Henry Fonda
American actor known for everyman roles across five decades.
Henry Jaynes Fonda (May 16, 1905 – August 12, 1982) was an American actor whose career on Broadway and in Hollywood stretched across five decades. He was known for playing characters that felt like ordinary people, an everyman quality that defined much of his work. Born and raised in Nebraska, Fonda first made a name for himself on the New York stage before appearing in his first Hollywood film in 1935. He became a major film star with roles in *Jezebel* (1938), *Jesse James* (1939), and *Young Mr. Lincoln* (1939), and earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor for playing Tom Joad in *The Grapes of Wrath* (1940).
In 1941, he starred with Barbara Stanwyck in the screwball comedy *The Lady Eve*. After serving in World War II, he appeared in two acclaimed Westerns: *The Ox-Bow Incident* (1943) and *My Darling Clementine* (1946), the latter directed by John Ford. He also starred in Ford’s Western *Fort Apache* (1948). Fonda then took a seven-year break from movies to focus on theater, returning to film in 1955 with the war-boat ensemble *Mister Roberts*, a role he had first played on Broadway. At age 51, he played the title role of 38-year-old Manny Balestrero in Alfred Hitchcock’s thriller *The Wrong Man* (1956). The following year, he starred as Juror 8, the lone holdout, in *12 Angry Men* (1957), which he also co-produced and which earned him a nomination for the BAFTA Award for Best Foreign Actor (the film itself won Best Film).
Later in his career, Fonda took on a wider range of parts, including a villain in the epic *Once Upon a Time in the West* (1968) and the lead in the romantic comedy *Yours, Mine and Ours* (1968) with Lucille Ball. He also played military figures, such as a colonel in *Battle of the Bulge* (1965) and Admiral Nimitz in *Midway* (1976). Fonda won the Academy Award for Best Actor at the 54th Academy Awards for his final film role in *On Golden Pond* (1981), which co-starred Katharine Hepburn and his daughter Jane Fonda. He was too ill to attend the ceremony and died of heart disease five months later.
Fonda was the patriarch of a family of actors, including daughter Jane Fonda, son Peter Fonda, granddaughter Bridget Fonda, and grandson Troy Garity. In 1999, the American Film Institute named him the sixth-greatest male screen legend of the Classic Hollywood Era (stars whose film debut came by 1950).
- Born
- May 16, 1905, Grand Island, Nebraska
- Died
- August 12, 1982, from heart disease
- Field
- Actor
- Nationality
- American
- Known for
- Portraying everyman characters; role as Tom Joad in The Grapes of Wrath; Academy Award for On Golden Pond
Lore & Background
Henry Fonda was born in Grand Island, Nebraska, to William Brace Fonda and Herberta Jaynes. The family moved to Omaha in 1906. His patriline traces to an ancestor from Genoa, Italy, who migrated to the Netherlands in the 15th century; a branch immigrated to New Netherland in 1642, settling in what is now upstate New York. Fonda was raised as a Christian Scientist but later became agnostic. At age 14, he witnessed the lynching of Will Brown during the Omaha race riot of 1919, an event that enraged him and shaped his awareness of prejudice. He attended the University of Minnesota, majoring in journalism, but did not graduate.
Fonda began his acting career at age 20 at the Omaha Community Playhouse, encouraged by his mother's friend Dodie Brando. He moved east in 1928, joined the University Players, and worked with Margaret Sullavan, his future wife. He appeared on Broadway from 1926 to 1934. His first film break came in 1935 as Janet Gaynor's leading man in The Farmer Takes a Wife. He soon starred in films including Jezebel, Young Mr. Lincoln, and The Grapes of Wrath. After World War II service, he appeared in Westerns such as The Ox-Bow Incident and My Darling Clementine. He co-produced and starred in 12 Angry Men (1957), earning a BAFTA award. Later roles included a villain in Once Upon a Time in the West (1968) and Admiral Nimitz in Midway (1976).
Reader's Guide
Henry Fonda's significance lies in his enduring portrayal of the everyman across a five-decade career, bridging Broadway and Hollywood. His performance as Tom Joad in The Grapes of Wrath (1940) earned him an Academy Award nomination and is widely considered his finest role. He demonstrated versatility in screwball comedy (The Lady Eve), Westerns (My Darling Clementine), and courtroom drama (12 Angry Men), which he also co-produced. Fonda's final role in On Golden Pond (1981) won him the Academy Award for Best Actor. He was named the sixth-Greatest Male Screen Legend of the Classic Hollywood Era by the American Film Institute in 1999. His legacy extends through his acting family, including daughter Jane Fonda and son Peter Fonda. The article notes that Fonda was too ill to attend the 54th Academy Awards and died from heart disease five months later.
Did You Know?
- He was a member of Chi Delta Xi, a local fraternity at the University of Minnesota, which later became Chi Phi's Gamma Delta chapter.
- Fonda co-produced the film 12 Angry Men (1957), in which he starred as Juror 8.
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