Henry Fonda was an essential presence in the Golden Age of Hollywood, boasting a career that spanned more than 100 films, television specials, and stage performances. He garnered much praise for his roles in war dramas and Westerns, where his dedication and talent shone through prominently. Numerous characters he depicted mirrored aspects of his own life, shaped by his service in the US Navy during World War II.
Henry Fonda’s early life
Henry Fonda was born on May 16, 1905, in Grand Island, Nebraska. He spent his formative years in Omaha, where he participated in the Boy Scouts of America, though accounts of his rank differ. At the age of 14, he witnessed the Omaha Race Riot of 1919, an event that largely heightened his awareness of racial prejudice.
Following high school, Fonda enrolled in journalism courses at the University of Minnesota and became a member of the Chi Delta Xi fraternity. Although he began his studies, he chose not to finish and instead accepted a job with the Retail Credit Company, which is now known as Equifax.
From the stage to Hollywood
When he was 20 years old, Henry Fonda, based on the recommendation of Marlon Brando‘s mother, Dodie, joined the Omaha Community Playhouse. It was his first foray into acting and he found himself enjoying the confidence taking on different roles gave him. Some eight years later, he relocated to Massachusetts and joined the University Players, a theater troupe. It was there that he met his first wife, Margaret Sullavan.
Fonda and Sullavan moved to New York City in 1931. While their marriage only lasted two years, the move proved to be fruitful, with Fonda meeting and becoming friends with fellow actor James Stewart. After honing their skills on Broadway, the pair moved to Hollywood, where they found jobs were much easier to come by. One of Fonda’s first major roles was as Dan Harrow in the film adaptation of The Farmer Takes A Wife (1935), co-starring alongside Academy Award-winning actress, Janet Gaynor.
Fonda finds success in film
Following this, a string of successful film roles ensued, including The Trail of the Lonesome Pine (1936), the first Technicolor movie shot outdoors, and You Only Live Once (1937). These roles were followed by a leading part in The Grapes of Wrath (1940), the film adaptation of John Steinbeck’s acclaimed novel. His Oscar-nominated performance secured Fonda a seven-year contract with 20th Century-Fox.
During this period of popular films, Fonda met and married socialite Frances Ford Seymour, with whom he had two children, Jane and Peter. He also became the stepfather to Seymour’s daughter from her first marriage, Frances de Villers.
Henry Fonda enlists in the US Navy
During the early years of the Second World War, Henry Fonda and James Stewart raised funds to aid in the defense of Britain. On August 22, 1942, not wanting to “be a fake in a war studio,” Fonda enlisted in the US Navy. Despite being 37 years old, he didn’t want to keep acting while others were sent overseas.
As a former student of the University of Minnesota, he was eligible for a commission, but he opted to serve as an enlisted sailor. The National WWII Museum writes, “He preferred to be enrolled in the naval service as an enlisted man, depending on his performance of duty to establish his qualifications for appointment to a commissioned rank, which would have been very much to his advantage financially and from the point of view of rank and prestige.”
Fonda was awarded a Bronze Star
After finishing basic training, Henry Fonda went on to Quartermaster School, where he ranked in the top 10 out of 200 students. He was then posted as a quartermaster third class aboard the USS Satterlee (DD-626), a newly commissioned destroyer. Within less than a year, he pursued a commission and was promoted to lieutenant, junior grade, with a focus on Air Combat Intelligence.
In his role as Assistant Operations Officer and Air Combat Forward for Central Pacific and Commander Marianas, Fonda played a crucial role in planning and executing air operations across the Western Carolines, Marianas, and Iwo Jima. His efforts were essential to the strategic bombing campaign against Japan, including the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945.
Fonda ended his active duty in November 1945, earning a Bronze Star for his many contributions. He continued as a reserve officer until 1948, when he had to resign due to being deemed “overage in rank.” Throughout his military career, Fonda was celebrated for his exceptional leadership, military discipline, loyalty, judgment, and intelligence.
A begrudged return to acting
Following his military service, Henry Fonda took a break from acting. After fulfilling his contractual obligations to 20th Century-Fox, he returned to Broadway, portraying Wyatt Earp in My Darling Clementine. Two years later, in 1948, he portrayed Lt. (Junior Grade) Douglas Roberts in Mister Roberts, a play about a supply vessel crew serving in the Pacific Theater during World War II. He later reprised the role for the Silver Screen, starring alongside James Cagney and Jack Lemmon.
After reviving his theater career, Fonda left Seymour and married Susan Blanchard, whom he later divorced. He then made his return to Hollywood, starring alongside Audrey Hepburn in War and Peace (1956), about Napoleon‘s 1812 invasion of Russia, and in Alfred Hitchcock‘s The Wrong Man. He also produced and starred in 12 Angry Men (1957). While the film initially failed to perform, it’s since gained critical acclaim and has been preserved in the Library of Congress.
Fonda acted in a number of war and Western films throughout the 1960s, including Battle of the Bulge (1965), The Longest Day (1962), In Harm’s Way (1965) and How the West Was Won (1962). He also portrayed the president of the United States in the Cold War-era film, Fail-Safe (1964). The movie covers the events that occur after American bombers accidentally attack the Soviet Union.
Henry Fonda supported the USO
During the Vietnam War, Henry Fonda toured with the USO as a way of boosting the morale of troops serving overseas. Recalling the visit, he said, “It was a trip that this [62]-year-old man didn’t want to take, but I felt I had to… For the guys sweating it out and dying in the rice paddies and jungles.”
Decades later, in 2004, the USO was moving offices when members came across a letter written by Fonda to the organization. In it, he wrote a heartfelt message, calling his Vietnam-era work “the most rewarding experience of my life, and I will forever be grateful that I was given this opportunity.”
Decline in health and death
After battling prostate cancer, Henry Fonda had a pacemaker implanted, prompting doctors to advise him to retire from theater. He transitioned to television, delivering several notable performances, including portraying Gen. Douglas MacArthur in the made-for-TV movie, Collision Course: Truman vs. MacArthur (1976), alongside E.G. Marshall as President Harry Truman. That same year, he played Adm. Chester Nimitz in Midway.
Fonda’s final acting role came in 1981, with the release of On Golden Pond. The rights to Ernest Thompson’s play were acquired by his daughter, Jane, who wanted to collaborate with her father and co-star Katharine Hepburn. The film, which grossed $120 million and earned 10 Academy Award nominations, reportedly mirrored the real-life relationship between Fonda and Hepburn, helping them resolve their personal issues.
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In August 1982, Henry Fonda passed away from heart disease. He was 77 years old. In accordance with his wishes, no funeral was held, and he was cremated. Over the course of his career, he starred in 106 Hollywood productions and several Broadway shows, earning numerous accolades, including an Oscar for Best Actor.