Henry Fonda

 

Henry Fonda in The Oxbow incidentFrank Darien + Frank Sully + Russell Simpson + Henry Fonda in The grapes of wrathHenry Fonda in 12 angry men

Biography

Henry Fonda

I ain 't really Henry Fonda! Nobody could be.
Nobody could have that much integrity.

Remarkable:

Henry has a star on Hollywood Boulevard (Vine street).
It’s located one block south of Hollywood Boulevard.

Born:

May 16, 1905

Died:

August 12, 1982

Raised in Omaha, Fonda initially wanted to be a newspaperman but instead started dabbling in amateur theatrics. By 1934 he had reached Broadway and after scoring his first big hit as Romeo in The farmer takes a wife (1935) he was invited to repeat in Hollywood the role in a movie version.

Soon Fonda was admired over the world for the sincerity and integrity of his work in films like Jezebel (1938), Young mr. Lincoln and The grapes of wrath (1940). Fonda's film career went up the hill.

In 1957 alone, he played the voice of reason in the jury drama 12 Angry Men, an unjustly accused robbery suspect in Alfred Hitchcock's The Wrong Man and a frontier bounty hunter in The Tin Star. In 1969 Henry wanted to play a real dark villain, so he accepted a role in Once upon in the west.

His last picture On Golden Pond (1981), (produced by his daughter Jane) won him his only Oscar.

Academy awards

1982 Won Oscar Leading Role for: On Golden Pond (1981)
1981 Honorary Award
1958 Nominated Best Picture for: 12 Angry Men (1957)
1941 Nominated Leading Role for: The Grapes of Wrath, (1940)

Selected movies:

Books:

Tony Thomas -> The Films of Henry Fonda (1990)
Kevin Sweeney -> Henry Fonda: A Bio-Bibliography (1992)

 

Henry Fonda in Once upon a time in the West
Within 58 days it would have been Henry's 105th birthday.

Trivia

Once upon a time in the west was Henry’s first role as a bad guy. So he went to see director Leone with dark contact lenses and a moustache, to look like a heavy. Sergio Leone: “Off”. Leone wanted the blue eyes and the Fonda baby face.Source / More (Book)

Marlon Brando’s mother Dorothy gave Fonda his first job at the stage of the Omaha Community Playhouse in 1923.Source / More (Book)

With the 11th stamp in its Legends of Hollywood series, the U.S. Postal Service honors Henry Fonda. The 37ct stamp, of which 65 million were being printed, was released in 2005.Source / More (Web)

Henry has got a star on Hollywood Boulevard (Vine street).
It’s located one block south of Hollywood Boulevard.Source / More (Web)