Spencer Tracy Several of Tracy's films, particularly his comedies, are regarded as classics of American cinema. He starred in four of the titles on the American Film Institute's list of "100 Years ... 100 Laughs": "Adam's Rib", "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World", "Father of the Bride" and "Woman of the Year". "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner" was included on AFI's list of the 100 greatest American movies, while "Captains Courageous" was featured on their list of America's most inspiring movies. Tracy was nominated for nine Academy Awards for Best Actor, a category record he holds with Laurence Olivier. He was
Spencer Tracy and the stock circuit. In the fall of 1926, Tracy was offered his third shot at Broadway: a role in a new George M. Cohan play called "Yellow". Tracy swore that if the play failed to be a hit he would leave stock and work in a "regular" business instead. Tracy was nervous about working with Cohan—one of the most important figures in American theatre—but during rehearsals Cohan announced, "Tracy, you're the best goddamned actor I've ever seen!" "Yellow" opened on September 21; reviews were mixed but it ran for 135 performances. It was the beginning of an important collaboration