Henry Fonda
Known for: Acting
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
Series
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
Self
1962
Series
Tony Awards
Self - Host / Presenter
1956
Series
Tony Awards
Self - Presenter
1956
Series
Tony Awards
Self - Host
1956
Series
Tony Awards
Self - Nominee
1956
Series
Tony Awards
Self - Co-Host / Special Award Recipient
1956
Series
Tony Awards
Self (archive footage)
1956
Series
The Mike Douglas Show
Self
1961
Series
Golden Globe Awards
Self - Cecil B. DeMille Award Recipient
1944
Series
Golden Globe Awards
Self
1944
Film '72
Self
1971
Film
12 Angry Men
Juror 8
1957
Series
The Merv Griffin Show
Self
1962
Series
The Dick Cavett Show
Self - Guest
1968
Series
Spécial cinéma
Self (archive footage)
1974
Series
People's Choice Awards
Self
1975
Series
What's My Line?
Self
1950
Series
All in the Family
Self
1971
Film
Once Upon a Time in the West
Frank
1968
Series
The Ed Sullivan Show
Self
1948
Series
The Steve Allen Show
Self
1956
Series
Dinah!
Self
1974
Series
The Doris Day Show
Henry Fonda (uncredited)
1968
Series
Family
James Lawrence
1976
Series
The Kennedy Center Honors
Self
1978
Film
Sex and the Single Girl
Frank Broderick
1964
Series
The Deputy
Marshal Simon Fry
1959
Film
The Longest Day
Brig. Gen. Theodore Roosevelt Jr.
1962
Series
The Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts
Self
1973
Series
The Bell Telephone Hour
Self - Host
1959
Series
The Bill Cosby Show
Joshua Richards
1969
Film
How the West Was Won
Jethro Stuart
1962
Film
Midway
Adm. Chester W. Nimitz
1976
V.I.P. Schaukel
Self
1971
Film
My Name Is Nobody
Jack Beauregard
1973
Film
War and Peace
Pierre Bezukhov
1956
Film
The Grapes of Wrath
Tom Joad
1940
Series
The American Film Institute Salute to ...
Self
1973
Series
Roots: The Next Generations
Colonel Frederick Warner
1979
Film
My Darling Clementine
Wyatt Earp
1946
Film
On Golden Pond
Norman Thayer Jr.
1981
Film
The Boston Strangler
John S. Bottomly
1968
Film
Fail Safe
The President
1964
Film
Battle of the Bulge
Lt Col Kiley
1965
Series
Cadet Rousselle
Self
1971
Film
Fort Apache
Lt. Col. Owen Thursday
1948
Series
Captains and the Kings
Sen. Enfield Bassett
1976
Film
Yours, Mine and Ours
Frank Beardsley
1968
Film
The Wrong Man
Manny Balestrero
1956
Film
In Harm's Way
CINCPAC II
1965
Series
The Star and the Story
Self - Host
1955
Film
Warlock
Clay Blaisedell
1959
Film
The Swarm
Dr. Krim
1978
Film
Young Mr. Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
1939
Film
The Tin Star
Morgan Hickman
1957
Film
The Ox-Bow Incident
Gil Carter
1943
Series
The Smith Family
Chad Smith
1971
Film
The Lady Eve
Charles Pike
1941
Film
Meteor
The President
1979
Film
Advise & Consent
Robert Leffingwell
1962
Film
Mister Roberts
Lieutenant Roberts
1955
Film
Jezebel
Preston Dillard
1938
Film
Fedora
President of the Academy
1978
Film
Drums Along the Mohawk
Gilbert Martin
1939
Film
Jesse James
Frank James
1939
Series
General Electric Theater
Emmett Kelly
1953
Film
Madigan
Commissioner Anthony X. Russell
1968
Film
Too Late the Hero
Capt. John G Nolan
1970
Film
The Biggest Battle
Generale Foster
1978
Film
You Only Live Once
Eddie Taylor
1937
Film
Directed by John Ford
1971
Film
A Big Hand for the Little Lady
Meredith
1966
Series
Hallmark Hall of Fame
Clarence Earl Gideon
1951
Film
Daisy Kenyon
Peter Lapham
1947
Film
The Last Four Days
Kardinal Schuster
1974
Film
The Rounders
Marion 'Howdy' Lewis
1965
Film
Spencer's Mountain
Clay Spencer
1963
Film
There Was a Crooked Man...
Woodward W. Lopeman
1970
Film
The Cheyenne Social Club
Harley Sullivan
1970
Film
Rollercoaster
Simon Davenport
1977
Film
Tentacles
Mr. Whitehead
1977
Film
Rings on Her Fingers
John Wheeler
1942
Film
Firecreek
Bob Larkin
1968
Film
La Classe américaine
Hugues (archive footage)
1993
Film
Tales of Manhattan
George
1942
Film
Slim
Slim Kincaid
1937
Film
City on Fire
Fire Chief Risley
1979
Laugh-In
Guest Performer
1977
Laugh-In
Guest Performer (uncredited)
1977
Film
The Story of Alexander Graham Bell
Thomas Watson
1939
Film
The Long Night
Joe Adams
1947
Film
Sometimes a Great Notion
Henry Stamper
1971
Film
Wanda Nevada
Old Prospector
1979
Film
The Best Man
William Russell
1964
Film
Spawn of the North
Jim Kimmerlee
1938
Film
On Our Merry Way
Lank Solsky
1948
Film
The Dirty Game
Dimitri Koulov
1965
Film
The Making of a Legend: Gone with the Wind
Self (archive footage)
1988
Film
Welcome to Hard Times
Mayor Will Blue
1967
Film
The Return of Frank James
Frank James
1940
Film
Barbara Stanwyck: Straight Down the Line
Self (archive footage)
1997
Film
The Serpent
Alan Davies
1973
Film
Gore Vidal: The United States of Amnesia
Self (archive footage)
2013
Film
The Mad Miss Manton
Peter Ames
1938
Film
The Trail of the Lonesome Pine
Dave Tolliver
1936
Series
The World About Us
Narrator
1967
Film
Preminger: Anatomy of a Filmmaker
1991
Film
Gideon's Trumpet
Clarence Earl Gideon
1980
Film
The Male Animal
Tommy Turner
1942
Film
Spanish Western
Self (archive footage)
2015
Film
Citizen Jane Fonda
2020
Film
The Fugitive
A Fugitive
1947
Film
The Alpha Caper
Mark Forbes
1973
Film
Let Us Live
"Brick" Tennant
1939
Film
Stranger on the Run
Ben Chamberlain
1967
Film
The Battle of Midway
Narrator (voice)
1942
Film
Pictura
Narrator (segment "Grant Wood") (voice)
1951
Film
Lillian Russell
Alexander Moore
1940
Film
Bernice Bobs Her Hair
Self - Series Host (uncredited)
1976
Film
John Ford: The Man Who Invented America
Self - Actor (archive footage)
2019
Film
Jay Sebring… Cutting to the Truth
Self(archive footage)
2020
Film
The Sensational Shocking Wonderful Wacky 70's
Self (archive footage)
1980
Film
Stage Struck
Lewis Easton
1958
Film
The Fabulous Fifties
Narrator (segment "Fifties Dead Sequence") (voice)
1960
Film
Letter to Jane: An Investigation About a Still
Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
1974
Film
The Big Street
Little Pinks
1942
Film
Henry Fonda for President
Self (archive footage)
2025
Film
You Belong to Me
Peter Kirk
1941
Film
Way Down East
David Bartlett
1935
Film
Barbara Stanwyck: Fire and Desire
Self (archive footage)
1991
Film
That Certain Woman
Jack V. Merrick, Jr.
1937
Film
Breakdowns of 1938
Self (archive footage)
1938
Film
Henry Fonda: Hollywood's Quiet Hero
Self (archive footage)
1997
Film
Chad Hanna
Chad Hanna
1940
Film
Myrna Loy: So Nice to Come Home To
(archive footage)
1990
Film
Hollywood: The Selznick Years
Self - Narrator
1961
Film
Let Poland Be Poland
Self
1982
Film
The Farmer Takes a Wife
Dan Harrow
1935
Film
Ash Wednesday
Mark Sawyer
1973
Film
The Great Smokey Roadblock
Elegant John
1978
Film
Guilt Trip: Hitchcock and 'The Wrong Man'
Self (archive footage)
2004
Film
Going Hollywood: The '30s
(archive footage)
1984
Film
The Red Pony
Carl Tiflin
1973
Film
The Golden Honeymoon
Self - Series Host (uncredited)
1980
Film
I'm a Fool
Self - Series Host (uncredited)
1977
Film
Collision Course: Truman vs. MacArthur
Gen. Douglas MacArthur
1976
Film
Immortal Sergeant
Corporal Colin Spence
1943
Film
The Petrified Forest
Alan Squier
1955
Film
The Displaced Person
Self - Series Host (uncredited)
1977
Film
A Special Sesame Street Christmas
Self
1978
Film
Jigsaw
Nightclub Waiter (uncredited)
1949
Film
An Opera of Violence
Self - Actor (archive footage)
2003
Film
Barn Burning
Self - Series Host (uncredited)
1980
Film
The Magnificent Dope
Thadeus Winship 'Tad' Page
1942
Film
I Dream Too Much
Johnny Street
1935
Film
Blockade
Marco
1938
Film
The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg
Self - Series Host (uncredited)
1980
Film
Inside 'the Swarm'
Self
1978
Film
I Met My Love Again
Ives Towner
1938
Parker Adderson, Philosopher
Narrator (Voice)
1974
Film
The Fondas: A Cinematic Dynasty
Self - Actor (archive footage)
2023
Film
Beyond a Reasonable Doubt: Making '12 Angry Men'
Self (archive footage)
2008
Film
Something to Do with Death
Self (archive footage)
2003
Film
The Oldest Living Graduate
Col. J.C. Kincaid
1980
Film
Sacco and Vanzetti
Prof. Tommy Turner (archive footage)
2006
Film
John Ford & Monument Valley
Self (archive footage)
2013
Film
'Fail-Safe' and the Cold War
Self (archive footage)
2020
Film
The Jilting of Granny Weatherall
Self - Series Host (uncredited)
1980
Film
An Impression of John Steinbeck: Writer
John Steinbeck (voice)
1969
Film
Rappaccini's Daughter
Self - Series Host (uncredited)
1980
The Man Who Loved Bears
Self
1979
Film
The American West of John Ford
Self - Narrator
1971
Film
The Wages of Sin
Self (archive footage)
2003
Film
The Blue Hotel
Self - Series Host (uncredited)
1977
Film
Hidden Hollywood II: More Treasures from the 20th Century Fox Vaults
(archive footage)
1999
Film
Fonda on Fonda
Self (archive footage)
1992
Film
The Man Who Understood Women
Willie Bauche
1959
Film
The Moon's Our Home
Anthony Amberton / John Smith
1936
Film
Summer Solstice
Joshua
1981
Film
The Making of Midway
Self
2001
Film
Paul's Case
Self - Series Host (uncredited)
1980
Film
Wild Geese Calling
John Murdock
1941
Film
Spendthrift
Townsend Middleton
1936
Film
President Kennedy's Birthday Salute
Self
1962
Film
Soldier's Home
Self - Series Host (uncredited)
1977
Film
The Greatest Man in the World
Self - Series Host (uncredited)
1981
Film
The Sky Is Gray
Self - Series Host (uncredited)
1980
Film
Home to Stay
Grandpa George
1978
Film
Benjy
Narrator (voice)
1951
Film
The Really Big Family
Self - Narrator
1966
Film
The Music School
Narrator (voice)
1974
Film
Parkinson: Meet Henry Fonda
Self
1975
Film
Wings of the Morning
Kerry Gilfallen
1937
Film
Clarence Darrow
Clarence Darrow
1974
Film
Henry James' The Jolly Corner
Narrator
1975
Born to Buck
Narrator
1966
Film
A Space to Grow
Narrator
1968
Film
Underground Doctors
Self - Host
1977
Film
Jezebel: Legend of the South
Self (archive footage)
2006
Film
Pat Paulsen for President
Narrator (voice)
1968
Loving Against Time: the Making of On Golden Pond
archive footage
To Save a Soldier
Narrator (voice)
1966
Film
Hollywood: The Fabulous Era
Narrator / Host
1962
Film
It's Everybody's War
Narrator
1942
Film
Hollywood: The Great Stars
Self - Host
1963
The Real Miss America
Narrator (voice)
1952