Peter Fonda

Peter Fonda: Biography in Details

Who was Peter Fonda?

Peter Fonda was an award-winning American actor, screenwriter, and director best known for his work in ‘Easy Rider’. He won two Golden Globe Awards in his career. Furthermore, he is also an Academy Award nominee.

How did Peter Fonda die?

Fonda died on August 16, 2019, at the age of 79 from respiratory failure which was caused by lung cancer. He died in his own home in Los Angeles. His sister, Jane said that ‘he went out laughing’.

Peter Fonda: Age, Parents, Siblings, Family, Childhood, Ethnicity

Peter Fonda was born Peter Henry on February 23, 1940, in New York City. During his death, he was aged 79. He was born to parents, Henry Fonda, and his wife Frances Ford Seymour. Henry Fonda was a huge name in Hollywood back then and the birth of his son, Peter was celebrated by the entire Hollywood and was big news all over the country.

He had one sibling, his older sister, Jane Fonda. His sister, Jane is an Academy award-winning actress. Their mother, Frances committed suicide when Peter was 10 in a mental hospital. This had made him a rebellious kid and made his childhood a tough one. On his eleventh birthday, he shot himself accidentally in the abdomen and was close to dying. He referred to this incident while he was with his good friends, John Lennon and George Harrison while the three of them were talking LSD.

His ancestry was Dutch, English, Scottish, and French-Canadian.

Education: School/College, University

Talking about his education, Peter Fonda joined the Fay School in Southborough, Massachusetts. Following that, he joined Westminster School, where he graduated in 1958.

After graduating, he studied acting in Omaha, Nebraska. While he attended the University of Nebraska-Omaha, he joined the Omaha Community Playhouse.

Peter Fonda: Professional Career, Movies

Peter Fonda made his professional stage debut in 1961 on Broadway in Blood, Sweat, and Stanley Poole. He started his feature film career in 1963 with the lead in Tammy and the Doctor. Also, he joined the cast of The Victors. Following that, he starred in Wild Angels, as the iron-fisted leader of a violent biker gang featuring Bruce Dern, and Diane Ladd. In 1967, he starred in the psychedelic movie, ‘The Trip’.

In 1969, Fonda starred, produced, and co-scripted ‘Easy Rider‘ which is the most well-recognized work of his career. The movie was about bike riders, sex, and drugs. It received huge critical acclamation and he earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay.

Some of his other best-recognized works include ‘Ghost Rider’, ‘Ulee’s Gold‘, ‘Wild Hogs’, ‘The Wild Angels’, ‘The Last Movie’, ‘Futureworld’, etc.

In 1988, he published an autobiography, Don’t Tell Dad (1998) which is about his troubled relationship with his father.

How much is the net worth of Peter Fonda?

Before his death, Peter Fonda had an estimated net worth of around $40 million. His father, Henry, at the time of his death, was worth $20 million whereas his wife, Margaret DeVogelaere has an estimated net worth of around $1 million.

Rumors and Controversy

Fonda was a user of drugs. He admitted to using LSD and marijuana during his time. Moreover, he smoked marijuana on-screen in the film, Easy Rider. He, along with Dennis Hopper and Jack Nicholson smoked weed on-camera. Moreover, there were also rumors about them taking LSD on camera. However, this rumor was confirmed false although they did smoke marijuana.

In June 2018, the late actor had tweeted something controversial which he later deleted and apologized for. The tweet read, “we should rip Barron Trump from his mother’s arms and put him in a cage with pedophiles and see if mother will stand up against the massive (expletive) she is married to”. However, he later deleted the tweet and admitted that he had gone too far and should not have written that.

Peter Fonda was once arrested for defacing a sign at the Denver airport. The sign said ‘Feed Jane Fonda to the Whales’.

Social Media: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter

Fonda was active on Twitter before his death. His Twitter account has around 53.5k followers.

Body Measurements: Height, Weight

Peter Fonda had a height of 6 feet 2 inches and weighed around 70 kgs. He had blue eyes and light brown hair.

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Peter Fonda's Anniversary Dates

Peter Fonda's Birthday Dates