Henry Jaynes Fonda was born on May 16, 1905 in Grand Island, Nebraska, USA and died on August 12, 1982. He was a highly acclaimed Academy Award-winning American film and stage actor.

He began his acting career with the Omaha Community Playhouse, a local amateur theatre troupe directed by Dorothy Brando.

Early in his career he was closely associated with director John Ford, starring in Ford movies including Young Mr. Lincoln (1939), The Grapes of Wrath (1940) and My Darling Clementine (1946).

After serving in the Navy in World War II Fonda began three decades of work as an American icon, often playing modest, fundamentally decent heroes in movies like Mister Roberts (1955) and Twelve Angry Men (1957).

He capped his career with his first Best Actor Oscar for On Golden Pond (1981). Fonda is the father of actors Jane Fonda and Peter Fonda and the grandfather of actress Bridget Fonda.

Henry Fonda was married five times. He died of a heart-attack in 1982.

Filmography

• Summer Solstice (1981)
• On Golden Pond (1981)
• Gideon's Trumpet (1980)
• The Oldest Living Graduate (1980)
• The Jilting of Granny Weatherall (1980)
• "Family" (1 episode, 1979)
• Meteor (1979)
• Wanda Nevada (1979)
• City on Fire (1979)
• "Roots: The Next Generations" (1979)
• The Swarm (1978)
• Fedora (1978)
• Home to Stay (1978)
• Grande attacco, Il (1978)
• The Last of the Cowboys (1977)
• Rollercoaster (1977)
• Tentacoli (1977)
• Soldier's Home (1977)
• "Captains and the Kings" (1976)
• Midway (1976)
• Collision Course: Truman vs. MacArthur (1976)
• Almos' a Man (1976)
• Clarence Darrow (1974)
• Mussolini: Ultimo atto (1974)
• Mio nome è Nessuno, Il (1973)
• Ash Wednesday (1973)
• The Alpha Caper (1973)
• Serpent, Le (1973)
• The Red Pony (1973)
• "The Smith Family" (39 episodes, 1971-1972)
• Sometimes a Great Notion (1971)
• There Was a Crooked Man... (1970)
• The Cheyenne Social Club (1970)
• Too Late the Hero (1970)
• "The Bill Cosby Show" (1 episode, 1970)
• "The Kraft Music Hall" (1 episode, 1969)
• C'era una volta il West (1968)
• The Boston Strangler (1968)
• Yours, Mine and Ours (1968)
• Madigan (1968)
• Firecreek (1968)
• Stranger on the Run (1967)
• Welcome to Hard Times (1967)
• All About People (1967)
• A Big Hand for the Little Lady (1966)
• Battle of the Bulge (1965)
• The Dirty Game (1965)
• In Harm's Way (1965)
• The Rounders (1965)
• Sex and the Single Girl (1964)
• Fail-Safe (1964)
• The Best Man (1964)
• Spencer's Mountain (1963)
• "The Dick Powell Show" (1 episode, 1963)
• How the West Was Won (1962)
• The Longest Day (1962)
• Advise & Consent (1962)
• San Francisco Fire (1962)
• "The Deputy" (22 episodes, 1959-1961)
• "NBC White Paper" (1 episode 1959)
• The Man Who Understood Women (1959)
• Warlock (1959)
• Stage Struck (1958)
• Rangers of Yellowstone (1958)
• The Tin Star (1957)
• 12 Angry Men (1957)
• The Wrong Man (1956)
• War and Peace (1956)
• Mister Roberts (1955)
• "Producers' Showcase" (1 episode, 1955)
• "General Electric Theater" (1 episode, 1955)
• "Medallion Theatre" (1 episode, 1953)
• Benjy (1951)
• "Showtime, U.S.A." (1 episode, 1950)
• Fort Apache (1948)
• On Our Merry Way (1948)
• Daisy Kenyon (1947)
• The Fugitive (1947)
• The Long Night (1947)
• My Darling Clementine (1946)
• The Ox-Bow Incident (1943)
• Immortal Sergeant (1943)
• The Big Street (1942)
• Tales of Manhattan (1942)
• The Magnificent Dope (1942)
• The Male Animal (1942)
• Rings on Her Fingers (1942)
• You Belong to Me (1941)
• Wild Geese Calling (1941)
• The Lady Eve (1941)
• Chad Hanna (1940)
• The Return of Frank James (1940)
• Lillian Russell (1940)
• The Grapes of Wrath (1940)
• Drums Along the Mohawk (1939)
• Young Mr. Lincoln (1939)
• The Story of Alexander Graham Bell (1939)
• Let Us Live (1939)
• Jesse James (1939)
• The Mad Miss Manton (1938)
• Spawn of the North (1938)
• Blockade (1938)
• Jezebel (1938)
• I Met My Love Again (1938)
• That Certain Woman (1937)
• Slim (1937)
• You Only Live Once (1937)
• Wings of the Morning (1937)
• Spendthrift (1936)
• The Moon's Our Home (1936)
• The Trail of the Lonesome Pine (1936)
• I Dream Too Much (1935)
• Way Down East (1935)
• The Farmer Takes a Wife (1935)

Awards

• Golden Globe Award Best Actor in a Motion Picture (Drama) "On Golden Pond" 1981
• National Board of Review Award Best Actor "On Golden Pond" 1981
• Oscar Best Actor "On Golden Pond" 1981
• Cecil B DeMille Award 1980
• Honorary Oscar 1980
• Kennedy Center Honors Lifetime Achievement Award 1979
• Special Tony 1979
• American Film Institute Life Achievement Award 1978
• Grammy Best Spoken Word Recording "Great American Documents" 1976
• Drama Desk Award Outstanding Performance "Clarence Darrow" 1974
• British Film Academy Award Best Foreign Actor "Twelve Angry Men" 1957
• Tony Actor (Dramatic) "Mister Roberts" 1948
• National Board of Review Award Best Acting "The Grapes of Wrath" and "Return of Frank James" 1940
• National Board of Review Award Best Acting "Young Mr. Lincoln" 1939