Henry Fonda

Personal Info

Known For

Acting

Known Credits

203

Gender

Male

Birthday

1905-05-16

Day of death

1982-08-12 (77 years old)

Place of Birth

Grand Island, Nebraska, USA

Henry Fonda

Biography

Henry Jaynes Fonda (May 16, 1905 – August 12, 1982) was an American actor who had a career that spanned five decades in Hollywood. Fonda cultivated a strong, appealing screen image in several films now considered to be classics, earning one Academy Award for Best Actor on two nominations. Fonda made his mark early as a Broadway actor and made his Hollywood film debut in 1935. His film career began to gain momentum with roles such as Bette Davis's fiancee in her Academy Award-winning performance in Jezebel (1938), brother Frank in Jesse James (1939), and the future President in Young Mr. Lincoln (1939), directed by John Ford. His early career peaked with his Academy Award-nominated performance as Tom Joad in The Grapes of Wrath, about an Oklahoma family who moved to California during the Dust Bowl 1930s. This film is widely considered to be among the greatest American films. In 1941 he starred opposite Barbara Stanwyck in the screwball comedy classic The Lady Eve. Book-ending his service in WWII were his starring roles in two highly regarded westerns: The Ox-Bow Incident (1943) and My Darling Clementine (1946), the latter directed by John Ford, and he also starred in Ford's western Fort Apache (1948). After a seven-year break from films, during which Fonda focused on stage productions, he returned with the WWII war-boat ensemble Mister Roberts (1955). In 1957 he starred as Juror No.8, the hold-out juror, in 12 Angry Men. Fonda, who was also co-producer, won the BAFTA for Best Foreign Actor. Later in his career, Fonda moved into darker roles, such as the villain in the epic Once Upon a Time in the West (1968), underrated and a box office disappointment at its time of release, but now regarded as one of the best westerns of all time. He also played in lighter-hearted fare such as Yours, Mine and Ours with Lucille Ball, but also often played important military figures, such as a Colonel in Battle of the Bulge (1965), and Admiral Nimitz in Midway (1976). He finally won the Academy Award for Best Actor at the 54th Academy Awards for his final film role in On Golden Pond (1981), which also starred Katharine Hepburn and his daughter Jane Fonda, but was too ill to attend the ceremony. He died from heart disease a few months later.

Known For

  • The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson

    The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson

  • The Mike Douglas Show

    The Mike Douglas Show

  • Roots: The Next Generations

    Roots: The Next Generations

  • Golden Globe Awards

    Golden Globe Awards

  • Golden Globe Awards

    Golden Globe Awards

  • Tony Awards

    Tony Awards

  • Tony Awards

    Tony Awards

  • Tony Awards

    Tony Awards

  • Tony Awards

    Tony Awards

  • Tony Awards

    Tony Awards

  • Tony Awards

    Tony Awards

  • The Merv Griffin Show

    The Merv Griffin Show

  • The Dick Cavett Show

    The Dick Cavett Show

  • 12 Angry Men

    12 Angry Men

  • Dinah!

    Dinah!

  • Spécial cinéma

    Spécial cinéma

  • What's My Line?

    What's My Line?

  • All in the Family

    All in the Family

  • Once Upon a Time in the West

    Once Upon a Time in the West

  • The Steve Allen Show

    The Steve Allen Show

  • How the West Was Won

    How the West Was Won

  • The Ed Sullivan Show

    The Ed Sullivan Show

  • Hidden Hollywood II: More Treasures from the 20th Century Fox Vaults

    Hidden Hollywood II: More Treasures from the 20th Century Fox Vaults

  • The Kennedy Center Honors

    The Kennedy Center Honors

  • Family

    Family

  • Letter to Jane: An Investigation About a Still

    Letter to Jane: An Investigation About a Still

  • Ash Wednesday

    Ash Wednesday

  • The Doris Day Show

    The Doris Day Show

  • The Fugitive

    The Fugitive

  • Midway

    Midway

  • The Ox-Bow Incident

    The Ox-Bow Incident

  • Daisy Kenyon

    Daisy Kenyon

  • Mister Roberts

    Mister Roberts

  • The Deputy

    The Deputy

  • Fort Apache

    Fort Apache

  • The Serpent

    The Serpent

  • Spanish Western

    Spanish Western

  • The Longest Day

    The Longest Day

  • V.I.P. Schaukel

    V.I.P. Schaukel

  • War and Peace

    War and Peace

  • Rollercoaster

    Rollercoaster

  • Wanda Nevada

    Wanda Nevada

  • Yours, Mine and Ours

    Yours, Mine and Ours

  • My Name Is Nobody

    My Name Is Nobody

  • Jigsaw

    Jigsaw

  • Jesse James

    Jesse James

  • Tentacles

    Tentacles

  • The Bell Telephone Hour

    The Bell Telephone Hour

  • The Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts

    The Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts

  • Stiletto

    Stiletto

  • The Swarm

    The Swarm

  • Battle of the Bulge

    Battle of the Bulge

  • The Story of Alexander Graham Bell

    The Story of Alexander Graham Bell

  • The Bill Cosby Show

    The Bill Cosby Show

  • Stage Struck

    Stage Struck

  • Spendthrift

    Spendthrift

  • Warlock

    Warlock

  • Fedora

    Fedora

  • Something to Do with Death

    Something to Do with Death

  • Benjy

    Benjy

  • The Grapes of Wrath

    The Grapes of Wrath

  • Slim

    Slim

  • Barn Burning

    Barn Burning

  • In Harm's Way

    In Harm's Way

  • The Cheyenne Social Club

    The Cheyenne Social Club

  • The American Film Institute Salute to ...

    The American Film Institute Salute to ...

  • Film '72

    Film '72

  • Meteor

    Meteor

  • Madigan

    Madigan

  • A Big Hand for the Little Lady

    A Big Hand for the Little Lady

  • Chad Hanna

    Chad Hanna

  • Spencer's Mountain

    Spencer's Mountain

  • The Trail of the Lonesome Pine

    The Trail of the Lonesome Pine

  • The Farmer Takes a Wife

    The Farmer Takes a Wife

  • The Wrong Man

    The Wrong Man

  • Myrna Loy: So Nice to Come Home To

    Myrna Loy: So Nice to Come Home To

  • The Tin Star

    The Tin Star

  • My Darling Clementine

    My Darling Clementine

  • Sometimes a Great Notion

    Sometimes a Great Notion

  • The Boston Strangler

    The Boston Strangler

  • Directed by John Ford

    Directed by John Ford

  • On Golden Pond

    On Golden Pond

  • Firecreek

    Firecreek

  • Blockade

    Blockade

  • La Classe américaine

    La Classe américaine

  • The Wages of Sin

    The Wages of Sin

  • Fail Safe

    Fail Safe

  • Sex and the Single Girl

    Sex and the Single Girl

  • There Was a Crooked Man...

    There Was a Crooked Man...

  • The Big Street

    The Big Street

  • The Return of Frank James

    The Return of Frank James

  • Young Mr. Lincoln

    Young Mr. Lincoln

  • Captains and the Kings

    Captains and the Kings

  • An Opera of Violence

    An Opera of Violence

  • Cadet Rousselle

    Cadet Rousselle

  • John Ford: The Man Who Invented America

    John Ford: The Man Who Invented America

  • I Met My Love Again

    I Met My Love Again

  • The Best Man

    The Best Man

  • Stranger on the Run

    Stranger on the Run

  • Drums Along the Mohawk

    Drums Along the Mohawk

  • City on Fire

    City on Fire

  • The Great Smokey Roadblock

    The Great Smokey Roadblock

  • Hallmark Hall of Fame

    Hallmark Hall of Fame

  • Revisiting 'Fail-Safe'

    Revisiting 'Fail-Safe'

  • Welcome to Hard Times

    Welcome to Hard Times

  • The Mad Miss Manton

    The Mad Miss Manton

  • The Smith Family

    The Smith Family

  • You Belong to Me

    You Belong to Me

  • The Dirty Game

    The Dirty Game

  • Parker Adderson, Philosopher

    Parker Adderson, Philosopher

  • John Ford & Monument Valley

    John Ford & Monument Valley

  • The Sensational Shocking Wonderful Wacky 70's

    The Sensational Shocking Wonderful Wacky 70's

  • The Music School

    The Music School

  • The Male Animal

    The Male Animal

  • The Fabulous Fifties

    The Fabulous Fifties

  • Jezebel

    Jezebel

  • Collision Course: Truman vs. MacArthur

    Collision Course: Truman vs. MacArthur

  • The Long Night

    The Long Night

  • I Dream Too Much

    I Dream Too Much

  • Wings of the Morning

    Wings of the Morning

  • The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg

    The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg

  • Born to Buck

    Born to Buck

  • Spawn of the North

    Spawn of the North

  • Paul's Case

    Paul's Case

  • The Last Four Days

    The Last Four Days

  • A Special Sesame Street Christmas

    A Special Sesame Street Christmas

  • You Only Live Once

    You Only Live Once

  • The Lady Eve

    The Lady Eve

  • Breakdowns of 1938

    Breakdowns of 1938

  • The Alpha Caper

    The Alpha Caper

  • Hollywood: The Selznick Years

    Hollywood: The Selznick Years

  • Tales of Manhattan

    Tales of Manhattan

  • Inside 'the Swarm'

    Inside 'the Swarm'

  • Preminger: Anatomy of a Filmmaker

    Preminger: Anatomy of a Filmmaker

  • The Greatest Man in the World

    The Greatest Man in the World

  • That Certain Woman

    That Certain Woman

  • The Star and the Story

    The Star and the Story

  • On Our Merry Way

    On Our Merry Way

  • Barbara Stanwyck: Fire and Desire

    Barbara Stanwyck: Fire and Desire

  • Gideon's Trumpet

    Gideon's Trumpet

  • The Displaced Person

    The Displaced Person

  • The American West of John Ford

    The American West of John Ford

  • The Really Big Family

    The Really Big Family

  • Way Down East

    Way Down East

  • The Biggest Battle

    The Biggest Battle

  • Rappaccini's Daughter

    Rappaccini's Daughter

  • Wild Geese Calling

    Wild Geese Calling

  • Advise & Consent

    Advise & Consent

  • Pictura

    Pictura

  • The Battle of Midway

    The Battle of Midway

  • Too Late the Hero

    Too Late the Hero

  • The Red Pony

    The Red Pony

  • Going Hollywood: The '30s

    Going Hollywood: The '30s

  • The Man Who Understood Women

    The Man Who Understood Women

  • Soldier's Home

    Soldier's Home

  • Parkinson: Meet Henry Fonda

    Parkinson: Meet Henry Fonda

  • The Magnificent Dope

    The Magnificent Dope

  • Laugh-In

    Laugh-In

  • Laugh-In

    Laugh-In

  • Let Us Live

    Let Us Live

  • General Electric Theater

    General Electric Theater

  • The Rounders

    The Rounders

  • Fonda on Fonda

    Fonda on Fonda

  • Guilt Trip: Hitchcock and 'The Wrong Man'

    Guilt Trip: Hitchcock and 'The Wrong Man'

  • Rings on Her Fingers

    Rings on Her Fingers

  • I'm a Fool

    I'm a Fool

  • The Making of a Legend: Gone with the Wind

    The Making of a Legend: Gone with the Wind

  • Home to Stay

    Home to Stay

  • The World About Us

    The World About Us

  • Lillian Russell

    Lillian Russell

  • It's Everybody's War

    It's Everybody's War

  • The Golden Honeymoon

    The Golden Honeymoon

  • Henry Fonda: Hollywood's Quiet Hero

    Henry Fonda: Hollywood's Quiet Hero

  • Beyond a Reasonable Doubt: Making '12 Angry Men'

    Beyond a Reasonable Doubt: Making '12 Angry Men'

  • Let Poland Be Poland

    Let Poland Be Poland

  • Barbara Stanwyck: Straight Down The Line

    Barbara Stanwyck: Straight Down The Line

  • Pat Paulsen for President

    Pat Paulsen for President

  • Henry Fonda for President

    Henry Fonda for President

  • Immortal Sergeant

    Immortal Sergeant

  • Jezebel: Legend of the South

    Jezebel: Legend of the South

  • An Impression of John Steinbeck: Writer

    An Impression of John Steinbeck: Writer

  • Gore Vidal: The United States of Amnesia

    Gore Vidal: The United States of Amnesia

  • The Moon's Our Home

    The Moon's Our Home

  • Bernice Bobs Her Hair

    Bernice Bobs Her Hair

  • Clarence Darrow

    Clarence Darrow

  • The Sky Is Gray

    The Sky Is Gray

  • The Petrified Forest

    The Petrified Forest

  • The Oldest Living Graduate

    The Oldest Living Graduate

  • Sacco and Vanzetti

    Sacco and Vanzetti

  • President Kennedy's Birthday Salute

    President Kennedy's Birthday Salute

  • 'Fail-Safe' and the Cold War

    'Fail-Safe' and the Cold War

  • The Jilting of Granny Weatherall

    The Jilting of Granny Weatherall

  • The Fondas: A Cinematic Dynasty

    The Fondas: A Cinematic Dynasty

  • Summer Solstice

    Summer Solstice

  • The Blue Hotel

    The Blue Hotel

  • The Man Who Loved Bears

    The Man Who Loved Bears

  • Hollywood: The Fabulous Era

    Hollywood: The Fabulous Era

  • A Space to Grow

    A Space to Grow

  • To Save a Soldier

    To Save a Soldier

  • The Real Miss America

    The Real Miss America

  • Henry James' The Jolly Corner

    Henry James' The Jolly Corner

  • Underground Doctors

    Underground Doctors

  • Hollywood: The Great Stars

    Hollywood: The Great Stars