Peter Fonda, star of Easy Rider, dies aged 79

Peter Fonda, the star, co-writer and producer of the 1969 cult classic Easy Rider, has died at the age of 79.

In a statement, his family said he suffered respiratory failure due to lung cancer, and died peacefully at home in Los Angeles.

His older sister Jane Fonda added: "I am very sad. He was my sweet-hearted baby brother. The talker of the family.

"I have had beautiful alone time with him these last days. He went out laughing."

Peter Fonda was part of a veteran Hollywood family. As well as being the brother of
Jane Fonda, he was also the son of actor Henry Fonda, and was married to Bridget,
also an actor.

Easy Rider, in which Fonda appeared alongside its director Dennis Hopper
and a young Jack Nicholson, became a cult classic and earned
Fonda an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay.


Fonda played a biker in the film - a role he would take up a number of times throughout his career.

Goodfellas actress Illeana Douglas tweeted a tribute to Fonda, and to the film -
which she said "depicted the rise of hippie culture, condemned the
establishment, and celebrated freedom".


Almost 30 years later he was nominated for another Oscar - this time,
in the Best Actor category for his 1997 film Ulee's Gold.

Later in life he put his efforts into environmentalism, and in 2012
he co-produced The Big Fix - a film about the explosion of the BP oil rig Deepwater Horizon.

"While we mourn the loss of this sweet and gracious man,
we also wish for all to celebrate his indomitable spirit and love of life,"
the family's statement said.

"In honour of Peter, please raise a glass to freedom."

I didn't care much for easy rider. I just looked it up and I guess he wrote it. 117 movies/shows. Never heard much about him. I'll have to catch up on some of his life and movies.

lokie said:

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They died in that movie, right?

I once met Peter Fonda, kinda.

On a family vacation in 1963, we were at Mt. Rushmore. It was in the morning and there was only a few people there, maybe like 6.

My dad immediately recognized him but he wouldn't acknowledge to being Peter Fonda.

But his leg was in a cast and it had been reported that he was in a bike accident and broke a leg. My dad insisted it was Peter Fonda and it certainly looked like him. And the cast.

So I'm pretty sure it was and he didn't want bothered with attention.

He wasn't a big star yet, but his dad sure was. He had been on some TV shows in guest spots up to that time.

RIP. I liked Easy Rider 6 yrs. later.

curious2garden said:

They died in that movie, right?

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Yes they were murdered. They were sleeping at the time actually.

Strange timing. Last Friday I was at my usual last stop of the day. It usually involves about 15 minutes of work and 1-2 hours of drinking beer, smoking cigarettes and watching YouTube with the homeowners at their pimp pool house bar. The original trailer for Easy Rider was in the recommended section and we decided to watch it. Then a week later he dies. Weird.

neosapien said:

Strange timing. Last Friday I was at my usual last stop of the day. It usually involves about 15 minutes of work and 1-2 hours of drinking beer, smoking cigarettes and watching YouTube with the homeowners at their pimp pool house bar. The original trailer for Easy Rider was in the recommended section and we decided to watch it. Then a week later he dies. Weird.

Click to expand...

44 Ninjas















penis

Back in the 90's only Easy Rider was missing from my video collection(VHS)
so spent a fortune on a thing called DVD disk then the compulsory purchase of the DVD player
....or was it the 80's ....?

vostok said:

Peter Fonda, the star, co-writer and producer of the 1969 cult classic Easy Rider, has died at the age of 79.

In a statement, his family said he suffered respiratory failure due to lung cancer, and died peacefully at home in Los Angeles.

His older sister Jane Fonda added: "I am very sad. He was my sweet-hearted baby brother. The talker of the family.

"I have had beautiful alone time with him these last days. He went out laughing."

Peter Fonda was part of a veteran Hollywood family. As well as being the brother of
Jane Fonda, he was also the son of actor Henry Fonda, and was married to Bridget,
also an actor.

Easy Rider, in which Fonda appeared alongside its director Dennis Hopper
and a young Jack Nicholson, became a cult classic and earned
Fonda an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay.

Fonda played a biker in the film - a role he would take up a number of times throughout his career.

Goodfellas actress Illeana Douglas tweeted a tribute to Fonda, and to the film -
which she said "depicted the rise of hippie culture, condemned the
establishment, and celebrated freedom".

Almost 30 years later he was nominated for another Oscar - this time,
in the Best Actor category for his 1997 film Ulee's Gold.

Later in life he put his efforts into environmentalism, and in 2012
he co-produced The Big Fix - a film about the explosion of the BP oil rig Deepwater Horizon.

"While we mourn the loss of this sweet and gracious man,
we also wish for all to celebrate his indomitable spirit and love of life,"
the family's statement said.

"In honour of Peter, please raise a glass to freedom."

Click to expand...

Bummer about Peter.

But Hanoi Jane can go ride a running chainsaw.

RIP Easy Rider.. but I still hate funerals