R.I.P. Peter Fonda (1940-2019)

Peter Fonda in Easy Rider

On August 16, 2019, actor and director Peter Fonda passed away at the age of 79 in Los Angeles, California. Over a career spanning 57 years, he became known for his work in the late-60s counterculture movement, specifically with the monumental film Easy Rider. His career is full of moments where he not only created provocative films but also managed to be outgoing and forward-thinking at every turn. He was an integral figure in helping to popularize the New Hollywood movement and has remained active in roles both traditional and experimental ever since. No matter what he's playing, he was a true original who carved out his own path and left behind some of the most unique and heartfelt work of his generation. 

Fonda was born on February 23, 1940, in New York, New York. His father was beloved actor Henry Fonda, and his sister was Jane Fonda. Both siblings would go on to have an impressive career with many noteworthy and controversial moments along the way. His mother committed suicide when he was 10, though he wouldn't discover the news until he was 15. At 11, he accidentally shot himself in the stomach nearly dying. This moment would inspire The Beatles song "She Said She Said" after Fonda told them over an LSD trip that he "knew what it was like to be dead." He studied in his father's home town at the University of Nebraska Omaha and joined the Omaha Community Playhouse under Marlon Brando's mother. Despite his education, his acting career would be summarized as being able to play a convincing dropout.

When he went to New York again, he joined the Cecilwood Theater in 1960. He later found work on Broadway and starred in Blood, Sweat and Stanley Poole (Written by James and William Goldman) that ran for 84 performances in 1961. He would shortly begin appearing in TV shows like Naked City, Wagon Train, and The Defenders. His first film was in 1963 with Tammy and the Doctor. After that, he split his time between TV and film, picking odd projects. In 1964, he worked with Warren Beatty, Jean Seberg, and Gene Hackman in Lillith that lead to a seven-film contract with Robert Rossen, who died shortly after. 

Simultaneously, he was part of the 60's counterculture movement. He was friends with musicians, including The Beatles and The Byrds. He would take LSD with them, which would lead to inspiring a few songs. In 1966, he was part of the Sunset Strip riot, which inspired the Buffalo Springfield song "For What It's Worth." Fonda would release his own record "November Night," which was written by Gram Parsons. He would also become involved with producer Roger Corman by making b-movies, starting with The Wild Angels. He was to star with George Chakiris before the West Side Story actor revealed that he couldn't ride a motorcycle. Here is where he would meet actors like Jack Nicholson, Dennis Hopper, and Bruce Dern. It was also where he learned to be more frugal about filmmaking. 

It's an approach that came in handy with Easy Rider. Corman was leery about financing the film because he didn't believe that Hopper should direct. Eventually, he gained financing from other places with a budget of $360,000, which was what was needed for his other motorcycle movie The Wild Angels. Robbie Robertson of The Band was impressed by the film and offered to write a full score, though Fonda suggested that it wasn't right for the film. He did, however, use many songs, including The Band's "The Weight." The film ended up being the biggest hit of Fonda's career, earning him a Best Original screenplay nomination alongside Hopper and Terry Southern. Nicholson would receive his first Best Supporting Actor nomination for the film. 

Fonda would move on to directing with The Last Movie (again featuring drug-themed content) and The Hired Hand. His career would continue to have highs and loves, including a series of action films in the 1970s such as Dirty Mary Crazy Larry, Open Season, and Futureworld. He would go on to be nominated for Best Actor for Ulee's Gold in 1997. His career remained largely consistent for the rest of his career, appearing in major and bit parts throughout the remaining decades. If there was one thing that he never lost however, it was his political outcry. He made the documentary The Big Fix with Tim Robbins that explored the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. He was critical of President Obama. He would in 2018 also be critical of the administration for caging and torturing children, suggesting that the president's child should be caged with pedophiles. While he pulled back the comment, it was enough to lead to a boycott of his then-recent film Boundaries, accompanied by Sony Pictures suggesting that what he said was abhorrent, reckless and dangerous. 

To the very end, he was a man who lived life his way. Even if he arguably didn't have as many standalone classics as his counterculture contemporaries, he did manage to help spark the fire that defined the era with a new sense of filmmaking and way of thinking. He wasn't afraid to express himself, and the results spoke for themselves. Where he could've just been a product of nepotism, he became something wildly different and original. Easy Rider is a film that's discussed with significance to everything that came after. Even the use of music in it has become memorable. There have been few like him and it's unlikely that there will be many nowadays that could do what he did. He will be missed for all that he did on-screen and off.