ACTOR · BORN 1905 · DIED 1982
Henry Fonda
- Born
- 16 May 1905, Grand Island, Nebraska, USA
- Died
- 12 August 1982
- Known for
- 12 Angry Men (1957), C'era una volta il West (1968), On Golden Pond (1981), Il mio nome è Nessuno (1973)
36 archived facts 3 topics 2 sources Last reviewed Nov 2026
Henry Fonda (16 May 1905 – 12 August 1982) was an actor best known for 12 Angry Men, C'era una volta il West and On Golden Pond.
36 Interesting Facts About Henry Fonda
Interesting Facts (13)
- #001
Fonda was regarded as one of Hollywood's most talented oil painters, known especially for his still lifes. Although he was offered large sums for his paintings many times, he preferred to give his works to friends. This side of him reveals his passion for art and the importance he placed on money.
- #002
For '12 Angry Men' (1957), a film acclaimed for both his acting and his producing, Fonda agreed to take his fee as a share of the profits. The film, however, only broke even at the box office, and Fonda earned no financial gain from the project. This shows that he preferred art to money and was a producer willing to take risks.
Henry Fonda: PresidentImage: Wikimedia Commons · Trailer screenshow, Public domain - #003
A friendship and collaboration with director John Ford lasting about twenty years ended when Ford punched Fonda during the shooting of 'Mister Roberts' (1955). The incident was the peak of the tension between the two and led Fonda to never work with Ford again. The breakup of one of cinema history's most important director-actor pairs caused a great stir in Hollywood.
Henry Fonda: dinner sceneImage: Wikimedia Commons · Los Angeles Times, CC BY 4.0 - #004
In the spring of 1947, Fonda's participation in a signature campaign against the congressional committee investigating communist allegations in Hollywood led to a serious argument with his close friend James Stewart. When Stewart's conservative views clashed with Fonda's liberal stance, the two friends' long-standing bond was put at risk. Although the argument softened out of the pair's fear of losing their friendship, the incident went down in history as a reflection of the political polarization in Hollywood.
- #005
- #006
In its 'Greatest 50 Screen Legends' list announced in 1999, the American Film Institute placed Henry Fonda 6th among the greatest male actors. While this list identifies the most influential and iconic names in cinema history, Fonda's high placement shows how great his contributions to cinema were.
Henry Fonda: PresidentImage: Wikimedia Commons · Trailer screenshot, Public domain - #007
Henry Fonda personally witnessed the 1919 race riots in Omaha and the lynching of Will Brown. The event left a deep mark on him and led him to take a strong stand against racism and bigotry throughout his life; this experience formed the basis of his social awareness and sense of justice.
- #008
On April 12, 1967, Fonda visited the aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk and spent the night aboard to prepare for his role in 'Yours, Mine and Ours' (1968). The visit shows how seriously he prepared for his role and his desire to experience military life firsthand. The experience may have added realism to his performance.
- #009
After serving as the television spokesman for GAF Film for seven years, Fonda was happy to shoot a Lifesavers commercial on the same block in Omaha where he had lived at the age of eight. The commercial reflected his attachment to his childhood memories and his affection for his hometown, and it also gave him experience in a different field, advertising.
- #010
Fonda began work on a film titled 'Com-TAC 303' alongside Billy Dee Williams, Greg Morris and Chad Everett. Shooting started on 25 July 1977 in the Mojave Desert, but the studio withdrew its financing a few weeks later and the film was left unfinished. The project, about black fighter pilots during World War II, remains a lost film in cinema history.
- #011
Fonda made preparations for a film project titled 'Clown', about the life of the famous clown Emmet Kelly, but the project never came to fruition because of problems at the script stage. Nevertheless, he played the character of Kelly in the episode 'The Clown' of the series 'General Electric Theatre', broadcast on 27 March 1955. The episode allowed Fonda to display his skill at moving between comedy and drama and showed him to be a versatile actor.
- #012
Fonda hosted the pilot episode of the satirical comedy programme 'That Was the Week That Was', but when the programme went on air he was replaced by David Frost. Frost had also hosted the programme's original British version. Although the change meant Fonda's experience in the world of television remained limited, it showed he had the flexibility to appear in different formats.
- #013
Henry Fonda's second wife, Frances Seymour Brokaw, committed suicide during one of his matinee performances. Even after receiving the painful news, Fonda finished his performance and then went home. The event shows his professionalism and composure while also laying bare the deep pain he endured.
Career & Awards (8)
- #014
Throughout his career Fonda returned regularly to Broadway, appearing in plays such as 'Mister Roberts,' 'Critic's Choice' and 'First Monday in October.' However, he missed the chance to play the role of George in the original Broadway production of Edward Albee's 'Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?'; his agent had turned down the script without consulting him. The agent's reasoning was that the play consisted of four people constantly shouting at each other. Although Fonda was a fan of the playwright Albee, he never got to play this role.
- #015
In a 1981 interview with Playboy, Henry Fonda named 'Sex and the Single Girl' (1964) the worst film of his career. The remark shows that he assessed his own filmography with a critical eye and cared deeply about his artistic standards, and it also reveals an honest, outspoken personality.
- #016
- #017
Henry Fonda described the chance 'to get behind a mask' as the reason he was initially drawn to acting. The statement shows the pleasure he took in assuming different identities on stage and screen and perhaps his escape from the confusion of his own inner world; acting was for him a means of escape and self-expression.
- #018
Although Henry Fonda very much wanted to play the role of George in Edward Albee's play 'Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?', his agent turned down the script without consulting him. The episode could have been an important turning point in Fonda's career, but his agent's decision prevented him from bringing that legendary role to life; Fonda recalled the situation with regret years later.
- #019
Henry Fonda and his daughter Jane are one of only two Oscar-winning father-daughter pairs in which the daughter won the award before the father. Jane won the Best Actress Oscar in 1971 for 'Klute', while Henry received the award only in 1982 for 'On Golden Pond'. The other pair is Hayley Mills and John Mills; Hayley received an honorary Oscar in 1960, while John won Best Supporting Actor in 1971. This shows the special place the Fonda family holds in cinema history.
- #020
Fonda returned to Broadway in 1974 with the biographical play 'Clarence Darrow', a performance that earned him a Tony Award nomination. Health problems, however, caused him to faint from exhaustion during a performance in April 1974. A heart arrhythmia brought on by prostate cancer led to him receiving a pacemaker, and Fonda returned to the play the following year. This shows his dedication to his craft and his determination to take the stage despite difficulties.
- #021
Throughout his career, Fonda played a man wrongly accused four times: in 'You Only Live Once' (1937), 'Let Us Live' (1939), 'The Wrong Man' (1956) and 'Gideon's Trumpet' (1980). These roles show his interest in justice-themed stories and his social awareness. His ability to portray such characters successfully also reveals the range of his acting.
Life & Family (15)
- #022
The friendship between Henry Fonda and James Stewart began in the early 1930s in New York, when the two young actors, going through hard times, shared the same room. Fonda had gone to Hollywood just before Stewart, and when Stewart arrived he moved into Fonda's house. Both were famed for their good looks and womanizing, and they kept their friendship even after marrying and having children. In their mature years the two legends spent time building model airplanes together, forming one of the most enduring friendships in cinema history.
- #023
Fonda received his acting training from Dorothy Brando, Marlon Brando's mother. This training laid the foundation for his natural and impressive performances on stage and screen. Being Dorothy Brando's student taught Fonda the finer points of acting while also introducing him to the important theater circles of the period.
- #024
Contrary to the Pacific commander he played in 'In Harm's Way' (1965), Fonda was in real life a veteran who had served at sea in World War II. After 'The Ox-Bow Incident' (1943), he joined the navy, saying, 'I don't want to be in a fake war in a studio.' For three years he served first as a sailor on a destroyer and then as a lieutenant in air combat intelligence; this experience shows his patriotism and the importance he placed on realism.
- #025
One of Fonda's hobbies was beekeeping, and this interest inspired his son Peter Fonda's performance in 'Ulee's Gold' (1997). Peter stated that he based his role in the film on his father and that he took many traits, such as beekeeping, from him. This shows the influence of Henry Fonda's personal traits on his family and his son's admiration for his father.
- #026
- #027
Peter Fonda admitted that he burst into tears when he saw an interview in which his father Henry praised him. Peter said this was the first time his father had paid him such a compliment. This shows that Henry Fonda was a father who had difficulty expressing his feelings and how much his son had longed for such praise.
- #028
Henry Fonda became close friends with John Wayne during the period when he was part of John Ford's stock company. However, according to his son Peter Fonda's autobiography, tensions sometimes arose between Henry and Wayne and Ward Bond because of political differences; Wayne and Bond stood further to the right against Henry's left-wing views. Despite this, Peter stated that Wayne and Bond treated him very warmly, while his father was more distant.
- #029
The Fonda family were neighbors of Marlon Brando's family in Omaha, and Henry had appeared on stage in community theater with Marlon's mother, Dorothy. In the late 1930s the Brando family visited Henry on a film set, but because of the age difference Henry and Marlon never grew socially close. Still, Henry's fame in Omaha may have been an inspiration to Marlon when he began acting.
- #030
Although Henry Fonda was a Democrat for most of his life, he was registered as a Republican for a time. According to his son Peter Fonda's autobiography, Henry's liberal views led to his being blacklisted in Hollywood in the early 1950s and to his being unable to appear in films for six years. This was a difficult period in Fonda's career and meant he paid the price for his political stance.
- #031
- #032
Fonda approved of his daughter Jane's anti-Vietnam War activism and defended her at the 1978 AFI Life Achievement Award ceremony, telling her critics to 'shut up'. The gesture shows his support for his daughter and the importance he placed on family ties, and it also reveals how strong his political views were.
- #033
Fonda told his third wife, Susan Blanchard, to stay away from Ward Bond, whom he despised for his extremely conservative views and his support of McCarthyism. The instruction shows how sharp Fonda's political views were and how uncompromising he was on the subject, and it also reflects his wish to protect his wife from such people.
- #034
Along with Robert Ryan and Gregory Peck, Fonda was one of Hollywood's most active and most outspoken liberal Democrats. He did not hesitate to voice his political views openly; he said that President Ronald Reagan made him 'physically ill' and that he could not tolerate any Republicans, especially Richard Nixon. These statements show how strong his political stance was.
- #035
Fonda played both sons of the two father-and-son pairs who received the Medal of Honor. He portrayed General Douglas MacArthur in 'Collision Course: Truman vs. MacArthur' (1976) and Brigadier General Theodore Roosevelt Jr. in 'The Longest Day' (1962). These roles demonstrate his ability to portray historical figures successfully and his interest in themes of military heroism.
- #036
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