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Spencer Tracy's transgressions and triumphs

02.10.11

Tracy and Young, both Catholics, began their romance while working together on the 1933 Depression-era drama “A Man’s Castle.” Though Tracy was married to Louise Treadwell, the illicit pair would go to Mass and confessions together.

“I think they were drawn together because of the shared bond of faith,” said Curtis, who spent six years on the book, drawing from Tracy’s own papers and obtaining the cooperation of the actor’s daughter, Susie Tracy.

But it was also their faith that caused the relationship to end after about a year. Tracy wouldn’t divorce Treadwell and Young wouldn’t have married a divorced man.

Hepburn didn’t have such hang-ups. Tracy met her on the set of George Stevens’ 1942 classic romantic comedy “Woman of the Year.”

“Hepburn really kind of inserted herself into Tracy’s life,” said Curtis. “She fell madly in love with him, though she was never sure that he felt the same way about her. They had some rough times, but she was absolutely devoted to him. I think she’s a very interesting person who was, in some ways, completed by Tracy. He was not reluctant to tell her to shut up.”

Source: Wilkes Barre Times-Leader