There are actors whose careers define a decade, and then there are actors who define the moment a decade turns — Peter Fonda was the latter. He stepped out of his famous father’s shadow and into the role of Wyatt in Easy Rider, the 1969 film that became shorthand for America’s counterculture (Encyclopaedia Britannica (reference publisher)). This profile sorts the record from the legend: his famous sister, the filmography behind the poster, and the smoking habit that shaped his final years.
Birth Date: February 23, 1940 ·
Death Date: August 16, 2019 ·
Age at Death: 79 ·
Known For: Easy Rider ·
Siblings: Jane Fonda ·
Years Active: 1960s–2010s
Quick snapshot
- Born February 23, 1940, in New York City (Encyclopaedia Britannica (reference publisher))
- Only son of actor Henry Fonda (Vanity Fair (Hollywood culture magazine))
- Younger brother of actress Jane Fonda (Television Academy (industry archive))
- Exact number of film and TV credits — more than 90 are commonly cited, but no final count exists.
- Net worth at death — press estimates vary, with no verified figure.
- Full extent of the relationship with his father, Henry Fonda.
- 1969 — Easy Rider makes him a star (ABC News (national broadcaster))
- 1997 — Golden Globe for Ulee’s Gold (ABC News (national broadcaster))
- 2019 — Dies at 79 in Los Angeles (ABC News (national broadcaster))
- His filmography gets re-read as a four-decade career, not a one-film poster. (IMDb (filmography database))
- The dynasty continues through daughter Bridget Fonda (IMDb (filmography database))
- His counterculture status stays fixed in cultural memory. (IMDb (filmography database))
Ten facts, one pattern: Peter Fonda’s story moves from a famous father’s shadow to a cultural legacy of his own making.
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Peter Henry Fonda (Encyclopaedia Britannica (reference publisher)) |
| Birth Date | February 23, 1940 (Encyclopaedia Britannica (reference publisher)) |
| Death Date | August 16, 2019 (ABC News (national broadcaster)) |
| Profession | Actor, director, writer, and producer (Encyclopaedia Britannica (reference publisher)) |
| Known For | Easy Rider, the 1969 counterculture landmark (Encyclopaedia Britannica (reference publisher)) |
| Father | Actor Henry Fonda (Vanity Fair (Hollywood culture magazine)) |
| Sibling | Actress and activist Jane Fonda (Television Academy (industry archive)) |
| Daughter | Actress Bridget Fonda (IMDb (filmography database)) |
| Directing Debut | The Hired Hand, 1971 (IMDb (filmography database)) |
| Screenwriting | Co-writer of Easy Rider, with an Oscar nomination for Best Original Screenplay (Television Academy (industry archive)) |
What the table doesn’t show: how hard Fonda worked to escape those categories.
How old was Peter Fonda in Easy Rider?
The short answer: 29. The longer answer starts with his birth certificate.
When was Peter Fonda born?
- Born February 23, 1940, in New York City (Encyclopaedia Britannica (reference publisher))
- Full name: Peter Henry Fonda (Encyclopaedia Britannica (reference publisher))
- Only son of actor Henry Fonda (Vanity Fair (Hollywood culture magazine))
- Younger brother of actress and activist Jane Fonda (Television Academy (industry archive))
That date fixes the Easy Rider calculation: Fonda turned 29 in February 1969, only months before the film reached theaters.
When was Easy Rider released?
- Easy Rider was released in 1969 and starred Fonda, Dennis Hopper, and Jack Nicholson (ABC News (national broadcaster))
- Fonda co-wroyte and produced the film (Television Academy (industry archive))
- He shared an Oscar nomination for Best Original Screenplay with Hopper and Terry Southern (Television Academy (industry archive))
- The film was widely identified as a defining counterculture film of the 1960s (Encyclopaedia Britannica (reference publisher))
The arithmetic matters because it changes how the film reads: this wasn’t a studio executive’s product. It was a 29-year-old co-writer-producer-star’s bet on a generation — a bet that paid off in an Oscar nomination and permanent cultural placement.
One film turned Peter Fonda into a symbol of 1960s freedom — and made everything that came after it a conversation about that symbol.
The implication: at 29, Fonda achieved what most actors never touch — he became the face of a cultural moment. The rest of his career was partly a negotiation with that image.
What movie did Peter Fonda star in in 1977?
The direct answer: he was in two — Wanda Nevada and The Great Smokey Roadblock, both listed among his 1977 credits in Wikipedia’s filmography (Wikipedia (community encyclopedia)).
What other films did Peter Fonda star in during the 1970s?
- 1971 — The Hired Hand, his feature directing debut, a revisionist Western he also starred in (IMDb (filmography database); Vanity Fair (Hollywood culture magazine))
- 1974 — Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry, an action-packed road movie (Vanity Fair (Hollywood culture magazine))
- 1976 — Futureworld, the sci-fi thriller (Wikipedia (community encyclopedia))
- 1977 — Wanda Nevada and The Great Smokey Roadblock, per Wikipedia’s filmography (Wikipedia (community encyclopedia))
The 1970s were Fonda’s restless decade: he refused the easy move of replaying Wyatt, instead bouncing between revisionist Westerns, car-chase pictures, and science fiction.
The pattern: a leading man testing how much range the market would actually let him show.
Are Peter Fonda and Jane Fonda related?
Yes — they were siblings, both children of Henry Fonda, and their shared last name carried a heavy inheritance.
Who is Henry Fonda?
- Henry Fonda was an acclaimed actor and father to both Peter and Jane (Vanity Fair (Hollywood culture magazine))
- Peter was Henry’s only son (Vanity Fair (Hollywood culture magazine))
- Jane became an actress and activist, extending the family’s public profile (Television Academy (industry archive))
The Fonda name opened doors and set a standard Peter spent his career being measured against.
Are Peter and Jane full siblings?
- Public records identify Peter and Jane as brother and sister without qualification (Television Academy (industry archive))
- Peter carried the acting tradition into a third generation as the father of Bridget Fonda (IMDb (filmography database))
The same dynastic pressure shows up across Hollywood — just look at how Scott Caan: Inheritance, Net Worth, and Career Facts charts another second-generation actor’s path through a famous father’s shadow.
The implication: being Henry’s son and Jane’s brother gave Peter an inherited spotlight, and the family name both opened doors and cast shadows.
What was Peter Fonda’s cause of death?
The medical record is straightforward: lung cancer caused respiratory failure, and that failure took his life.
When did Peter Fonda die?
- Died August 16, 2019, in Los Angeles, at age 79 (ABC News (national broadcaster))
- Cause of death: respiratory failure due to lung cancer (ABC News (national broadcaster))
How old was Peter Fonda when he died?
Age at Death: 79 · Date: August 16, 2019 · Cause: Respiratory failure from lung cancer
The death certificate angle matters: respiratory failure is the final mechanism, lung cancer is the underlying disease — and both trace to a habit Fonda carried for decades.
For someone who personified freedom on screen, the end came quietly and biologically. His death also opened a longer season of goodbyes to Hollywood’s classic generation — the same tribute cycle that later framed the passing of Robert Duvall Dies at 95: Tributes, Cause of Death.
Why this matters: Fonda’s final chapter turns a celebrity story into a public-health one — and points straight at the smoking habit he never fully hid.
Was Peter Fonda a smoker?
Yes — and the record ties that habit to almost every detail of his final illness.
Did smoking affect Peter Fonda’s health?
- Fonda was a heavy smoker (ABC News (national broadcaster))
- His lung cancer and the respiratory failure that followed were attributed to that habit in death coverage (ABC News (national broadcaster))
The chain is blunt: decades of smoking, a lung cancer diagnosis, respiratory failure, and death at 79.
The grittiness that made Fonda believable as a biker antihero had a cost off-screen. Smoking gave the image its texture — and gave the final diagnosis its fuel.
The pattern: the same habits that shaped the persona shaped, in the end, the biography.
What were Peter Fonda’s most famous film roles?
Easy Rider leads every answer, but the list runs deeper than one poster.
Did Peter Fonda play in Ghost Rider?
- According to Wikipedia’s filmography, Fonda played Mephisto in Ghost Rider (2007) (Wikipedia (community encyclopedia))
Casting a counterculture icon as Marvel’s devil was a clever bit of film-world irony — a generational rebel trading authenticity for temptation.
Was Peter Fonda in 3:10 to Yuma?
- He appeared in the 2007 remake of 3:10 to Yuma (Wikipedia (community encyclopedia))
That same year, a second high-profile release returned him to the Western genre his father had ruled — a late-career homecoming of sorts.
What is Peter Fonda most known for?
- Easy Rider (1969), the counterculture landmark that made his name (Encyclopaedia Britannica (reference publisher))
- Feature debut: Tammy and the Doctor (1963) (IMDb (filmography database))
- More than 90 credited film and TV roles across his career (IMDb (filmography database))
- Golden Globe wins for Ulee’s Gold and The Passion of Ayn Rand (ABC News (national broadcaster))
The 1997 Ulee’s Gold revival was the proof of range: at 57, Fonda could still carry a quiet drama on pure presence, and the industry answered with a Golden Globe and renewed respect.
Before Easy Rider, he’d also logged a Broadway run in Blood, Sweat and Stanley Poole (1961), earning the Daniel Blim Theater World Award and the New York Drama Critics Award (Television Academy (industry archive)). The motorcycle rebel, in other words, was always also a stage-trained professional. The takeaway: Fonda wasn’t Easy Rider and nothing else — but Easy Rider is the lens every other role gets seen through.
Peter Fonda’s life in dates
- — Peter Henry Fonda born in New York City (Encyclopaedia Britannica (reference publisher))
- — Broadway debut in Blood, Sweat and Stanley Poole; wins the Daniel Blum Theater World Award and the New York Drama Critics Award (Television Academy (industry archive))
- — Feature-film debut in Tammy and the Doctor (IMDb (filmography database))
- — Easy Rider premieres; co-writes, produces, and stars, earning an Oscar nomination for the screenplay (Television Academy (industry archive))
- — Directing debut with The Hired Hand (IMDb (filmography database))
- — Dirty Mary, Crazzy Larry (Vanity Fair (Hollywood culture magazine))
- — Futureworld (Wikipedia (community encyclopedia))
- — Appears in Wanda Nevada and The Great Smokey Roadblock (Wikipedia (community encyclopedia))
- — Golden Globe for Ulee’s Gold (ABC News (national broadcaster))
- — Ghost Rider and 3:10 to Yuma (Wikipedia (community encyclopedia))
- — Dies at 79 in Los Angeles (ABC News (national broadcaster))
The shape of the career is the story: a fast rise, a long and restless middle act, a respected late revival, and a death that made the opening act feel inevitable.
Confirmed facts vs. open questions
Confirmed facts
- Born February 23, 1940, in New York City (Encyclopaedia Britannica (reference publisher))
- Brother of Jane Fonda and son of Henry Fonda (Television Academy (industry archive); Vanity Fair (Hollywood culture magazine))
- Starred in Easy Rider (1969) at age 29 (ABC News (national broadcaster))
- Died August 16, 2019, from respiratory failure due to lung cancer (ABC News (national broadcaster))
- Was a heavy smoker (ABC News (national broadcaster))
What’s unclear
- Exact number of film and TV credits — “more than 90” is commonly cited, but no final count exists.
- Net worth at death — press estimates vary widely.
- Full extent of the relationship with Henry Fonda — private and never fully documented.
The trade-off: fans get a clean narrative — Easy Rider, rebellion, smoking, lung cancer — but the record has gaps that no amount of poster art fills.
What the record says
“Peter Henry Fonda was an American actor, writer, director, and producer.”
— Encyclopaedia Britannica, biographical profile (reference publisher)
“Fonda shared an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay for Easy Rider with Dennis Hopper and Terry Southern.”
— Television Academy, industry archive (archive profile)
“Peter Fonda, star of 1969’s Easy Rider, dead at 79.”
— ABC News, obituary headline (national broadcaster)
The common thread: every account — reference publisher, industry archive, obituary desk — circles back to 1969 and to the generation Fonda came to represent.
Peter Fonda’s story is a rare Hollywood arc where the symbol and the man both survived a lifetime of being defined by one role. For casting directors and biographers alike, the lesson is concrete: treat Easy Rider as the starting line rather than the finish, or you will miss the director, screenwriter, and Golden Globe winner who spent four decades proving he was more than the ride.
Frequently Asked Questions
Biographical records confirm Peter Fonda was the father of actress Bridget Fonda (IMDb (filmography database)). No other children are documented in the reviewed sources.
What was Peter Fonda’s net worth when he died?
No verified figure exists in the research base. Entertainment websites offer different estimates, so treat any specific number as speculation rather than fact.
Did Peter Fonda direct any films?
Yes — his feature directing debut was The Hired Hand (1971), a revisionist Western (IMDb (filmography database); Vanity Fair (Hollywood culture magazine)).
What was Peter Fonda’s first film role?
His feature-film debut was Tammy and the Doctor in 1963 (IMDb (filmography database)). He had already made his Broadway debut in Blood, Sweat and Stanley Poole in 1961 (Television Academy (industry archive)).
What awards did Peter Fonda win?
He won Golden Globes for Ulee’s Gold (1997) and The Passion of Ayn Rand (ABC News (national broadcaster)), and he shared an Oscar nomination for co-writing Easy Rider (Television Academy (industry archive)).
Did Peter Fonda write or produce Easy Rider?
Yes — he co-wrote and produced the film (Television Academy (industry archive)), sharing the Best Original Screenplay Oscar nomination with Dennis Hopper and Terry Southern.
Catherine Roy is Editor-in-Chief at Australia Focus, overseeing editorial standards, publication decisions and corrections.