Steve Tracy

Steve Tracy (born Steven Cumrine; October 3, 1952 – November 27, 1986) was an American film and television actor. Tracy is best known for his role on Little House on the Prairie as Percival Dalton.

Steve Tracy
Born
Steven Crumrine

October 3, 1952
Canton, Ohio
DiedNovember 27, 1986(1986-11-27) (aged 34)
Tampa, Florida
OccupationActor
Years active1977–1986

Biography

Life and education

He was born as Steven Crumrine into an Irish-German family.[1] He attended Kent State University in Kent, Ohio, and the Theatre Department at Los Angeles City College in Los Angeles, California, as well as the Harvey Lembeck Comedy Workshop.

Career

Tracy is best known for his recurring role as Percival Dalton in the television series Little House on the Prairie in the early 1980s.

After the end of the series, Tracy maintained a friendship with his on-screen wife Alison Arngrim (Nellie Oleson). Arngrim and Tracy were very close while filming on the set. During the series, there were rumors that he and Arngrim were having a love affair, but Arngrim says that was untrue. Arngrim has also stated that she was the only one on the set who knew that Tracy was gay.[2]

He appeared in several films and other television programs from 1977 to 1986, including Quincy, M.E., The Jeffersons, and National Lampoon's Class Reunion.[3] Six months before his death, he performed in the theater piece AIDS/US: Portraits in Personal Courage in Los Angeles. The piece featured true stories of having AIDS or losing family members to AIDS, with half the cast being heterosexual, at a time when AIDS still was stereotyped as affecting only gay men. Tracy was the only professional actor in the production, as all other participants were non-actors telling their stories on stage because "they wanted to say something."[4] When the play closed in August 1986, the closure was intended to be a hiatus to allow the cast to grieve the death of a cast member and cope with the deteriorating health of two others[5]

Death

Tracy died of AIDS-related complications in 1986, after which Arngrim became involved in AIDS activism.[6] His ashes were scattered under the Hollywood Sign in the Hollywood Hills, Los Angeles, under the letter "D".

Filmography
Film and television
Year Title Role Notes
1977Heavy EquipmentChesterFeature film
1978James at 15ErnieEpisode: "Queen of the Silver Dollar"
1979Quincy, M.E.KidEpisodes: "Walk Softly Through the Night: Part 1 & 2"
1979Beneath the Valley of the Ultra-VixensRhettFeature film
1980–1981Little House on the PrairiePercival DaltonSemi-regular role (11 episodes)
1981Desperate MovesAndy SteiglerFeature film (aka Steigler and Steigler)
1982The JeffersonsSteveEpisode: "Jeffersons Greatest Hits"
1982National Lampoon's Class ReunionMilt FriedmanFeature film
1984Party Games for Adults OnlyStevenFeature film
1986Say YesClerkFeature film
1987Tales from the DarksideRobberEpisode: "Miss May Dusa", (final appearance)
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gollark: Anyway, regardless of assignment of blame, your protestations mean nothing as I am busy.

References
  1. "Biography". Steve Tracy. Retrieved April 28, 2017.
  2. Arngrim, Allison (2010). Confessions of a Prairie Bitch. New York: Harper-Collins. p. 260. ISBN 9780062000101.
  3. Steve Tracy on IMDb
  4. Sandra Kreiswirth. "AIDS/US dramatizes crisis in unique way, Daily Breeze, 4 April 1986, page E24.
  5. Sandra Kreiswirth.
  6. "How Nellie Oleson Became an AIDS Activist". The Advocate. June 16, 2010. Retrieved June 17, 2010.
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