Henry Fonda: Career, Movies, Height, Hit Movies, Roles
By Shahnawaz Alam
08 November, 2022
CelebrityEntertainment
Last Updated on: January 18th, 2023
Henry Fonda a name much heard from the Broadway stages to Hollywood. This magnificent American actor appeared in more than 90 films. He has contributed to the world of cinema immensely.
His much-celebrated films include Jezebel, Jesse James, The Grapes Of Wrath, and 12 Angry Men. His role as the juror in 12 Angry Men is a memorable one. He also was nominated to win the best actor Academy Award for his acting in The Grapes Of Wrath.
Starting his career in Broadway shows, Henry Fonda soon got into Hollywood in 1935. The rest is known to almost all of us. Here is clear and simple life biography of Henry Fonda.
Early Life: Who Is Henry Fonda?
Fonda was born on May 16, 1905, in Grand Island, Nebraska, U.S. he has been active through six decades in the film industry and started his career as a broadway show actor. The stage actor contributed his life to cinema and appeared in around 90 films.
As a young boy, Henry was quite shy and tended to stay away from girls. He was good at skating, running, and swimming. Earlier, he only dreamed of becoming a journalist when he worked with his father in his print plant. After school, Henry Fonda also worked in a phone booth. Among other skills, Fonda was also good at drawing. But, little did he know that he would manifest as a great actor.
Fonda was from Omaha and was brought up in Omaha. He was a student of journalism, and he went to the University Of Minnesota. However, he returned from his university in his sophomore year to pursue acting. He started to act at the Omaha Community Playhouse.
To pursue his career in acting, Fonda Later Moved to the East Coast in 1928. There he joined a small summer-stock theatre troupe named University Players Guild in Falmouth, Massachusetts.
His debut in the Broadway Show started with The Game Of Love & Death. However, it took him a few years to get a leading role in a Broadway show. In 1934, his first leading role in a broadway show came to place. His first leading role was in The Farmer Takes a Wife. Later he moved to Hollywood and started making great films. You can read further to find out more about henry Fonda movies.
Henry Fonda Filmography
Henry started his career in the film industry soon began. He maintained a reserved look, which stopped him from becoming a romantic hero. However, he had an intense persona on the screen, which helped him with crucial roles.
Fonda was skilled in acting in different Broadway shows, which made it easy for him to adapt to films. He worked in Jezebel with Bette Davis in 1938. Later, other works like The Lady Eve (1941) and The Big Street (1942), followed by Barbara Stanwick and Lucille Ball alongside Fonda.
Fondas’ work with the famous director named John Ford made quite the buzz during that time. Fonda played remarkable and iconic American characters such as a young Abraham Lincoln in Young Mr.Lincoln (1939). The Grapes Of Wrath, another cinema where Henry Fonda worked on an adaption of a novel by John Steinbeck.
Fonda’s work alongside the director John Ford was quite remarkable. He worked with Ford in his classic film My Darling Clementine(1946). Fonda was appreciated for his role as sheriff Wyatt Earp. His role as the Lieut. Col. Owen Thursday in Fort Apache (1948) also earned him a good reputation.
Fonda worked on several projects with John Ford. Another movie he worked with him was Drums Along The Mohawk, which came out in 1939. Fonda’s career soon shifted towards a change during the world war.
Henry Fonda took part in World War II and got enlisted in the U.S. Navy. he served for three years in the Navy and was later commissioned in the Air Combat Intelligence as a Lieutenant Junior Grade officer in the Central Pacific. Later, he also served in the Naval Reserve for three years before returning to Hollywood.
Later Career
After his retirement from the war and the Navy, Fonda came back to Hollywood. Initially, he was only attending parties and enjoying his life. Later, he also added around seven films in his post-war career. This is the time when he starred in John Ford’s My Darling Clementine. His last film was Daisy Kenyon in 1947 before his contact with fox expired.
Fonda started to switch his work from Hollywood to broadway and to Hollywood again. He starred in Alfred Hitchcock’s The Wrong Man in 1956. His last feature film was named On Golden Pond.
Personal Life
Henry Fonda married five times. Margaret Sullivan, Frances Ford, Susan Blanchard, Afdera Franchetti, Shirlee Mae. Fonda had only three children, and two of them( jane and peter Fonda) became renowned in the film industry, becoming actors.
Frequently Asked Questions
Here are some popular questions that people ask about Henry Fonda-
Henry Fonda died of heart disease. On the day of August 12, 1982, Henry Fonda died of heath disease in the presence of his wife Shirlee Mae and children Jane and Peter.
Henry Fonda is known for his career as an actor and his contribution to both Hollywood and Broadway Shows. He was nominated for the Best Actor Academy Award. Aside from working in the film industry, Fonda also worked in the Navy.
Henry Fonda died at the age of 77 in Los Angeles due to heart disease in 1974. He did more than 100 films and broadway shows and contributed remarkably to the film industry and Broadway shows.
Actor-Soldier!
Henry Fonda dreamed of becoming a journalist but became a famous actor. His dream shifted towards becoming a soldier in the Navy during the world war. However, after serving a remarkable period of his life in the Navy, Fonda returned to the world of film again and acted in several films and on Broadway.
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