The Passing Of Peter Fonda

Actor Peter Fonda has died at the age of 79. Born on 23 February 1940, the counterculture icon was the son of  Henry Fonda, brother of Jane Fonda, and father of Bridget Fonda. He died on 16 August 2019, the cause of death was respiratory failure due to lung cancer.

Fonda was best known for having co-written, produced, and co-starred in 1969s Easy Rider, a film which changed the course of Hollywood into to the 1970s. Costing less than $400,000 to make, the film went on to score over $60 million world-wide, making stars out of Fonda and his co-stars Dennis Hopper (who co-wrote and directed) and Jack Nicholson. 

Fonda had a laid-back screen presence that was relaxed and assured. He was never one to shy away from his break-out role, riffing on it every so often (see Escape From LA, Cannonball Run and Californication to name a few) 

Peter Fonda also did notable work with Roger Corman and he was nominated for an Academy Award in 1997 for the drama Ulee’s Gold. However, to Movies In Focus, Fonda’s best role was in Steven Soderbergh’s 1999 thriller The Limey, a movie that riffed on the 1960s careers of Fonda and his co-star Terence Stamp. He delivered an outstanding performance in a great movie. 

The Limey trailer:

Easy Rider trailer: