Spencer Tracy_ A Biography - James C. Curtis [551]
19 “old man”: S. R. Mook, “He’s Often Been Hungry,” Movie Mirror, August 1932.
20 “The first week”: S. R. Mook, “Spencer Tracy Talks About His Past,” Screen Book, April 1936.
21 “I went up”: Ardmore, 6/27/72 (JKA).
22 “Miss Treadwell”: Winnipeg Free Press, 1/29/24.
23 “give him credit”: Variety, 1/31/24.
24 “chairs on the stage”: Spencer Tracy, unpublished interview with Pete Martin, December 1960 (USC).
25 “generous applause”: Grand Rapids Herald, 6/17/24.
26 St. Mary’s: Details of the birth of John Tracy are from birth certificate #8152, County of Milwaukee.
27 “afraid of him”: Interview with Ardmore, undated (JKA).
28 “She is beautiful”: Grand Rapids Herald, 6/24/24.
29 Charley’s Aunt: The profitable and unprofitable plays of the 1924 season are identified in a letter from Mrs. L. S. Billman, manager of the Powers Theatre, to Clarence L. Dean, Grand Rapids Herald, 9/14/24.
30 “A lack”: Selena Royle, unpublished autobiography, American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming, p. 50.
31 “fitting man”: Grand Rapids Herald, 7/15/24.
32 “two minutes”: Interview with Ardmore, undated.
CHAPTER 2 A BORN ACTOR
1 Merrill Park: My knowledge of Merrill Park comes primarily from John Gurda’s excellent book The West End (Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1980). Gurda also did the research and copy for a Merrill Park poster published by the city’s Discover Milwaukee project in 1983, which provides a concise historical overview of the neighborhood.
2 St. Paul Avenue: John Tracy’s residential and work addresses are from Milwaukee City Directories, 1899–1926, and Milwaukee census records, 1900, 1910, and 1920.
3 John D. Tracy: Details of John D. Tracy’s life are from Freeport census records, 1880; Freeport Daily Democrat, 1/30/1901; Freeport Journal-Standard, 2/11/18; and genealogical information provided by Jane Feely Desmond and Sister Ann Willitts, O.P.
4 “Galway”: The name “Tracy” derives from the surname O’Treasant (from the Gaelic treassach, “embattled”). “O’Treasant” was established in Galway in the twelfth century. Variations include O’Trassy, O’Tressy, O’Trasey, Trassey, Tressy, Tracey, and Treacy. Although no one seems to know what John D. Tracy’s middle initial stood for, it is known that his mother’s maiden name was Donnelly, and it may well be that his full name was John Donnelly Tracy.
5 settled in Freeport: The best single reference on Freeport and its history is Mary X. Barrett, History of Stephenson County (Freeport, Ill.: County of Stephenson, 1970). Harriett Gustason’s “Looking Back” columns for the Freeport Journal-Standard, which have been collected into a series of books by the Stephenson County Historical Society, are invaluable for preserving the recollections of Freeport’s elder citizens. Leslie T. Fargher’s manuscript Life and Times in Freeport, Illinois (1967) at the Freeport Public Library was also helpful.
6 Caleb Brown: The Browns of Freeport are documented in Portrait and Biographical Album of Stephenson County, Ill. (Chicago: Chapman Brothers, 1888); Freeport Daily Journal, 1/8/1887, 10/11/1897, and 5/18/1910; and various editions of the Freeport City Directory.
7 “I would sit”: Jane Feely Desmond to Selden West, February 1992 (SW).
8 “In accordance”: Freeport Daily Journal, 8/30/1894.
9 Carroll Edward Tracy: Freeport Daily Democrat, 6/15/1896; and the baptismal record at the Church of St. Mary, Freeport, Illinois.
10 Dr. O’Malley: Details of the birth of Spencer Tracy are from birth certificate #3714, County of Milwaukee, and the baptismal record at the St. Rose Congregation, Milwaukee.
11 “name him”: Jane Feely Desmond to Selden West.
12 village of Bay View: My knowledge of Bay View comes principally from John Gurda, Bay View, Wis. (Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1979); and “Walking Tours of Bay View,” a series of maps published by the Bay View Historical Society. Arthur J. Hickman’s manuscript Bay View as I Remember It (1985) at the Bay View branch of the Milwaukee Public Library was particularly helpful, as was