He began acting at the Omaha Community Playhouse at the behest of Marlon Brandos mother, Dorothy, a Playhouse cofounder. From 1928 through the summer of 1932, he appeared with the University Players at Falmouth, Mass. Henry Fonda's middle name was Jaynes. Fonda, 84, spoke to Cohen about how she tried to get closer with her father in his later years. 'Dignity and Power', Citing his ''superb'' acting in the play, Mr. Atkinson wrote that Mr. Fonda ''gives a perfect human performance that in turn gives the whole narrative perspective as a romantic tale of youth rebelling against boredom. Henry Fonda was born on May 16, 1905 (died on August 12, 1982, he was 77 years old) in Grand Island, Nebraska as Henry Jaynes Fonda. He was born in Grand Island, Hall, Nebraska, the son of Herberta Elma (Jaynes) and William . After the success of Easy Rider, both Hopper and Fonda were sought for film projects. Fabers stage credits also included off-Broadway roles in Hamlet, Mary Stuart, Scenes From Everyday Life and Woyzeck at the Joseph Papp Public Theatre; Happy Days at the Cherry Lane Theatre; Troilus and Cressida at the Mitzi E. Newhouse Theatre; Lucky Stiff at Playwrights Horizons; and Stonewall Jacksons House, Times and Appetites of Toulouse Lautrec, The Beauty Part and Tunnel Fever at the American Place Theater. His first marriage, to Miss Sullavan, ended in divorce in 1933. This reserved approach prevented him from becoming a romantic screen idol, although his good looks and adaptable presence made him a successful leading man in the period drama Jezebel (1938), with Bette Davis, and the romantic comedies The Lady Eve (1941), with Barbara Stanwyck, and The Big Street (1942), with Lucille Ball. [37], Fonda was married three times, he married his first wife Susan Brewer in 1961; together they have two children, Bridget and Justin. This is a digitized version of an article from The Timess print archive, before the start of online publication in 1996. He was cast in the role, in what was a minor hit. Fonda later directed the science fiction film Idaho Transfer (1973). In that year, he also signed a contract with Walter Wanger to make two films a year for $1,000 a week. He was frustrated with the studio, the actors and his own flagging . After 3 years, 9 months, Although part of the reason for his extended stay in the East was his starring role in Mister Roberts on Broadway, he also confided to friends that he couldn't tolerate the political climate in Southern California during those years. John Ford emerged from the debacle weakened physically and emotionally. Fonda was the recipient of numerous honours. He also made comedies such as The Lady Eve (1941) and The Male Animal (1942). He was just 14 years old during the Omaha Race Riot of 1919. . Mr. Fonda also had brief roles in such films as "The Longest Day" and "Midway.". Leland Hayward Was Agent, Over the next four summers and one winter season with the group, Mr. Fonda played a wide variety of leading roles, becoming a seasoned actor. For his performance, Fonda won a Tony Award. Fonda appeared in the hit film, The Cannonball Run (1981), as the "chief biker" that was a tongue-in-cheek nod to his earlier motorcycle films, and the film was a huge box office success that year with a large ensemble cast. Never one for empathy, he then dug the knife in more. 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[40] Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee claimed that he believed that Fonda's statement about Barron Trump was a violation of federal criminal law. Academy Award (1982): Actor in a Leading Role, Honorary Award of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (1981), Golden Globe Award (1982): Best Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama, Grammy Award (1977): Best Spoken Word Recording, This article was most recently revised and updated by, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Henry-Fonda, The National WWII Museum - Actors in Uniform: From Lieutenant Henry Fonda to Mister Roberts, Henry Fonda - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up), Dana Andrews, Paul E. Burns, and Henry Fonda in. He also won a second special Tony in 1979, and was additionally nominated for Broadway's 1975 Tony Award as best dramatic actor for "Clarence Darrow". He was 81. With passing years, he matured into a star character actor who exemplified not only integrity and strength, but an ideal of the common man fighting against social injustice and oppression. [38] The marriage lasted for eight years until Fonda's death in 2019. "And it's true that their friendship really almost ended over that. He began in 1925 with the Omaha Community Playhouse in in a production of Philip Barry's "You and I." Since 1957, he has appeared in 117 feature films. His last part was the lead in "Summer Solstice," a film made for television that was aired in 1981. Here is all you want to know, and more! Audience as Inspiration. From the start of his career, reviewers invariably praised his portrayals as ''refreshingly natural'' and ''immensely winning,'' and in later years, the consensus was that he was one of the few great American actors. In the 60's, Mr. Fonda's two elder children, the actors Jane and Peter, generated wide controversy, Jane particularly for her assertive advocacy of liberal and radical causes and Peter for his identification with the drug and motorcycle cult. Pictured on a 37 USA commemorative postage stamp in the Legends of Hollywood series, issued in his honor on 20 May 2005. He studied journalism at the University of Minnesota and held a number of odd jobs before turning to the stage. He created another quintessential character in Sidney Lumets 12 Angry Men (1957). His father was William Brace Fonda, who owned a printing shop in Omaha, and his mother was Herberta Jaynes Fonda. His final portrayal was in the Vietnam War movie The Last Full Measure, whose director Todd Robinson, has recounted that Peter Fonda was able to view that film in its entirety before his death, and got emotional upon viewing it. For American television, he appeared in a movie, Certain Honorable Men (1968), alongside Van Heflin, written by Rod Serling.[20]. Largely because of the limitations he felt were imposed upon him by his speech, he avoided Shakespeare and similar classics that did not have an American setting. Of the Oscar-winning father-daughter couples, he and daughter Jane are the one of two pairs where the daughter won an Academy award before the father did. Fonda also portrayed Mephistopheles, one of two main villains in the film Ghost Rider (also 2007). At a press conference at the Cannes Film Festival, Fonda stated that he had written to President Barack Obama about the spill and attacked him as a "fucking traitor" for allowing "foreign boots on our soil telling our militaryin this case the Coast Guardwhat they can and could not do, and telling us, the citizens of the United States, what we could or could not do. He married with Shirley Maye Adams He won a supporting actor Oscar in 1971 for his role as the village idiot in David Lean's Ryan's Daughter (1970). He improbably launched his acting career in Omaha at age 20 at the Omaha Community Playhouse, at the recommendation of family friend Dodie Brando, according to The New York Times. He left a legacy of many classic performances over a long career, most of which are considered to be sterling examples of the "Golden Age of Hollywood." Early years Henry Jaynes Fonda was born in Grand Island, Nebraska, on May 16, 1905, to . and justice. He had the lead in Family Express (1991) and South Beach (1993), but then drifted into supporting roles in many "independent" films: Deadfall (1993), directed by Christopher Coppola; Bodies, Rest & Motion (1993), starring his daughter Bridget; Molly & Gina (1994); Love and a .45 (1994) with Rene Zellweger; Nadja (1994), produced by David Lynch. Fonda sang some and in 1967 recorded "November Night", a 45-rpm single written by Gram Parsons for the Chisa label, backed with "Catch the Wind" by Donovan, produced by Hugh Masekela. This remarkable, soft-spoken American began in films as a diffident juvenile. A family spokesman said the actor had simply stopped breathing while asleep. He married Miss Brokaw in 1936. He achieved success on Broadway in The Farmer Takes a Wife (1934), which led him to Hollywood for the film version (1935). Henry Fonda was born on May 16, 1905 and died on August 12, In a 2007 interview, Fonda said that riding motorcycles helped him to focus, stating, I ride an MV Agusta. In The Times, Clive Barnes described Mr. Fonda's performance as ''consummate,'' and Walter Kerr termed it ''perfect.''. He served in the Navy for three years, initially as a Quartermaster 3rd Class on the destroyer USS Satterlee; later, Fonda was commissioned as a Lieutenant Junior Grade (O-2) in Air Combat Intelligence. integrity. Henry Fonda, American actor Birth Place: Grand Island, Nebraska The actor died "surrounded . [49][50], Following Fonda's death, his sister Jane Fonda made the following statement: "I am very sad. For the latter, he won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor Motion Picture Drama. Jane Fonda talks new book on activism and final season of Grace and Frankie. The dramedy costarred Katharine Hepburn and Jane Fonda and was a critical and commercial success. 68132. Henry Jaynes Fonda was born in 1905 in Grand Island, Nebraska. How old was Henry Fonda when he died? He had a career that spanned five decades on Broadway and in Hollywood. What Shows Have Been Renewed or Canceled? He cultivated an everyman screen image in several films considered to be classics.Born and raised in Nebraska, Fonda made his mark early as a Broadway actor and made his Hollywood film debut in 1935. Nearly fell out with his close friend James Stewart in an argument over blacklisting in the spring of 1947. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser. HENRY FONDA DIES ON COAST AT 77; PLAYED 100 STAGE AND SCREEN ROLES, https://www.nytimes.com/1982/08/13/obituaries/henry-fonda-dies-on-coast-at-77-played-100-stage-and-screen-roles.html. He then starred in two more successful Broadway productionsPoint of No Return (195152) and The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial (195455)before making the screen version of Mister Roberts (1955). . He achieved success on Broadway in The Farmer Takes a Wife (1934), which led him to Hollywood for the film version (1935).