William Tracy

For other people named William Tracy, see William Tracy (disambiguation).

William Tracy (December 1, 1917 – July 18, 1967) was an American character actor.

William Tracy
Tracy in Tanks a Million (1941)
Born	(1917-12-01)December 1, 1917 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Died	July 18, 1967(1967-07-18) (aged 49) Hollywood, California, U.S.
Resting place	Valhalla Memorial Park Cemetery
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1925–1964

Early life and career

Tracy was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.^{[citation needed]}

He is perhaps best known for the role of Pepi Katona, the delivery boy, in The Shop Around the Corner (1940). He starred in the John Ford film Tobacco Road (1941), and appeared in Brother Rat (1938) and Alfred Hitchcock's Mr. and Mrs. Smith (1941).

In 1940, Tracy began a recurring role as Sgt. Dorian "Dodo" Doubleday in eight films teamed with Joe Sawyer as Sgt. Ames, the first six for Hal Roach's Streamliners service comedies, beginning with Tanks a Million (1941). This B-movie comedy was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Musical Score.^[1] In 1942, he starred alongside Randolph Scott, John Payne and Alan Hale Jr in To the Shores of Tripoli. Then back again as Sgt Doubleday for two more at Hal Roach studios and the last two were for Lippert Pictures, concluding with Mr. Walkie Talkie (1952) being set during the Korean War.

In the 1950s, Tracy primarily did television work, where his most notable role was "Hotshot Charlie" in the 1953 series Terry and the Pirates. He previously played the lead role of Terry Lee in the 1940 serial with the same title.

On the June 14, 1951 episode of the radio series Suspense, The Truth About Jerry Baxter, the 33-year-old Tracy played the title character, a teenage marijuana addict. The episode claimed to be drawn from actual events, but is more like a radio version of Reefer Madness.^{[citation needed]}

He was married to actress Lois James from 1945-1954.

Tracy died in Hollywood, California, at the age of 49.^[2] He is interred in Valhalla Memorial Park Cemetery in North Hollywood, Los Angeles.^[3]

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1938	Brother Rat	Misto Bottome
	Angels with Dirty Faces	Jerry - as a Boy
1939	The Jones Family in Hollywood	Danny Regan
	Million Dollar Legs	Egghead Jackson
	The Amazing Mr. Williams	Messenger Boy	uncredited
1940	The Shop Around the Corner	Pepi Katona
	Terry and the Pirates	Terry Lee	serial
	Strike Up the Band	Phillip Turner
	Gallant Sons	'Beefy' Monrose
1941	Mr. and Mrs. Smith	Sammy
	Tobacco Road	Dude Lester
	Her First Beau	Mervyn Roberts
	She Knew All the Answers	Benny
	Tillie the Toiler	Mac
	Tanks a Million	1st Sgt. Dorian 'Dodo' Doubleday
	Cadet Girl	The Runt, a Cadet
1942	Hay Foot	Staff Sergeant 'Dodo' Doubleday
	About Face
	Fall In
	Young America	Earl Tucker, alias Ivan Leslie
	To the Shores of Tripoli	Johnny Dent
	George Washington Slept Here	Steve Eldridge
1943	Yanks Ahoy	Sergeant 'Dodo' Doubleday
1948	Here Comes Trouble	Dorian 'Dodo' Doubleday
	The Walls of Jericho	Cully Caxton
1949	Henry, the Rainmaker	Charlie Richards
1950	One Too Many	Billy Leighton
1951	Sunny Side of the Street	Al Little
	As You Were	Sgt. Dorian 'Dodo' Doubleday
1952	Mr. Walkie Talkie	Sgt. Doubleday
1957	The Wings of Eagles	Air Officer	uncredited
1959	-30-	Unnamed Writer