Henry Fonda
- Known for
- Acting
- Born
- May 16, 1905
- Died
- August 12, 1982
- Birthplace
- Grand Island, Nebraska, USA
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
- Loving Against Time: the Making of On Golden Pond
Loving Against Time: the Making of On Golden Pond TBA
as (archive footage)
Henry Fonda for President 2025
as Self (archive footage)
The Fondas: A Cinematic Dynasty 2023
as Self - Actor (archive footage)
Citizen Jane Fonda 2020
as Self (archive footage)
Jay Sebring… Cutting to the Truth 2020
as Self(archive footage)
'Fail-Safe' and the Cold War 2020
as Self (archive footage)
John Ford: The Man Who Invented America 2019
as Self - Actor (archive footage)
Spanish Western 2015
as Self (archive footage)
Gore Vidal: The United States of Amnesia 2013
as Self (archive footage)
John Ford & Monument Valley 2013
as Self (archive footage)
Beyond a Reasonable Doubt: Making '12 Angry Men' 2008
as Self (archive footage)
Jezebel: Legend of the South 2006
as Self (archive footage)
Sacco and Vanzetti 2006
as Prof. Tommy Turner (archive footage)
Guilt Trip: Hitchcock and 'The Wrong Man' 2004
as Self (archive footage)
An Opera of Violence 2003
as Self - Actor (archive footage)
The Wages of Sin 2003
as Self (archive footage)
Something to Do with Death 2003
as Self (archive footage)
The Making of Midway 2001
as Self (archive footage)
Hidden Hollywood II: More Treasures from the 20th Century Fox Vaults 1999
as (archive footage)
Barbara Stanwyck: Straight Down the Line 1997
as Self (archive footage)
Henry Fonda: Hollywood's Quiet Hero 1997
as Self (archive footage)
La Classe américaine 1993
as Hugues (archive footage)
Fonda on Fonda 1992
as Self (archive footage)
Preminger: Anatomy of a Filmmaker 1991
Actor
Barbara Stanwyck: Fire and Desire 1991
as Self (archive footage)
Myrna Loy: So Nice to Come Home To 1990
as (archive footage)
The Making of a Legend: Gone with the Wind 1988
as Self (archive footage)
Going Hollywood: The '30s 1984
as (archive footage)
Let Poland Be Poland 1982
as Self
Summer Solstice 1981
as Joshua
On Golden Pond 1981
as Norman Thayer Jr.
The Greatest Man in the World 1981
as Self - Series Host (uncredited)
Gideon's Trumpet 1980
as Clarence Earl Gideon
The Oldest Living Graduate 1980
as Col. J.C. Kincaid
Barn Burning 1980
as Self - Series Host (uncredited)
The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg 1980
as Self - Series Host (uncredited)
The Jilting of Granny Weatherall 1980
as Self - Series Host (uncredited)
Paul's Case 1980
as Self - Series Host (uncredited)
The Golden Honeymoon 1980
as Self - Series Host (uncredited)
The Sensational Shocking Wonderful Wacky 70's 1980
as Self (archive footage)
The Sky Is Gray 1980
as Self - Series Host (uncredited)
Rappaccini's Daughter 1980
as Self - Series Host (uncredited)
Meteor 1979
as The President
City on Fire 1979
as Fire Chief Risley
- The Man Who Loved Bears
The Man Who Loved Bears 1979
as Self
Wanda Nevada 1979
as Old Prospector
A Special Sesame Street Christmas 1978
as Self
Fedora 1978
as President of the Academy
The Swarm 1978
as Dr. Krim
The Great Smokey Roadblock 1978
as Elegant John
Home to Stay 1978
as Grandpa George
The Biggest Battle 1978
as Generale Foster
Inside 'the Swarm' 1978
as Self
Rollercoaster 1977
as Simon Davenport
Soldier's Home 1977
as Self - Series Host (uncredited)
The Blue Hotel 1977
as Self - Series Host (uncredited)
The Displaced Person 1977
as Self - Series Host (uncredited)
I'm a Fool 1977
as Self - Series Host (uncredited)
Tentacles 1977
as Mr. Whitehead
Underground Doctors 1977
as Self - Host
Bernice Bobs Her Hair 1976
as Self - Series Host (uncredited)
Midway 1976
as Adm. Chester W. Nimitz
Collision Course: Truman vs. MacArthur 1976
as Gen. Douglas MacArthur
Parkinson: Meet Henry Fonda 1975
as Self
Henry James' The Jolly Corner 1975
as Narrator
Clarence Darrow 1974
as Clarence Darrow
Letter to Jane: An Investigation About a Still 1974
as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
The Last Four Days 1974
as Kardinal Schuster
Parker Adderson, Philosopher 1974
as Narrator (Voice)
The Music School 1974
as Narrator (voice)
My Name Is Nobody 1973
as Jack Beauregard
Ash Wednesday 1973
as Mark Sawyer
The Alpha Caper 1973
as Mark Forbes
The Serpent 1973
as Alan Davies
The Red Pony 1973
as Carl Tiflin
Sometimes a Great Notion 1971
as Henry Stamper
The American West of John Ford 1971
as Self - Narrator
Directed by John Ford 1971
Actor
There Was a Crooked Man... 1970
as Woodward W. Lopeman
The Cheyenne Social Club 1970
as Harley Sullivan
Too Late the Hero 1970
as Capt. John G Nolan
An Impression of John Steinbeck: Writer 1969
as John Steinbeck (voice)
Once Upon a Time in the West 1968
as Frank
Pat Paulsen for President 1968
as Narrator (voice)
The Boston Strangler 1968
as John S. Bottomly
Yours, Mine and Ours 1968
as Frank Beardsley
Madigan 1968
as Commissioner Anthony X. Russell
Firecreek 1968
as Bob Larkin
A Space to Grow 1968
as Narrator
Stranger on the Run 1967
as Ben Chamberlain
Welcome to Hard Times 1967
as Mayor Will Blue
- To Save a Soldier
To Save a Soldier 1966
as Narrator (voice)
- Born to Buck
Born to Buck 1966
as Narrator
A Big Hand for the Little Lady 1966
as Meredith
The Really Big Family 1966
as Self - Narrator
Battle of the Bulge 1965
as Lt. Col. Daniel Kiley
The Dirty Game 1965
as Dimitri Koulov
In Harm's Way 1965
as CINCPAC II
The Rounders 1965
as Marion 'Howdy' Lewis
Sex and the Single Girl 1964
as Frank Broderick
Fail Safe 1964
as The President
The Best Man 1964
as William Russell
Spencer's Mountain 1963
as Clay Spencer
Hollywood: The Great Stars 1963
as Self - Host
Hollywood: The Fabulous Era 1962
as Narrator / Host
How the West Was Won 1962
as Jethro Stuart
The Longest Day 1962
as Brig. Gen. Theodore Roosevelt Jr.
Advise & Consent 1962
as Robert Leffingwell
President Kennedy's Birthday Salute 1962
as Self
Hollywood: The Selznick Years 1961
as Self - Narrator
The Fabulous Fifties 1960
as Narrator (segment "Fifties Dead Sequence") (voice)
The Man Who Understood Women 1959
as Willie Bauche
Warlock 1959
as Clay Blaisedell
Stage Struck 1958
as Lewis Easton
The Tin Star 1957
as Morgan Hickman
12 Angry Men 1957
as Juror 8, Producer
The Wrong Man 1956
as Manny Balestrero
War and Peace 1956
as Pierre Bezukhov
Mister Roberts 1955
as Lieutenant Roberts
The Petrified Forest 1955
as Alan Squier
- The Real Miss America
The Real Miss America 1952
as Narrator (voice)
Pictura 1951
as Narrator (segment "Grant Wood") (voice)
Benjy 1951
as Narrator (voice)
Jigsaw 1949
as Nightclub Waiter (uncredited)
Fort Apache 1948
as Lt. Col. Owen Thursday
On Our Merry Way 1948
as Lank Solsky
Daisy Kenyon 1947
as Peter Lapham
The Fugitive 1947
as A Fugitive
The Long Night 1947
as Joe Adams
My Darling Clementine 1946
as Wyatt Earp
Immortal Sergeant 1943
as Corporal Colin Spence
The Ox-Bow Incident 1943
as Gil Carter
The Battle of Midway 1942
as Narrator (voice)
It's Everybody's War 1942
as Narrator
The Big Street 1942
as Little Pinks
Tales of Manhattan 1942
as George
The Magnificent Dope 1942
as Thadeus Winship 'Tad' Page
Rings on Her Fingers 1942
as John Wheeler
The Male Animal 1942
as Tommy Turner
You Belong to Me 1941
as Peter Kirk
Wild Geese Calling 1941
as John Murdock
The Lady Eve 1941
as Charles Pike
Chad Hanna 1940
as Chad Hanna
The Return of Frank James 1940
as Frank James
Lillian Russell 1940
as Alexander Moore
The Grapes of Wrath 1940
as Tom Joad
Drums Along the Mohawk 1939
as Gilbert Martin
Young Mr. Lincoln 1939
as Abraham Lincoln
The Story of Alexander Graham Bell 1939
as Thomas Watson
Let Us Live 1939
as "Brick" Tennant
Jesse James 1939
as Frank James
Breakdowns of 1938 1938
as Self (archive footage)
The Mad Miss Manton 1938
as Peter Ames
Spawn of the North 1938
as Jim Kimmerlee
Blockade 1938
as Marco
Jezebel 1938
as Preston Dillard
I Met My Love Again 1938
as Ives Towner
That Certain Woman 1937
as Jack V. Merrick, Jr.
Slim 1937
as Slim Kincaid
Wings of the Morning 1937
as Kerry Gilfallen
You Only Live Once 1937
as Eddie Taylor
Spendthrift 1936
as Townsend Middleton
The Moon's Our Home 1936
as Anthony Amberton / John Smith
The Trail of the Lonesome Pine 1936
as Dave Tolliver
I Dream Too Much 1935
as Johnny Street
Way Down East 1935
as David Bartlett
The Farmer Takes a Wife 1935
as Dan Harrow
Credits from TMDB.