Henry Jaynes Fonda
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Awards
Henry Fonda won his only competitive Academy Award for Best Actor in 1982 for On Golden Pond, becoming the oldest actor to win at age 76. He had earlier received an Honorary Academy Award. Fonda is remembered for his roles in The Grapes of Wrath and 12 Angry Men, and for his five-decade career.
Names, aliases, and relatives of Henry Fonda — birth name, kin, and personal ties.
Henry Fonda by the numbers — life, work, and family.
Henry Fonda — early life, career, personal life, and legacy.
At age twelve, Henry Fonda worked in his father’s printing business for $2 a week, but his interest in journalism led him to the University of Minnesota. He left school and took a job as a physical education instructor. In 1925, he accepted an offer to play the title role in Merton of the Movies at the Omaha Playhouse, which launched his acting career despite his father’s disapproval.
Fonda made his film debut in 1935 in The Farmer Takes a Wife after a successful Broadway run. He received praise for roles in Jezebel 1938, Young Mr. Lincoln 1939, and especially The Grapes of Wrath 1940, where he played Tom Joad. His performance in 12 Angry Men 1957 as Juror 8 is widely praised; he also produced that film. Later, he appeared in Once Upon a Time in the West 1968 and On Golden Pond 1981, for which he won the Oscar.
Fonda was married five times, including to actress Margaret Sullavan in 1931, a marriage that lasted only two months. His second wife, Frances Seymour Fonda, died by suicide in 1950. He had two children, Peter and Jane, both actors. He served in the U.S. Navy during World War II and was awarded the Bronze Star. He and James Stewart were close friends for decades.
Fonda symbolized integrity and the common man fighting injustice. His role in The Grapes of Wrath defined his career. He influenced many actors, and the American Film Institute ranked him the 6th greatest male screen legend. His films, including Jezebel, The Lady Eve, and The Ox-Bow Incident, have been preserved in the National Film Registry.
The complete filmography of Henry Fonda — every film, TV show, and documentary credit, ranked by popularity.
Every award, honor, and recognition received by Henry Fonda — Grammys, hall-of-fame inductions, civic honors, lifetime achievements.
A wall of memorable lines from Henry Fonda — lyrics, interviews, and off-the-cuff remarks captured over a lifetime.
I Don’t Want to Just Sell War Bonds. I Want to Be a Sailor.
I Hope You Won’t Be Disappointed. You See I Am Not a Very Interesting Person. I Haven’t Ever Done Anything Except Be Other People. I Ain’t Really Henry Fonda! Nobody Could Be. Nobody Could Have That Much Integrity.
I’m Not That Pristine Pure, I Guess I’ve Broken as Many Rules as the Next Feller. but I Reckon My Face Looks Honest Enough and If People Buy It, Hallelujah.
Baby It Out. That’s an Old Marble Shooter’s Expression for Approaching Your Target Cautiously Instead of Trying to Take It Out with One Shot.
If There Is Something in My Eyes, a Kind of Honesty in the Face, Then I Guess You Could Say That’s the Man I’d Like to Be, the Man I Want to Be.
I Look Like My Father. to This Day, When I Walk Past a Mirror and See My Reflection in It, My First Impression Is: That’s My Father. There Is a Strong Fonda Look.
I Can’t Articulate About the Method Because I Never Studied It. I Don’t Mean to Suggest That I Have Any Feelings One Way or the Other About It. I Don’t Know What the Method Is and I Don’t Care What the Method Is. Everybody’s Got a Method. Everybody Can’t Articulate About Their Method, and I Can’t, If I Have a Method and Jane Sometimes Says That I Use the Method, That Is, the Capital Letter Method, Without Being Aware of It. Maybe I Do, It Doesn’t Matter.
I’ve Been Close to Bette Davis for Thirty Eight Years and I Have the Cigarette Burns to Prove It.
I Don’t Want to Be in a Fake War in a Studio.
Money Must Be, I Guess, What First Took Me to Hollywood. When I First Came Out, I Certainly Had NO Ambition to Make Pictures.
At a Roast for Bette Davis, After Many References to Her Chain Smoking, Fonda Said We Really Didn’t Mean to Burn Down the Sets on Jezebel, but There Was Bette and Those Damned Cigarettes, Which Resulted in Uproarious Laughter.
The Best Actors Do Not Let the Wheels Show.
I Wasn’t Smart Enough to Be Discouraged. I Keep Saying That and I Don’t Think Anybody Really Understands or Believes It…. I Didn’t Ever Think About Doing Anything Else. I Wasn’t Prepared to Do Anything Else. I Hadn’t Any Talent to Do Anything Else.
Little-known facts about Henry Fonda — origins, oddities, and behind-the-scenes details from a public life.
Fonda shared a room with James Stewart on two occasions, and they were very close friends. They met as struggling actors in the early 1930s and later built model airplanes together.
He studied acting with Dorothy Brando, mother of Marlon Brando.
Fonda was considered the most talented of Hollywood celebrities who painted in oils, mostly still lifes; he gave away his paintings to friends.
Despite critical acclaim for 12 Angry Men, Fonda received no compensation because the film only broke even.
Off-screen, Fonda was often described as cold, aloof, and frequently angry, contrary to his kind screen persona.
A friendship with director John Ford ended when Ford sucker-punched him on the set of Mister Roberts 1955.
Fonda served in the U.S. Navy in World War II on the destroyer USS Satterlee and later as a Lieutenant Junior Grade in Air Combat Intelligence, earning the Bronze Star.
At age 76, Fonda was the oldest actor to win an Academy Award for Best Actor for On Golden Pond; this record was later surpassed by Anthony Hopkins.
An argument with James Stewart over blacklisting in 1947 nearly ended their friendship; they agreed never to discuss politics again.
Three of Fonda’s films are on the AFI’s 100 Most Inspiring Movies list: On Golden Pond #45, 12 Angry Men #42, and The Grapes of Wrath #7.
Despite opposing the Vietnam War, Fonda went on a 23-day tour to take Polaroids with servicemen for autographs.
Fonda returned to the stage periodically, but missed the chance to play George in the original Broadway production of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? because his agent rejected the script without consulting him.
One of Fonda’s hobbies was beekeeping, which influenced his son Peter’s performance in Ulee’s Gold.
Fonda’s will requested no funeral or memorial service.
His most cherished childhood memory was being awakened by his mother to see Halley’s Comet in 1910.
Fonda and his daughter Jane were the first father-daughter pair to be Oscar-nominated the same year 1982.
He was named the #6 greatest actor on the AFI’s 50 Greatest Screen Legends list.
He made model airplanes and kites as a hobby.
Fonda left his entire estate, except for a $200,000 bequest to daughter Amy, to his fifth wife Shirlee Adams.
His son Peter reportedly broke into tears upon seeing an interview where Henry praised his acting, as it was the first such praise.
Fonda considered Sex and the Single Girl 1964 the worst film he made.
He was a fan of All in the Family and hosted a special looking back at its first 100 episodes.
Jane Fonda stated that her father was deeply in love with Lucille Ball during the filming of Yours, Mine and Ours.
Fonda was known as reserved and had difficulty expressing feelings for others.
He witnessed the Omaha race riots of 1919 and the lynching of Will Brown, which ingrained a strong opposition to racism.
Premiere Magazine voted him the 10th Greatest Movie Star of all time.
Unable to attend the 1982 Academy Awards, his Oscar was accepted by his daughter Jane.
Fonda turned down the role in Death Wish because he found its theme repulsive.
His performance as Tom Joad in The Grapes of Wrath is ranked #51 on Premiere’s 100 Greatest Performances.
He was good friends with John Wayne but clashed politically; Fonda drifted from Wayne and Ford due to political differences.
Fonda earned the rank of Life Scout and became a scout master as an adult.
He was attracted to acting because it let him get behind a mask.
The Fonda family knew Marlon Brando’s family in Omaha; Henry appeared with Marlon’s mother Dorothy in community theater.
Fonda separated from first wife Margaret Sullavan after two months; divorce took longer than the marriage.
His second wife Frances Seymour Brokaw committed suicide while he was performing a matinee; he finished the show before going home.
Unlike many film stars, Fonda regularly returned to the Broadway stage throughout his career.
He wanted to play George in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf but his agent rejected the script without telling him.
Fonda was once a registered Republican, but his son believed Henry’s liberalism gray-listed him during the 1950s.
Nine of his films are in the National Film Registry.
He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on February 8, 1960.
Fonda was known as a ladies’ man in Hollywood with affairs with many actresses.
Jane Fonda said she only saw him cry once, when Franklin D. Roosevelt died.
He appeared in WWII battle films The Longest Day, Battle of the Bulge, and Midway, as well as In Harm’s Way.
Entertainment Weekly voted him the 29th Greatest Movie Star of all time.
His first Broadway role was in A Game of Love and Death with Alice Brady, Claude Rains, and Otto Kruger.
He and daughter Jane are one of two father-daughter pairs where the daughter won an Oscar before the father.
Contrary to popular belief, Fonda approved of Jane’s anti-war activism and defended her at an AFI tribute.
He told his third wife Susan Blanchard to stay away from Ward Bond due to Bond’s support for McCarthyism.
Jane Fonda’s birth interrupted his filming of Jezebel with Bette Davis.
Quick answers to the questions readers ask most about Henry Fonda.
Celebrities similar to Henry Fonda — same craft, ranked by reach.
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