table at the Trocadero, local sup- per club, rendezvous of the movie people. Back," I went to see the film at the Palace theater yesterday and found it the most moving and the most stirring picture I've seen since ••Cavalcade." You must not forget that in the case of ••The Road Back" we see a great people going down in one of the greatest defeats of history. Everything these people had believed and fought for for four years sud- denly seemed to betray it, all hope had gone, and so in an admirable contempla- tion the German soldier decided to take the road back, because it must be remem- bered that conditions leading to this road back came rather from within Germany than from without. In 1918,when the end of the World war was near, I was visitlng.a business college in Karlsruhe on the Rhine, and I have seen with my own eyes scenes almost ex- actly as they are projected now on the screen, and these scenes took place long before the armistice was signed. With all these memories alive, you wlll understand that the drama of ••The Road Back" deserves a somehow more benevo- lent critic, especially so if we realize that around this story is one of the saddest hours in a people's existence. I really wish the people in Germany were ~llowed to see this film as I have seen it, because they would gain a better understanding of all they've gone through. Remembering that they've been first betrayed from within, they well know that they also have been betrayed from without, and the story of ••The Road Back" would in my opinion give them something like an observer's seat in the turmoil of their present strug- gle. Sincerely yours, OSCAR LOHNER. . Editor's note: Your letter makes me wOfIder if you read my review of "The Road Back." Dear Miss Tinea: I heard ••Stella Dal-. las" over the radio. I enjoyed it very much and intend to see the movie. Ann e Shirley, who played in' the movie, said she was married. Would you please , print a brief blog· raphy and tell me when she was married and to whom? I enjoy your column very m u c h, Thank you. A constant reader, RUTH METZGER. Editor's not e: Anne Shirley Was bom in New York City, ApriZ 17, 1918. She's 6 feet 8 inchea tall, weighs 100 p01'fIds, and hall red-gold hair and amber eyes. Educated Lawlor Pro- fessional school. Her hobby is reading. On Aug. 88 of this year Miss Shirley mar ried John Howard PaJl'le, screen actor. It makea me happy to know you enjoy the column. Thank8 for taking the time to tell me that you do. fame and also for his ability to play Ilght comedy rOles with ease and perfection. 3. To Spencer Tracy for his magnificent portrayal of Manuel in ••Captains Coura- geous." 4. To Barbara Stanwyck for her ability to portray any character sincerely enough to make the audience really feel the part. 5. To Loretta Young for her delightful sophistication in any rOle she plays, 6. And last, but certainly not least, to Deanna Durbin. Honestly, there aren't words enough to express my praise for her! Her sweet personallty and beautiful voice have me spellbound. Incidentally, concern- Ing Miss Durbin, I read recently that she Is not 14, as publicized, but actually 17, Is that true? Gee, I hope not! This is the first Ume I have ever written to you, and I know the letter must sound a 'bit amateurish. However, I think your column is swell, and the same goes for your reviews. So best wishes from a 14-year-old fan, BE'M'Y WEBER. Editor'a note: Well, 1 think you were swell to Write and tell me you think the column'lI awell. Thank you. Deanna Dur bin Was bam Dec.• , 1988. •• • At the moment he is the most conspicuous of the performers who have been graduated to Hol- lywood from Illinois, Indiana, WisconsiQ, Michigan, and Iowa, which form their compact mid. dIe western state group. It is amazing to reilect on the performers who have come from that section of the country-Car. ole Lombard, Fred MacMurray, Charles Butterworth, Margaret Lindsay, Pat O'Brien, Billy and Bobby Mauch, June Travis, Char. lie Winninger, Harriet Hilliard, Richard Lane, Jean Chatburn, Alan Curtis, Betty Jaynes, Nat Pendleton, Robert Young, Jack Benny, Beulah Bondi, Don Ame- che, Dennis O'Keefe, Suzanne Larsen, Walt Disney, Marsha Hunt, Frances Dee, Bill Fraw. ley, Bob Baker, Judy Garland, Joe Penner, Stanley Morner, Doris Weston, John Litel-just a few from these five states. Put them all together, wit h Spencer Tracy, and you'd have the nucleus of the gosh-darned. estmctton picture company in the business. Particularly so now that Speno cer Tracy has become a 1938 model Romeo. ANN" SHIRLEY She's been nl.rrled sInce Au;ust. Dear Mae: Would you please settle an argument and tell me how tall the Mauch twins are? Also a short story of their Ufe. A regular reader of your column, ARLEEN N. Editor's note: Well, this ought to settle it 0fI8 wall or another. They were bom in Peoria, Ill., JuZy 6, 198'+. They're identical twi"" and, it is said, cannot be told apart even by their mother UfIle81 th81l" Gre dif- ferently dre8sed. They have blue eyesand brOWfl hair. The i r height is rap( cU 1I. changing, but according to the last report th81lwere" feet 11 inchea talZ. Dear Miss Tinea: Reading your column each Sunday makes me feel' like adding my ••two cents' worth," so here goes. An orchid to each of the following (my favorites, of course): 1. To the one and only Tyrone Power for his clean-cut boyishness and truly enter- taining actina. 2. To Don Ameche for h1a quick rise to
