Henry Fonda

Born: 1905-05-16 in Grand Island, Nebraska, USA

Died: 1982-08-12

Known For: Acting

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.

Filmography

2025

Henry Fonda for President as Self (archive footage)

2023

The Fondas: A Cinematic Dynasty as Self - Actor (archive footage)

2020

Jay Sebring… Cutting to the Truth as Self(archive footage)
'Fail-Safe' and the Cold War as Self (archive footage)
Citizen Jane Fonda

2019

John Ford: The Man Who Invented America as Self - Actor (archive footage)

2015

Spanish Western as Self (archive footage)

2013

Gore Vidal: The United States of Amnesia as Self (archive footage)
John Ford & Monument Valley as Self (archive footage)

2008

Beyond a Reasonable Doubt: Making '12 Angry Men' as Self (archive footage)

2006

Sacco and Vanzetti as Prof. Tommy Turner (archive footage)
Jezebel: Legend of the South as Self (archive footage)

2004

Guilt Trip: Hitchcock and 'The Wrong Man' as Self (archive footage)

2003

An Opera of Violence as Self - Actor (archive footage)
The Wages of Sin as Self (archive footage)
Something to Do with Death as Self (archive footage)

2001

The Making of Midway as Self

2000

Revisiting 'Fail-Safe' as Self (archive footage)

1999

Hidden Hollywood II: More Treasures from the 20th Century Fox Vaults as (archive footage)

1997

Barbara Stanwyck: Straight Down the Line as Self (archive footage)
Henry Fonda: Hollywood's Quiet Hero as Self (archive footage)

1993

La Classe américaine as Hugues (archive footage)

1992

Fonda on Fonda as Self (archive footage)

1981

On Golden Pond as Norman Thayer Jr.
The Greatest Man in the World as Self - Series Host (uncredited)
Summer Solstice as Joshua

1980

Gideon's Trumpet as Clarence Earl Gideon
The Jilting of Granny Weatherall as Self - Series Host (uncredited)
The Oldest Living Graduate as Col. J.C. Kincaid
The Sensational Shocking Wonderful Wacky 70's as Self (archive footage)
The Sky Is Gray as Self - Series Host (uncredited)
Paul's Case as Self - Series Host (uncredited)
Barn Burning as Self - Series Host (uncredited)
Rappaccini's Daughter as Self - Series Host (uncredited)
The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg as Self - Series Host (uncredited)
The Golden Honeymoon as Self - Series Host (uncredited)

1979

Roots: The Next Generations as Colonel Frederick Warner
Meteor as The President
City on Fire as Fire Chief Risley
Wanda Nevada as Old Prospector
The Man Who Loved Bears as Self

1978

The Kennedy Center Honors as Self
The Swarm as Dr. Walter Krim
Fedora as President of the Academy
The Biggest Battle as Generale Foster
The Great Smokey Roadblock as Elegant John
Inside 'the Swarm' as Self
Home to Stay as Grandpa George
A Special Sesame Street Christmas as Self

1977

Tentacles as Mr. Whitehead
Rollercoaster as Simon Davenport
Laugh-In as Guest Performer
The Displaced Person as Self - Series Host (uncredited)
Soldier's Home as Self - Series Host (uncredited)
I'm a Fool as Self - Series Host (uncredited)
The Blue Hotel as Self - Series Host (uncredited)
Underground Doctors as Self - Host

1976

Family as James Lawrence
Midway as Adm. Chester W. Nimitz
Captains and the Kings as Sen. Enfield Bassett
Collision Course: Truman vs. MacArthur as Gen. Douglas MacArthur
Bernice Bobs Her Hair as Self - Series Host (uncredited)

1975

People's Choice Awards as Self
Henry James' The Jolly Corner as Narrator
Parkinson: Meet Henry Fonda as Self

1974

Spécial cinéma as Self (archive footage)
Dinah! as Self
Letter to Jane: An Investigation About a Still as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
The Last Four Days as Kardinal Schuster
The Music School as Narrator (voice)
Clarence Darrow as Clarence Darrow
Parker Adderson, Philosopher as Narrator (Voice)

1973

The American Film Institute Salute to ... as Self
The Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts as Self
My Name Is Nobody as Jack Beauregard
The Serpent as Alan Davies
The Red Pony as Carl Tiflin
Ash Wednesday as Mark Sawyer
The Alpha Caper as Mark Forbes

1971

All in the Family as Self
Film '72 as Self
V.I.P. Schaukel as Self
Cadet Rousselle as Self
The Smith Family as Chad Smith
Sometimes a Great Notion as Henry Stamper
Directed by John Ford
The American West of John Ford as Self - Narrator

1970

Too Late the Hero as Capt. John G Nolan
There Was a Crooked Man... as Woodward W. Lopeman
The Cheyenne Social Club as Harley Sullivan

1969

The Bill Cosby Show as Joshua Richards
An Impression of John Steinbeck: Writer as John Steinbeck (voice)

1968

Once Upon a Time in the West as Frank
The Dick Cavett Show as Self - Guest
The Doris Day Show as Henry Fonda (uncredited)
The Boston Strangler as John S. Bottomly
Yours, Mine and Ours as Frank Beardsley
Firecreek as Bob Larkin
Madigan as Commissioner Anthony X. Russell
A Space to Grow as Narrator
Pat Paulsen for President as Narrator (voice)

1967

Welcome to Hard Times as Mayor Will Blue
The World About Us as Narrator
Stranger on the Run as Ben Chamberlain

1966

A Big Hand for the Little Lady as Meredith
Born to Buck as Narrator
The Really Big Family as Self - Narrator
To Save a Soldier as Narrator (voice)

1965

In Harm's Way as CINCPAC II
Battle of the Bulge as Lt Col Kiley
The Rounders as Marion 'Howdy' Lewis
The Dirty Game as Dimitri Koulov

1964

Fail Safe as The President
Sex and the Single Girl as Frank Broderick
The Best Man as William Russell

1963

Spencer's Mountain as Clay Spencer
Hollywood: The Great Stars as Self - Host

1962

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson as Self
The Merv Griffin Show as Self
The Longest Day as Brig. Gen. Theodore Roosevelt Jr.
How the West Was Won as Jethro Stuart
Advise & Consent as Robert Leffingwell
President Kennedy's Birthday Salute as Self
Hollywood: The Fabulous Era as Narrator / Host

1961

The Mike Douglas Show as Self
Hollywood: The Selznick Years as Self - Narrator

1960

The Fabulous Fifties as Narrator (segment "Fifties Dead Sequence") (voice)

1959

The Deputy as Marshal Simon Fry
The Bell Telephone Hour as Self - Host
Warlock as Clay Blaisedell
The Man Who Understood Women as Willie Bauche

1958

Stage Struck as Lewis Easton

1957

12 Angry Men as Juror 8
The Tin Star as Morgan Hickman

1956

Tony Awards as Self - Host / Presenter
The Steve Allen Show as Self
War and Peace as Pierre Bezukhov
The Wrong Man as Manny Balestrero

1955

The Star and the Story as Self - Host
Mister Roberts as Lieutenant Roberts
The Petrified Forest as Alan Squier

1953

General Electric Theater as Emmett Kelly

1952

The Real Miss America as Narrator (voice)

1951

Hallmark Hall of Fame as Clarence Earl Gideon
Benjy as Narrator (voice)
Pictura as Narrator (segment "Grant Wood") (voice)

1950

What's My Line? as Self - Mystery Guest

1949

Jigsaw as Nightclub Waiter (uncredited)

1948

The Ed Sullivan Show as Self
Fort Apache as Lt. Col. Owen Thursday
On Our Merry Way as Lank Solsky

1947

Daisy Kenyon as Peter Lapham
The Fugitive as A Fugitive
The Long Night as Joe Adams

1946

My Darling Clementine as Wyatt Earp

1944

Golden Globe Awards as Self - Cecil B. DeMille Award Recipient

1943

The Ox-Bow Incident as Gil Carter
Immortal Sergeant as Corporal Colin Spence

1942

Tales of Manhattan as George
The Big Street as Agustus 'Little Pinks' Pinkerton, II
The Male Animal as Tommy Turner
The Battle of Midway as Narrator (voice)
Rings on Her Fingers as John Wheeler
The Magnificent Dope as Thadeus Winship 'Tad' Page
It's Everybody's War as Narrator

1941

The Lady Eve as Charles Pike
You Belong to Me as Peter Kirk
Wild Geese Calling as John Murdock

1940

The Grapes of Wrath as Tom Joad
The Return of Frank James as Frank James
Chad Hanna as Chad Hanna
Lillian Russell as Alexander Moore

1939

Let Us Live as "Brick" Tennant
Jesse James as Frank James
Drums Along the Mohawk as Gilbert Martin
Young Mr. Lincoln as Abraham Lincoln
The Story of Alexander Graham Bell as Thomas Watson

1938

Jezebel as Preston Dillard
The Mad Miss Manton as Peter Ames
Breakdowns of 1938 as Self (archive footage)
I Met My Love Again as Ives Towner
Spawn of the North as Jim Kimmerlee
Blockade as Marco

1937

You Only Live Once as Eddie Taylor
Slim as Slim Kincaid
That Certain Woman as Jack V. Merrick, Jr.
Wings of the Morning as Kerry Gilfallen

1936

The Trail of the Lonesome Pine as Dave Tolliver
The Moon's Our Home as Anthony Amberton / John Smith
Spendthrift as Townsend Middleton

1935

Way Down East as David Bartlett
The Farmer Takes a Wife as Dan Harrow
I Dream Too Much as Johnny Street