He had a great sense of humor — real, true wit, was highly intelligent — an avid reader. A total professional who had no patience with self-indulgent actors. His face had everything in it — many lines, smiles, love, wickedness, sensitivity, wisdom. The sight of Spence was always an experience. If it was unexpected, it lifted my spirits, made me feel warm; if the meeting was planned, that day was invariably a better day than the one before.
[…] I might say Spencer always affected me the way the Lincoln Memorial does — except that he was not a monument, too human, too real. But he was larger than life — a special event at all times to me, one of my life’s bonuses. — Lauren Bacall (By Myself and Then Some)
They settled into a comfortable pattern of working with one another, Hepburn considering every possible nuance of a given scene while Tracy gently heckled her from the sidelines. “I think he was so steady,” she said, “and I was so volatile, that we exasperated each other. And we challenged each other, and that was the fun of it.” When John Chapman visited the set on September 12, Hepburn was at a rostrum rehearsing a speech, while Tracy was sitting out in the audience, haw-hawing loudly and doing his best to throw her off. “We are told that this is the big new friendly feud. Spence and Miss H. had never worked together before, and each at first was a little in awe of the other; but now they are in the happy Hollywood state of amiable insult. ‘We will now pause,’ announces Tracy, ‘while Miss Hepburn rewrites the script.’”
(Spencer Tracy: A Biography by James Curtis)
bonaventures:
Spencer Tracy photographed by Imogen Cunningham, 1932.
(via tracylord)
bonaventures:
I would have done anything for him.
— Katharine Hepburn
(via toshiromifunes)
bonaventures:
Spencer Bonaventure Tracy [April 5, 1900 - June 10, 1967]
Spencer walked right up the middle of the road to stardom. He went from young fellow, red-headed, chunky, wild, full of laughter, full of energy— To priest, full of calm nobility of spirit and of understanding— To young man— flyer— lawyer— sportswriter— explorer, father, lover, husband— To thinking man… It was a career which grew as Spencer grew— the man and the mind. The hair, first auburn, then gray, then white— from rascal to nobility. This same face— the eyes of a sensitive, vulnerable somehow primitive creature. A man searching, thinking, listening, hearing, wondering. Always the words he spoke coming from his own heart. It was happening before you— it was not an actor— it was the person always true— always.
— Katharine Hepburn
(via deforest)
bonaventures:
One could say that the Bonners represent Tracy and Hepburn at their best with each other. They certainly seem to be comfortable playing those roles, and I doubt that they would seem so comfortable if it weren’t natural to them. Perhaps one could say that the Bonners were a couple they would have liked the world to think they were.
— Katharine Houghton
(via flutie)
bonaventurer:
Although she was certain and unwavering in her attraction to him, he was likely dubious of anything more than a quick and memorable liaison.
“I think that you imagined I was a lesbian,” Hepburn wrote in an epistolary chapter years after his death. “But not for long. Did you.”
[Spencer Tracy: A Biography]
(via reginalambert)
stardustmelody:
Top 5 Katharine Hepburn Films
5) Woman of the Year (1942)
Sam Craig: There’s something I have to get off my chest.
Tess Harding: I’m too heavy.
Sam Craig: No. I love you.
Tess Harding: You do?
Sam Craig: Positive.
Tess Harding: That’s nice. Even when I’m sober?
Sam Craig: Even when you’re brilliant.
(via stardustmelodys-deactivated2013)
![He had a great sense of humor — real, true wit, was highly intelligent — an avid reader. A total professional who had no patience with self-indulgent actors. His face had everything in it — many lines, smiles, love, wickedness, sensitivity, wisdom. The sight of Spence was always an experience. If it was unexpected, it lifted my spirits, made me feel warm; if the meeting was planned, that day was invariably a better day than the one before. […] I might say Spencer always affected me the way the Lincoln Memorial does — except that he was not a monument, too human, too real. But he was larger than life — a special event at all times to me, one of my life’s bonuses. — Lauren Bacall (By Myself and Then Some)](http://25.media.tumblr.com/e787de553afb6e34421f7cb5bcdcc5ed/tumblr_mmgf0rLU7J1qcgb6mo1_500.png)
