John Wayne Declares Himself the Greatest Actor of All Time!

Who did John Wayne consider the best actor of all time? In the book The People’s Almanac Volume 2, authors David Wallechinsky and Irving Wallace asked the Hollywood stars of their day—in this case, 1977—to name who they thought was the greatest actor of all time. For John Wayne, the answer was clear.

2 Oscars and 7 Nominations

In his response, mentioned in the blog Stars and Letters, it’s noted that Hollywood’s most iconic cowboy named his colleague Spencer Tracy. Despite Tracy’s passing in 1967, many today have forgotten his significant impact on American cinema. He was the first to win two Academy Awards for Best Actor, for his roles in Captains Courageous (1938) and Boys Town (1939).

After a six-year drought without major success, Tracy regained recognition from his peers with his role in Fritz Lang’s Fury at the age of 36. He was versatile, comfortable in roles ranging from a patriarch akin to John Dutton of Yellowstone (in Broken Lance) to a man with a mysterious past (Bad Day at Black Rock) or an ambitious politician (The Last Hurrah, State of the Union). Whether it was in comedy (as the grumpy, old-fashioned father in Father of the Bride), war films (as a Nazi camp escapee in The Seventh Cross), crime dramas (as a redemption-seeking lawyer in The People Against O’Hara), courtroom dramas (defending evolution in Inherit the Wind), or horror (Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde), Tracy was a complete actor.

Wayne/Tracy: Mutual Acquaintances

Spencer Tracy never starred alongside John Wayne, though he did provide the narration for How the West Was Won, in which Wayne acted under director John Ford. However, both men shared a common friend, Katharine Hepburn, who made nine films with Tracy (including Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, Tracy’s last film) and one with Wayne (Rooster Cogburn).

Moreover, both actors frequently collaborated with John Ford. Ford was the first to give Spencer Tracy a chance in Up the River when he was still relatively unknown, and he significantly revived Wayne’s career with Stagecoach followed by Fort Apache.

Do you agree with John Wayne? Was Spencer Tracy the greatest actor of his time?