<<I think you may have it there. I misread your first
question as
asking about "*a* Spencer Tracy kill" which would seem like
a
reference to something, but it does look like he just needed
a name.
Maybe he did know Tracy, or maybe there was a real Spencer
Tracy who
got offed? I think Kathy Harper is our expert on this period,
but
she's in the middle of some exams.>>
I was on the phone with one of my most trusted walking
encyclopedias on
both film and the hardboiled, who unfortunately could not
pinpoint the
reference off the top of his head, but did mention that Tracy
first
gained public recognition as an actor by *playing a murderer*
in a very
successful Broadway play around 1930. It's not unlikely that
Whitfield
knew about this play and Tracy's role in it. If I receive
more
information, I'll post it here so that we can all sleep...I
am not ready
to accept this coincidence yet.
Regards,
Mario Taboada
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