Henry Fonda

Trivia of Henry Fonda

*Before he famous as actor, he studied under the tutelage of Dorothy Brando, the mother of Marlon Brando. Dorothy was a renowned acting coach and her teachings helped shape the career of Henry Fonda, who went on to become one of the most celebrated actors of his time.

*He and director John Ford had a long-standing professional relationship, working together on multiple films over the years. However, their friendship came to an abrupt end in 1955 when Ford punched Fonda in the face while they were filming the movie "Mister Roberts". This shocking incident marked the end of their friendship.Fonda only appeared in one more Ford film after that, How the West Was Won (1962), in a segment not directed by Ford.

*Was a very close friend of James Stewart. They met and shared a room when the two were both struggling young actors in the early 1930s. Fonda went to Hollywood shortly before Stewart. When Stewart arrived he shared Fonda's home, where they both gained reputations as ladies' men. After both married and had kids, the more mellow buddies still hung out, usually spending time building model airplanes.

*Henry Fonda was an avid hobbyist, known for his passion for model airplanes and kites. He would often spend hours crafting intricate models of planes, and his kites were renowned for their unique designs. He was so passionate about his hobbies that he even wrote a book about them, titled 'Model Airplanes and Kites'. His love for these activities was so strong that he even passed it on to his children, who also enjoyed making model airplanes and kites.

*His second wife, Frances Ford Seymour (mother of Peter Fonda and Jane Fonda) committed suicide by slitting her throat with a stolen razor.The couple divorced after 13 years of marriage because Fonda was deeply unhappy with his bipolar wife and want marry another woman .Seymour couldn’t handle the emotional betrayal and was so devastated by her husband’s request that she went to the Austen Riggs Psychiatric Hospital for treatment. She committed suicide three months after Fonda asked for a divorce. When Frances passed, Fonda’s children Jane and Peter were only 12 and 10 years old. Thinking he was protecting them, Fonda told them a horrific lie. Instead of admitting the true circumstances of their mother’s passing, Fonda claimed she had died from heart failure.

*He and his daughter Jane Fonda were the first father-daughter couple to be Oscar-nominated the same year (1982).

*Henry Fonda kept the hat he wore in The Grapes of Wrath (1940) movie for the rest of his life. Before he passed away in 1982, he gave it to his old friend (actress) Jane Withers. Apparently he and Withers, when she was an 8 year old girl and he a young man, did a play together before Fonda made movies. Fonda was so nervous to go onstage that little Jane took his hand, said a little prayer to ease his nerves, and the two of them became good friends for life.