Peter Fonda, the film and TV star who electrified the 1960s counterculture with the music-fueled film “Easy Rider,” has died. He was 79.
Fonda starred in the hippie biker classic with Dennis Hopper and Jack Nicholson, all three actors largely unknown at the time. The tale of two drug dealers on a motorcycle journey through the heart of America earned more than $60 million globally, a huge boxoffice for the time. “Easy Rider” cost well under a half million dollars to produce and is credited with helping kick start the 1970s golden age of filmmaking.
Fonda was the son of Henry Fonda and the brother of Jane Fonda. Peter Fonda died Aug. 16 of respiratory failure linked to lung cancer.
“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,” a family statement said.
Fonda continued his acting career long after “Easy Rider,” notably with Victor Nuñez’s “Ulee’s Gold,” for which he received an Oscar nomination.
Fonda produced “Easy Rider” and co-wrote the screenplay with his pal Hopper and Terry Southern (“Candy”). Directed by Hopper, it was released by Columbia Pictures in the spring of 1969.
The film’s soundtrack album proved a hit, also, with tracks from Steppenwolf, the Band, the Jimi Hendrix Experience and Roger McGuinn. The film’s comic use of “Don’t Bogart Me” by the Fraternity of Man underscored the characters’ frequent drug use. Bob Dylan wrote the first part of “The Ballad of Easy Rider,” a song finished by McGuinn. Most of the music started life in the film as temp tracks, but fortunately remained.
The film is found in the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress, made the American Film Institute’s list of top 100 films and was rereleased to video by the prestigious Criterion Collection.
Fonda’s counterculture credits predated the 1969 film. After a traditional start on Broadway and in film projects like “Tammy and the Doctor,” he found his way to the dark side with a biker role in Roger Corman’s 1966 “The Wild Angels” and then “The Trip” a year later. He also worked the hippie horror film “Spirits of the Dead” in the segment by Roger Vadim, his sister’s husband at the time. Fonda said “The Wild Angels” gave him the idea for “Easy Rider.”
Fonda also made underground music history with his acid-inspired quote in the Beatles’ “She Said She Said” — “I know what it’s like to be dead” — apparently uttered to John Lennon at an LSD party in Hollywood. Inspired by his many friends in the music industry, Fonda made a brief attempt at a recording sideline.
He piled up many acting credits over the decades, some of note but many slight. Key roles came in the films “Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry,” “The Hired Hand,” “Wanda Nevada,” “Outlaw Blues,” “Escape From L.A.” and “The Limey.” Notable TV work included “The Passion of Ayn Rand.”
Survivors include his older sister, Jane Fonda; his actress daughter, Bridget Fonda; his actor/cameraman son, Justin Fonda; and his third wife, Margaret (Parky) DeVogelaere.
Born in New York, Peter Fonda died in Los Angeles.
Captain America’s time has come to join Billy. Gone, but never to be forgotten. May they ride free through the Great Beyond forever.