Henry Fonda

Personal Info

Known For

Acting

Known Credits

199

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 Mike Douglas Show

    The Mike Douglas Show

  • The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson

    The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson

  • Golden Globe Awards

    Golden Globe Awards

  • Golden Globe Awards

    Golden Globe Awards

  • The Dick Cavett Show

    The Dick Cavett Show

  • What's My Line?

    What's My Line?

  • The Merv Griffin Show

    The Merv Griffin Show

  • The Steve Allen Show

    The Steve Allen Show

  • 12 Angry Men

    12 Angry Men

  • Spécial cinéma

    Spécial cinéma

  • All in the Family

    All in the Family

  • People's Choice Awards

    People's Choice Awards

  • Wanda Nevada

    Wanda Nevada

  • The Ed Sullivan Show

    The Ed Sullivan Show

  • Dinah!

    Dinah!

  • Madigan

    Madigan

  • Warlock

    Warlock

  • Stiletto

    Stiletto

  • Family

    Family

  • The Kennedy Center Honors

    The Kennedy Center Honors

  • The Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts

    The Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts

  • The Longest Day

    The Longest Day

  • Once Upon a Time in the West

    Once Upon a Time in the West

  • The Deputy

    The Deputy

  • Rollercoaster

    Rollercoaster

  • Fedora

    Fedora

  • Tentacles

    Tentacles

  • Slim

    Slim

  • Chad Hanna

    Chad Hanna

  • Gideon's Trumpet

    Gideon's Trumpet

  • Daisy Kenyon

    Daisy Kenyon

  • The Doris Day Show

    The Doris Day Show

  • Blockade

    Blockade

  • V.I.P. Schaukel

    V.I.P. Schaukel

  • The Displaced Person

    The Displaced Person

  • My Darling Clementine

    My Darling Clementine

  • Benjy

    Benjy

  • The Bell Telephone Hour

    The Bell Telephone Hour

  • Rings on Her Fingers

    Rings on Her Fingers

  • The Biggest Battle

    The Biggest Battle

  • Spawn of the North

    Spawn of the North

  • The Bill Cosby Show

    The Bill Cosby Show

  • The Last Four Days

    The Last Four Days

  • Spendthrift

    Spendthrift

  • The American Film Institute Salute to ...

    The American Film Institute Salute to ...

  • My Name Is Nobody

    My Name Is Nobody

  • Young Mr. Lincoln

    Young Mr. Lincoln

  • Midway

    Midway

  • Sex and the Single Girl

    Sex and the Single Girl

  • Let Us Live

    Let Us Live

  • Way Down East

    Way Down East

  • Roots: The Next Generations

    Roots: The Next Generations

  • Hallmark Hall of Fame

    Hallmark Hall of Fame

  • I'm a Fool

    I'm a Fool

  • A Special Sesame Street Christmas

    A Special Sesame Street Christmas

  • War and Peace

    War and Peace

  • How the West Was Won

    How the West Was Won

  • Directed by John Ford

    Directed by John Ford

  • Breakdowns of 1938

    Breakdowns of 1938

  • Parker Adderson, Philosopher

    Parker Adderson, Philosopher

  • Barn Burning

    Barn Burning

  • Pictura

    Pictura

  • The Battle of Midway

    The Battle of Midway

  • Fort Apache

    Fort Apache

  • Born to Buck

    Born to Buck

  • Film '72

    Film '72

  • Captains and the Kings

    Captains and the Kings

  • Parkinson: Meet Henry Fonda

    Parkinson: Meet Henry Fonda

  • In Harm's Way

    In Harm's Way

  • Jigsaw

    Jigsaw

  • Ash Wednesday

    Ash Wednesday

  • The Dirty Game

    The Dirty Game

  • Too Late the Hero

    Too Late the Hero

  • On Golden Pond

    On Golden Pond

  • Fail Safe

    Fail Safe

  • Barbara Stanwyck: Straight Down The Line

    Barbara Stanwyck: Straight Down The Line

  • The Grapes of Wrath

    The Grapes of Wrath

  • Barbara Stanwyck: Fire and Desire

    Barbara Stanwyck: Fire and Desire

  • The Golden Honeymoon

    The Golden Honeymoon

  • John Ford: The Man Who Invented America

    John Ford: The Man Who Invented America

  • The Tin Star

    The Tin Star

  • I Dream Too Much

    I Dream Too Much

  • Yours, Mine and Ours

    Yours, Mine and Ours

  • The Wrong Man

    The Wrong Man

  • Battle of the Bulge

    Battle of the Bulge

  • Cadet Rousselle

    Cadet Rousselle

  • Meteor

    Meteor

  • The Boston Strangler

    The Boston Strangler

  • The Swarm

    The Swarm

  • The Lady Eve

    The Lady Eve

  • Soldier's Home

    Soldier's Home

  • Citizen Jane Fonda

    Citizen Jane Fonda

  • The World About Us

    The World About Us

  • The Male Animal

    The Male Animal

  • City on Fire

    City on Fire

  • The Red Pony

    The Red Pony

  • The Ox-Bow Incident

    The Ox-Bow Incident

  • Mister Roberts

    Mister Roberts

  • Drums Along the Mohawk

    Drums Along the Mohawk

  • Advise & Consent

    Advise & Consent

  • Jezebel

    Jezebel

  • The Mad Miss Manton

    The Mad Miss Manton

  • There Was a Crooked Man...

    There Was a Crooked Man...

  • Jesse James

    Jesse James

  • The Serpent

    The Serpent

  • The Smith Family

    The Smith Family

  • La Classe américaine

    La Classe américaine

  • The Star and the Story

    The Star and the Story

  • Laugh-In

    Laugh-In

  • Laugh-In

    Laugh-In

  • General Electric Theater

    General Electric Theater

  • Firecreek

    Firecreek

  • Tales of Manhattan

    Tales of Manhattan

  • A Big Hand for the Little Lady

    A Big Hand for the Little Lady

  • The Cheyenne Social Club

    The Cheyenne Social Club

  • The Moon's Our Home

    The Moon's Our Home

  • Spencer's Mountain

    Spencer's Mountain

  • The American West of John Ford

    The American West of John Ford

  • The Return of Frank James

    The Return of Frank James

  • The Sensational Shocking Wonderful Wacky 70's

    The Sensational Shocking Wonderful Wacky 70's

  • The Big Street

    The Big Street

  • The Rounders

    The Rounders

  • On Our Merry Way

    On Our Merry Way

  • The Alpha Caper

    The Alpha Caper

  • The Long Night

    The Long Night

  • Preminger: Anatomy of a Filmmaker

    Preminger: Anatomy of a Filmmaker

  • You Only Live Once

    You Only Live Once

  • The Making of a Legend: Gone with the Wind

    The Making of a Legend: Gone with the Wind

  • Sometimes a Great Notion

    Sometimes a Great Notion

  • Stage Struck

    Stage Struck

  • Welcome to Hard Times

    Welcome to Hard Times

  • Bernice Bobs Her Hair

    Bernice Bobs Her Hair

  • Stranger on the Run

    Stranger on the Run

  • The Story of Alexander Graham Bell

    The Story of Alexander Graham Bell

  • The Best Man

    The Best Man

  • The Trail of the Lonesome Pine

    The Trail of the Lonesome Pine

  • Going Hollywood: The '30s

    Going Hollywood: The '30s

  • Inside 'the Swarm'

    Inside 'the Swarm'

  • The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg

    The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg

  • Spanish Western

    Spanish Western

  • Revisiting 'Fail-Safe'

    Revisiting 'Fail-Safe'

  • I Met My Love Again

    I Met My Love Again

  • The Fugitive

    The Fugitive

  • Lillian Russell

    Lillian Russell

  • The Magnificent Dope

    The Magnificent Dope

  • Letter to Jane: An Investigation About a Still

    Letter to Jane: An Investigation About a Still

  • The Great Smokey Roadblock

    The Great Smokey Roadblock

  • Collision Course: Truman vs. MacArthur

    Collision Course: Truman vs. MacArthur

  • The Man Who Understood Women

    The Man Who Understood Women

  • Hollywood: The Selznick Years

    Hollywood: The Selznick Years

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

    Beyond a Reasonable Doubt: Making '12 Angry Men'

  • Gore Vidal: The United States of Amnesia

    Gore Vidal: The United States of Amnesia

  • The Fabulous Fifties

    The Fabulous Fifties

  • You Belong to Me

    You Belong to Me

  • Myrna Loy: So Nice to Come Home To

    Myrna Loy: So Nice to Come Home To

  • Sacco and Vanzetti

    Sacco and Vanzetti

  • Paul's Case

    Paul's Case

  • Henry Fonda for President

    Henry Fonda for President

  • Henry Fonda: Hollywood's Quiet Hero

    Henry Fonda: Hollywood's Quiet Hero

  • Jezebel: Legend of the South

    Jezebel: Legend of the South

  • That Certain Woman

    That Certain Woman

  • The Jilting of Granny Weatherall

    The Jilting of Granny Weatherall

  • The Oldest Living Graduate

    The Oldest Living Graduate

  • John Ford & Monument Valley

    John Ford & Monument Valley

  • The Blue Hotel

    The Blue Hotel

  • Something to Do with Death

    Something to Do with Death

  • Fonda on Fonda

    Fonda on Fonda

  • It's Everybody's War

    It's Everybody's War

  • Let Poland Be Poland

    Let Poland Be Poland

  • Guilt Trip: Hitchcock and 'The Wrong Man'

    Guilt Trip: Hitchcock and 'The Wrong Man'

  • The Farmer Takes a Wife

    The Farmer Takes a Wife

  • Wild Geese Calling

    Wild Geese Calling

  • Immortal Sergeant

    Immortal Sergeant

  • Wings of the Morning

    Wings of the Morning

  • The Sky Is Gray

    The Sky Is Gray

  • An Opera of Violence

    An Opera of Violence

  • Summer Solstice

    Summer Solstice

  • Clarence Darrow

    Clarence Darrow

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

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

  • The Petrified Forest

    The Petrified Forest

  • Rappaccini's Daughter

    Rappaccini's Daughter

  • Home to Stay

    Home to Stay

  • 'Fail-Safe' and the Cold War

    'Fail-Safe' and the Cold War

  • The Greatest Man in the World

    The Greatest Man in the World

  • The Wages of Sin

    The Wages of Sin

  • Underground Doctors

    Underground Doctors

  • Henry James' The Jolly Corner

    Henry James' The Jolly Corner

  • An Impression of John Steinbeck: Writer

    An Impression of John Steinbeck: Writer

  • President Kennedy's Birthday Salute

    President Kennedy's Birthday Salute

  • Pat Paulsen for President

    Pat Paulsen for President

  • A Space to Grow

    A Space to Grow

  • The Music School

    The Music School

  • Hollywood: The Fabulous Era

    Hollywood: The Fabulous Era

  • The Real Miss America

    The Real Miss America

  • To Save a Soldier

    To Save a Soldier

  • The Man Who Loved Bears

    The Man Who Loved Bears

  • Hollywood: The Great Stars

    Hollywood: The Great Stars

  • The Fondas: A Cinematic Dynasty

    The Fondas: A Cinematic Dynasty

  • The Really Big Family

    The Really Big Family