Highest rated as cast or director
Biography
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.
Acted in 112
2000s
- 2006
Sacco and Vanzetti
Prof. Tommy Turner (archive footage)
1990s
- 1999
Hidden Hollywood II: More Treasures from the 20th Century Fox Vaults
(archive footage)
- 1993
La Classe américaine
Hugues (archive footage)
- 1991
Preminger: Anatomy of a Filmmaker
Movie
- 1990
Myrna Loy: So Nice to Come Home To
(archive footage)
1980s
- 1984
Going Hollywood: The '30s
(archive footage)
- 1981
Summer Solstice
Joshua
- 1980
1970s
- 1979
- 1978
Home to Stay
Grandpa George
- 1977
Rollercoaster
Simon Davenport
- 1976
Collision Course: Truman vs. MacArthur
Gen. Douglas MacArthur
- 1974
Clarence Darrow
Clarence Darrow
The Last Four Days
Kardinal Schuster
- 1973
Ash Wednesday
Mark Sawyer
The Alpha Caper
Mark Forbes
The Red Pony
Carl Tiflin
- 1971
Sometimes a Great Notion
Henry Stamper
Directed by John Ford
Movie
The Smith Family
Chad Smith · 39 episodes
- 1970
1960s
- 1969
An Impression of John Steinbeck: Writer
John Steinbeck (voice)
- 1968
The Boston Strangler
John S. Bottomly
- 1967
Stranger on the Run
Ben Chamberlain
Welcome to Hard Times
Mayor Will Blue
- 1966
- 1965
The Dirty Game
Dimitri Koulov
The Rounders
Marion 'Howdy' Lewis
- 1964
- 1963
- 1962
Advise & Consent
Robert Leffingwell
1950s
- 1959
The Man Who Understood Women
Willie Bauche
- 1958
Stage Struck
Lewis Easton
- 1957
- 1956
- 1955
The Petrified Forest
Alan Squier
- 1953
General Electric Theater
Emmett Kelly · 1 episode
1940s
- 1949
Jigsaw
Nightclub Waiter (uncredited)
- 1948
- 1947
Daisy Kenyon
Peter Lapham
- 1946
- 1943
Immortal Sergeant
Corporal Colin Spence
The Ox-Bow Incident
Gil Carter
- 1942
The Big Street
Little Pinks
Tales of Manhattan
George
The Magnificent Dope
Thadeus Winship 'Tad' Page
The Male Animal
Tommy Turner
- 1941
Wild Geese Calling
John Murdock
- 1940
Chad Hanna
Chad Hanna
Lillian Russell
Alexander Moore
1930s
- 1939
Drums Along the Mohawk
Gilbert Martin
Let Us Live
"Brick" Tennant
- 1938
The Mad Miss Manton
Peter Ames
Spawn of the North
Jim Kimmerlee
Blockade
Marco
I Met My Love Again
Ives Towner
- 1937
Slim
Slim Kincaid
Wings of the Morning
Kerry Gilfallen
- 1936
Spendthrift
Townsend Middleton
The Moon's Our Home
Anthony Amberton / John Smith
- 1935
I Dream Too Much
Johnny Street
Way Down East
David Bartlett
The Farmer Takes a Wife
Dan Harrow
Produced 2
1950s
- 1959
- 1957
Appearances79
2020s
- 2025
Henry Fonda for President
Self (archive footage)
- 2023
The Fondas: A Cinematic Dynasty
Self - Actor (archive footage)
- 2020
'Fail-Safe' and the Cold War
Self (archive footage)
2010s
- 2019
John Ford: The Man Who Invented America
Self - Actor (archive footage)
- 2015
Spanish Western
Self (archive footage)
- 2013
Gore Vidal: The United States of Amnesia
Self (archive footage)
John Ford & Monument Valley
Self (archive footage)
2000s
- 2008
Beyond a Reasonable Doubt: Making '12 Angry Men'
Self (archive footage)
- 2006
Jezebel: Legend of the South
Self (archive footage)
- 2004
Guilt Trip: Hitchcock and 'The Wrong Man'
Self (archive footage)
- 2003
Something to Do with Death
Self (archive footage)
The Wages of Sin
Self (archive footage)
An Opera of Violence
Self - Actor (archive footage)
- 2001
The Making of Midway
Self (archive footage)
1990s
- 1997
Henry Fonda: Hollywood's Quiet Hero
Self (archive footage)
- 1992
Fonda on Fonda
Self (archive footage)
- 1991
Barbara Stanwyck: Fire and Desire
Self (archive footage)
1980s
- 1988
The Making of a Legend: Gone with the Wind
Self (archive footage)
- 1982
Let Poland Be Poland
Self
- 1981
The Greatest Man in the World
Self - Series Host (uncredited)
- 1980
The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg
Self - Series Host (uncredited)
Barn Burning
Self - Series Host (uncredited)
Paul's Case
Self - Series Host (uncredited)
The Golden Honeymoon
Self - Series Host (uncredited)
The Sensational Shocking Wonderful Wacky 70's
Self (archive footage)
Rappaccini's Daughter
Self - Series Host (uncredited)
The Sky Is Gray
Self - Series Host (uncredited)
1970s
- 1978
A Special Sesame Street Christmas
Self
Inside 'the Swarm'
Self
- 1977
Soldier's Home
Self - Series Host (uncredited)
The Blue Hotel
Self - Series Host (uncredited)
The Displaced Person
Self - Series Host (uncredited)
I'm a Fool
Self - Series Host (uncredited)
Underground Doctors
Self - Host
- 1976
Bernice Bobs Her Hair
Self - Series Host (uncredited)
- 1975
Parkinson: Meet Henry Fonda
Self
Henry James' The Jolly Corner
Narrator
- 1974
Letter to Jane: An Investigation About a Still
Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
Parker Adderson, Philosopher
Narrator (Voice)
The Music School
Narrator (voice)
- 1973
- 1971
Cadet Rousselle
Self · 1 episode
1960s
- 1968
Pat Paulsen for President
Narrator (voice)
A Space to Grow
Narrator
- 1967
The World About Us
Narrator · 1 episode
- 1966
The Really Big Family
Self - Narrator
- 1963
Hollywood: The Great Stars
Self - Host
- 1962
Hollywood: The Fabulous Era
Narrator / Host
President Kennedy's Birthday Salute
Self
- 1961
Hollywood: The Selznick Years
Self - Narrator
- 1960
The Fabulous Fifties
Narrator (segment "Fifties Dead Sequence") (voice)
1950s
- 1959
- 1956
- 1955
The Star and the Story
Self - Host · 38 episodes
- 1951
Pictura
Narrator (segment "Grant Wood") (voice)
Benjy
Narrator (voice)
- 1950
1940s
- 1948
- 1944
- 1942
It's Everybody's War
Narrator
1930s
- 1938
Breakdowns of 1938
Self (archive footage)