Editing Henry Fonda (section)

==Career==

===Early stage work===

At age 20, Fonda started his acting career at the [[Omaha Community Playhouse]] when his mother's friend Dodie Brando (mother of [[Marlon Brando]]) recommended that he try out for a juvenile part in ''You and I'', in which he was cast as Ricky.<ref name="iron">{{Cite book |last=Bain |first=David Haward |title=The Old Iron Road: An Epic of Rails, Roads, and the Urge to Go West |publisher=Penguin Books |year=2004 |isbn=0-14-303526-6 |location=New York City |pages=65–6}}</ref> He was fascinated by the stage, learning everything from set construction to stage production, and embarrassed by his acting ability.{{sfn|Fonda|2005|page=30}} When he received the lead in ''[[Merton of the Movies (play)|Merton of the Movies]]'', he realized the beauty of acting as a profession, as it allowed him to deflect attention from his own tongue-tied personality and create stage characters relying on someone else's scripted words. Fonda decided to quit his job and go east in 1928 to seek his fortune.{{Sfn|McKinney|2012|p=41}}

He arrived on Cape Cod and played a minor role at the Cape Playhouse in [[Dennis, Massachusetts]]. A friend took him to Falmouth, MA where he joined and quickly became a valued member of the [[University Players]], an intercollegiate [[summer stock]] company. There, he worked with [[Margaret Sullavan]], his future wife.{{sfn|Houghton |1951| pages = 56-58}} [[James Stewart]] joined the Players a few months after Fonda left, though they were soon to become lifelong friends. Fonda left the Players at the end of their 1931–1932 season after appearing in his first professional role in ''The Jest'', by [[Sem Benelli]]. [[Joshua Logan]], a young sophomore at Princeton who had been double-cast in the show, gave Fonda the part of Tornaquinci, "an elderly Italian man with a long white beard and even longer hair." Also in the cast of ''The Jest'' with Fonda and Logan were [[Bretaigne Windust]], [[Kent Smith]], and [[Eleanor Phelps]].{{sfn|Houghton |1951| page = 58}}

Soon after, Fonda headed for New York City to be with his then wife, [[Margaret Sullavan]]. The marriage was brief, but when [[James Stewart]] came to New York his luck changed. Getting contact information from [[Joshua Logan]], "Jimmy" and "Hank" found they had a lot in common, as long as they didn't discuss politics. The two men became roommates and honed their skills on [[Broadway theater|Broadway]]. Fonda appeared in theatrical productions from 1926 to 1934. They fared no better than many Americans in and out of work during the early part of the [[Great Depression]], sometimes lacking enough money to take the subway.{{sfn|Fonda|1981|page=60}}

===Entering Hollywood===

[[File:Henry Fonda in Jezebel trailer.jpg|thumb|upright|Fonda in ''Jezebel'']]
Fonda got his first break in films when he was hired in 1935 as [[Janet Gaynor]]'s [[leading man]] in [[20th Century Fox]]'s screen adaptation of ''[[The Farmer Takes a Wife]]''; he reprised his role from the Broadway production of the same name, which had gained him recognition. Suddenly, Fonda was making $3,000 a week ({{Inflation|US|3000|1935|fmt=eq|r=-3}}) and dining with Hollywood stars such as [[Carole Lombard]].{{sfn|Fonda|1981|page=95}} Stewart soon followed him to Hollywood, and they roomed together again, in lodgings next door to [[Greta Garbo]]. In 1935 Fonda starred in the RKO film ''[[I Dream Too Much (1935 film)|I Dream Too Much]]'' with the opera star [[Lily Pons]]. ''[[The New York Times]]'' announced him as "Henry Fonda, the most likable of the new crop of romantic juveniles."{{sfn|Fonda|1981|page=102}}
Fonda's film career blossomed as he costarred with [[Sylvia Sidney]] and [[Fred MacMurray]] in ''[[The Trail of the Lonesome Pine (1936 film)|The Trail of the Lonesome Pine]]'' (1936), the first [[Technicolor]] movie filmed outdoors.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Pomainville |first=Harold N. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kWA0DAAAQBAJ&dq=%22The+Trail+of+the+Lonesome+Pine%22+%22Technicolor%22&pg=PA68 |title=Henry Hathaway: The Lives of a Hollywood Director |date=June 10, 2016 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |isbn=978-1-4422-6978-1 |pages=68 |language=en}}</ref>

Fonda starred with ex-wife Margaret Sullavan in ''[[The Moon's Our Home]]'', and a short rekindling of their relationship led to a brief but temporary consideration of remarriage. Fonda got the nod for the lead role in ''[[You Only Live Once (1937 film)|You Only Live Once]]'' (1937), also costarring Sidney, and directed by [[Fritz Lang]]. He starred opposite [[Bette Davis]], who had chosen him, in the film ''[[Jezebel (1938 film)|Jezebel]]'' (1938). This was followed by the title role in ''[[Young Mr. Lincoln]]'' (1939), his first collaboration with director [[John Ford]], and that year he played [[Frank James]] in ''[[Jesse James (1939 film)|Jesse James]]'' (1939) starring [[Tyrone Power]] and [[Nancy Kelly]]. Another 1939 film was ''[[Drums Along the Mohawk]]'', also directed by Ford.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Drums Along the Mohowk (1939) |url=https://catalog.afi.com/Film/840-DRUMS-ALONGTHEMOHAWK?sid=7727777c-7050-4ebe-91a8-e248531d9cfa&sr=15.274562&cp=1&pos=0 |access-date=March 26, 2024 |website=AFI Catalogue}}</ref>

[[File:Henry Fonda in The Lady Eve trailer.JPG|thumb|Fonda in ''The Lady Eve'']]
Fonda's successes led Ford to recruit him to play Tom Joad in the film version of [[John Steinbeck]]'s novel ''[[The Grapes of Wrath (film)|The Grapes of Wrath]]'' (1940). A reluctant [[Darryl Zanuck]], who preferred [[Tyrone Power]], insisted on Fonda's signing a seven-year contract with his studio, [[Twentieth Century-Fox]].<ref name="Rabin">{{Cite web |last=Rabin |first=Kenn |title=The Grapes of Wrath |url=http://www.filmnight.org/grapes.htm |access-date=January 11, 2007 |website=FilmNight.org|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050510163733/http://www.filmnight.org/grapes.htm |archive-date=May 10, 2005 }}</ref> Fonda agreed and was ultimately nominated for an Academy Award for his work in the film, which many consider to be his finest role. Fonda starred in [[Fritz Lang]]'s ''[[The Return of Frank James]]'' (1940) with [[Gene Tierney]]. He then played opposite [[Barbara Stanwyck]] in [[Preston Sturges]]'s ''[[The Lady Eve]]'' (1941), and again teamed with Tierney in the successful [[screwball comedy]] ''[[Rings on Her Fingers]]'' (1942). Stanwyck was one of Fonda's favorite co-stars, and they appeared in three films together. He was acclaimed for his role in ''[[The Ox-Bow Incident]]'' (1943).

[[File:Henry Fonda enlisting in United States Navy, 1942.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Fonda after enlisting in the United States Navy in November 1942]]
Fonda enlisted in the [[United States Navy]] to fight in [[World War II]], saying, "I don't want to be in a fake war in a studio."<ref name="usps">{{Cite web |date=May 30, 2005 |title=Henry Fonda joins U.S. Postal Service Legends of Hollywood Stamp Series |url=http://www.usps.com/communications/news/stamps/2005/sr05_025.htm |access-date=January 11, 2007 |website=United States Postal Service |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050906042855/http://www.usps.com/communications/news/stamps/2005/sr05_025.htm |archive-date=September 6, 2005 |type=Press Release}}</ref> Previously, Jimmy Stewart and Fonda had helped raise funds for the defense of Britain.<ref>{{Cite magazine |date=August 5, 1940 |title=Life Goes to a Party |url=http://www.tyrone-power.com/article_lifegoestoapary.html |access-date=January 11, 2007 |magazine=Life |publisher=Tyrone-Power.com|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051109041304/http://www.tyrone-power.com/article_lifegoestoapary.html |archive-date=November 9, 2005 }}</ref> Fonda served for three years, initially as a [[quartermaster]] 3rd class on the [[destroyer]] {{USS|Satterlee|DD-626|6}}. He was later commissioned as a [[lieutenant junior grade]] in Air Combat Intelligence in the Central Pacific and was awarded the [[Bronze Star Medal]] and [[Presidential Unit Citation (United States)|Navy Presidential Unit Citation]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Fonda |first=A. Mark |date=October 23, 2006 |title=Military |url=http://www.fonda.org/military.htm#WW20 |access-date=January 11, 2007 |website=Fonda.org|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051124052041/http://www.fonda.org/military.htm#WW20 |archive-date=November 24, 2005 }}</ref> Although he had been promoted to full [[lieutenant]], Fonda was discharged from active duty due to being "overage in rank", and transferred to the [[United States Navy Reserve|Naval Reserve]], serving three years (1945-1948).<ref>{{Cite web |date=May 12, 2021 |title=Actors in Uniform: From Lieutenant Henry Fonda to Mister Roberts |url=https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/actors-uniform-lieutenant-henry-fonda-mister-roberts |access-date=May 12, 2021 |publisher=The National WWII Museum|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210512081042/https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/actors-uniform-lieutenant-henry-fonda-mister-roberts |archive-date=May 12, 2021 }}</ref>

===Postwar career===

After the war, Fonda took a break from movies and attended Hollywood parties and enjoyed civilian life. Stewart and Fonda would listen to records and invite [[Johnny Mercer]], [[Hoagy Carmichael]], [[Dinah Shore]], and [[Nat King Cole]] over for music, with the latter giving the family piano lessons.{{sfn|Fonda|1981|page=165}} Fonda played [[Wyatt Earp]] in ''[[My Darling Clementine]]'' (1946), which was directed by John Ford. Fonda did seven postwar films until his contract with Fox expired, the last being [[Otto Preminger]]'s ''[[Daisy Kenyon]]'' (1947), opposite [[Joan Crawford]]. He starred in ''[[The Fugitive (1947 film)|The Fugitive]]'' (1947), which was the first film of Ford's new production company, [[Argosy Pictures]]. In 1948 he appeared in a subsequent Argosy/Ford production, ''[[Fort Apache (film)|Fort Apache]]'', as a rigid Army colonel, along with [[John Wayne]] and [[Shirley Temple]] in her first adult role.
[[File:Henry fonda Lt USN WWII receiving bronze star.jpg|thumb |upright|Wearing the bars of a full lieutnant, Fonda is awarded the Bronze Star.]]

[[File:Henry Fonda - USN.jpg|right|thumb|upright|Fonda in Navy uniform]]
[[File:Henry Fonda as Mr. Roberts 1948 (cropped).JPG|right|thumb|upright|Fonda in ''[[Mister Roberts (1955 film)|Mister Roberts]]'']]
Refusing another long-term studio contract, Fonda returned to Broadway, wearing his own officer's cap to originate the title role in ''[[Mister Roberts (play)|Mister Roberts]]'', a comedy about the [[United States Navy|U.S. Navy]], during [[World War II]] in the [[South Pacific Ocean]] where Fonda, a junior officer, Lt. Douglas A. Roberts wages a private war against a tyrannical captain. He won a 1948 [[Tony Award]] for the part. Fonda followed that by reprising his performance in the national tour and with successful stage runs in ''Point of No Return'' and ''The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial''. After an eight-year absence from films, he starred in the same role in the 1955 film version of ''Mister Roberts'' with [[James Cagney]], [[William Powell]], and [[Jack Lemmon]], continuing a pattern of bringing his acclaimed stage roles to life on the big screen. On the set of ''Mister Roberts'', Fonda came to blows with director [[John Ford]], who punched him during filming, and Fonda vowed never to work for the director again. While he kept that vow for years, Fonda spoke glowingly of Ford in [[Peter Bogdanovich]]'s documentary ''[[Directed by John Ford]]'' and in a documentary on Ford's career alongside Ford and James Stewart. Fonda refused to participate until he learned that Ford had insisted on casting Fonda as the lead in the film version of ''Mr. Roberts'', reviving Fonda's film career after concentrating on the stage for years.

After ''Mr. Roberts'', Fonda was next in [[Paramount Pictures]]'s production of [[Leo Tolstoy]]'s epic novel ''[[War and Peace (1956 film)|War and Peace]]'' (1956) about French Emperor [[Napoleon]]'s invasion of Russia in 1812, in which he played Pierre Bezukhov opposite [[Audrey Hepburn]]; it took two years to shoot. Fonda worked with [[Alfred Hitchcock]] in 1956, playing a man falsely accused of robbery in ''[[The Wrong Man]]''; the unusual semidocumentary work of Hitchcock was based on an actual incident and partly filmed on location.
[[File:Bacall, Bogart, Fonda crop.jpg|left|thumb|[[Lauren Bacall]], [[Humphrey Bogart]], and Fonda in a live 1955 color television version of ''[[The Petrified Forest]]'']]
In 1957, Fonda made his first foray into producing with ''[[12 Angry Men (1957 film)|12 Angry Men]]'', in which he also starred. The film was based on a teleplay and a script by [[Reginald Rose]], and directed by [[Sidney Lumet]]. The low-budget production was completed in 17 days of filming, mostly in one claustrophobic jury room. It had a strong cast, including also [[Jack Klugman]], [[Lee J. Cobb]], [[Martin Balsam]], and [[E. G. Marshall]]. The intense story about twelve jurors deciding the fate of a young man accused of murder was well received by critics worldwide. Fonda shared the [[Academy Awards|Academy Award]] and [[Golden Globe]] nominations with co-producer Reginald Rose, and won the 1958 [[BAFTA Award for Best Actor]] for his performance as Juror 8. Early on, the film drew poorly, but after gaining recognition and awards, it proved a success. In spite of the outcome, Fonda vowed that he would never produce a movie again, fearing that failing as a producer might derail his acting career.{{sfn|Fonda|1981|page=250}} After acting in the [[Western movies]] ''[[The Tin Star]]'' (1957) and ''[[Warlock (1959 film)|Warlock]]'' (1959), Fonda returned to the production seat for the [[NBC]] Western television series ''[[The Deputy (TV series)|The Deputy]]'' (1959–1961), in which he starred as Marshal Simon Fry. His co-stars were [[Allen Case]] and [[Read Morgan]].

[[File:Westwon trailer Fonda.png|thumb|Fonda in ''[[How the West Was Won (film)|How the West Was Won]]'']]
During the 1960s, Fonda performed in a number of war and Western epics, including 1962's ''[[The Longest Day (film)|The Longest Day]]'' and the Cinerama production ''[[How the West Was Won (film)|How the West Was Won]]'', 1965's ''[[In Harm's Way]]'', and ''[[Battle of the Bulge (1965 film)|Battle of the Bulge]]''. In the [[Cold War]] suspense film ''[[Fail Safe (1964 film)|Fail-Safe]]'' (1964), Fonda played the President of the United States who tries to avert a [[nuclear holocaust]] through tense negotiations with the Soviets after American bombers are mistakenly ordered to attack the USSR. He also returned to more light-hearted cinema in ''[[Spencer's Mountain]]'' (1963), which was the inspiration for the 1970s TV series, ''[[The Waltons]]'', based on the [[Great Depression]] of the 1930s memories of [[Earl Hamner Jr.]]

Fonda appeared against type as the villain 'Frank' in 1968's ''[[Once Upon a Time in the West]]''. After initially turning down the role, he was convinced to accept it by actor [[Eli Wallach]] and director [[Sergio Leone]] (who had previously tried to hire him to portray the [[Man with No Name]] in his [[Dollars Trilogy]], a role that was later taken on by [[Clint Eastwood]]), who flew from Italy to the United States to persuade him to take the part. Fonda had planned on wearing a pair of brown-colored [[contact lenses]], but Leone preferred the paradox of contrasting close-up shots of Fonda's innocent-looking blue eyes with the vicious personality of the character Fonda portrayed.

Fonda's relationship with Jimmy Stewart survived their disagreements over politics – Fonda was a liberal [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrat]], and Stewart a conservative [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]]. After a heated argument, they avoided talking politics with each other. The two men teamed up for 1968's ''[[Firecreek]]'', where Fonda again played the heavy. In 1970, Fonda and Stewart co-starred in the [[Western film|Western]] ''[[The Cheyenne Social Club]]'', in which they humorously argued politics. They had first appeared together on film in ''[[On Our Merry Way]]'' (1948), an episodic comedy which also starred [[William Demarest]] and [[Fred MacMurray]] and featured a grown-up [[Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer]], who had acted as a child in the ''[[Our Gang]]'' movie serials of the 1930s.<ref>{{Cite web |date=October 23, 2005 |title=On Our Merry Way |url=http://www.4alfalfa.com/Alfalfaddendum/merry.html |access-date=January 11, 2007 |website=4alfalfa.com|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051023213149/http://www.4alfalfa.com/Alfalfaddendum/merry.html |archive-date=October 23, 2005 }}</ref>

===Later career===

Despite approaching his seventies, Fonda continued to work in theater, television and film through the 1970s. In 1970, Fonda appeared in three films; the most successful was ''[[The Cheyenne Social Club]]''. The other two films were ''[[Too Late the Hero (film)|Too Late the Hero]]'', in which Fonda played a secondary role, and ''[[There Was a Crooked Man... (1970 film)|There Was a Crooked Man]]'', about Paris Pitman Jr. (played by [[Kirk Douglas]]) trying to escape from an Arizona prison.
[[File:Janet Blair Henry Fonda Smith Family 1970.JPG|thumb|right|upright|[[Janet Blair]] and Fonda in ''[[The Smith Family (TV series)|The Smith Family]]'', 1971]]
Fonda returned to both foreign and television productions, which provided career sustenance through a decade in which many aging screen actors suffered waning careers. He starred in the [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] television series ''[[The Smith Family (TV series)|The Smith Family]]'' between 1971 and 1972. A television film adaptation of John Steinbeck's novel, 1973's ''[[The Red Pony (1973 film)|The Red Pony]]'', earned Fonda an Emmy nomination. After the unsuccessful Hollywood melodrama, ''[[Ash Wednesday (1973 film)|Ash Wednesday]]'', he filmed three Italian productions released in 1973 and 1974. The most successful of these, ''[[My Name Is Nobody]]'', presented Fonda in a rare comedic performance as an old gunslinger whose plans to retire are dampened by a "fan" of sorts.

Fonda continued stage acting throughout his last years, including several demanding roles in Broadway plays. He returned to Broadway in 1974 for the biographical drama, ''[[Clarence Darrow (film)|Clarence Darrow]]'', for which he was nominated for a Tony Award. Fonda's health had been deteriorating for years, but his first outward symptoms occurred after a performance of the play in April 1974, when he collapsed from exhaustion. After the appearance of a [[cardiac arrhythmia]] brought on by [[prostate cancer]], he had a pacemaker installed following cancer surgery. Fonda returned to the play in 1975. After the run of a 1978 play, ''First Monday of October'', he took the advice of his doctors and quit plays, though he continued to star in films and television.

Fonda appeared in a revival of ''[[The Time of Your Life]]'' that opened on March 17, 1972, at the [[Huntington Hartford Theater]] in Los Angeles, where Fonda, [[Richard Dreyfuss]], [[Gloria Grahame]], [[Ron Thompson (actor)|Ron Thompson]], [[Strother Martin]], [[Jane Alexander]], [[Lewis J. Stadlen]], [[Richard X. Slattery]], and [[Pepper Martin (actor)|Pepper Martin]] were among the cast with [[Edwin Sherin]] directing.<ref>{{Cite web |date=April 8, 1972 |title=Hollywood Beat |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2211&dat=19720408&id=FCcmAAAAIBAJ&pg=781,2046468 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210315060856/https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2211&dat=19720408&id=FCcmAAAAIBAJ&pg=781%2C2046468 |archive-date=March 15, 2021 |access-date=January 22, 2012 |publisher=The Afro American}}</ref>

In 1976, Fonda appeared in several notable television productions, the first being ''[[Collision Course: Truman vs. MacArthur|Collision Course]]'', the story of the volatile relationship between President Harry Truman ([[E. G. Marshall]]) and General MacArthur (Fonda), produced by ABC. After an appearance in the acclaimed [[Showtime (TV network)|Showtime]] broadcast of ''Almos' a Man'', based on a story by [[Richard Wright (author)|Richard Wright]], he starred in the epic [[National Broadcasting Company|NBC]] miniseries [[Captains and the Kings (miniseries)|Captains and the Kings]], based on [[Taylor Caldwell]]'s novel. Three years later, he appeared in ABC's ''[[Roots: The Next Generations]]'', but the miniseries was overshadowed by its predecessor, ''[[Roots (1977 miniseries)|Roots]]''. Also in 1976, Fonda starred in the World War II blockbuster ''[[Midway (1976 film)|Midway]]''.

Fonda finished the 1970s in a number of [[disaster film]]s. The first of these was the 1977 Italian killer octopus thriller ''[[Tentacles (film)|Tentacles]]'' and ''[[Rollercoaster (1977 film)|Rollercoaster]]'', in which Fonda appeared with [[George Segal]], [[Richard Widmark]] and a young [[Helen Hunt]]. He performed again with Widmark, [[Olivia de Havilland]], Fred MacMurray, and [[José Ferrer]] in the [[Africanized bee|killer bee]] action film ''[[The Swarm (1978 film)|The Swarm]]''. He also acted in the global disaster film ''[[Meteor (film)|Meteor]]'' (his second role as a sitting President of the United States after ''Fail-Safe''), with [[Sean Connery]], [[Natalie Wood]], and [[Karl Malden]], and the Canadian production ''[[City on Fire (1979 film)|City on Fire]]'', which also featured [[Shelley Winters]] and [[Ava Gardner]]. Fonda had a small role with his son, Peter, in ''[[Wanda Nevada]]'' (1979), with [[Brooke Shields]].

As Fonda's health declined and he took longer breaks between filming, critics began to acknowledge the value of his extensive body of work. In 1979, he received the Golden Plate Award of the [[Academy of Achievement|American Academy of Achievement]]. His Golden Plate was presented by Awards Council member [[James Stewart|Jimmy Stewart]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Golden Plate Awardees of the American Academy of Achievement |url=https://achievement.org/our-history/golden-plate-awards/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161215023909/https://achievement.org/our-history/golden-plate-awards/ |archive-date=December 15, 2016 |access-date=September 19, 2020 |website=www.achievement.org |publisher=[[American Academy of Achievement]]}}</ref> In 1979, he was inducted into the [[American Theater Hall of Fame]] for his achievements on Broadway and received the [[Kennedy Center Honor]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Johnston |first=Laurie |date=November 19, 1979 |title=Theater Hall of Fame Enshrines 51 Artists |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1979/11/19/archives/theater-hall-of-fame-enshrines-51-artists-great-things-and-blank.html |url-status=live |access-date=July 1, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180621221301/https://www.nytimes.com/1979/11/19/archives/theater-hall-of-fame-enshrines-51-artists-great-things-and-blank.html |archive-date=June 21, 2018}}</ref> Lifetime Achievement awards from the [[Golden Globes]] and [[Academy Awards]] followed in 1980 and 1981, respectively.

Fonda continued to act into the early 1980s, though all but one of the productions in which he was featured before his death were for television. The television works included the live performance of [[Preston Jones (playwright)|Preston Jones]]'s ''[[The Oldest Living Graduate (play)|The Oldest Living Graduate]]'' and the Emmy-nominated ''[[Gideon's Trumpet (1980 film)|Gideon's Trumpet]]'' (co-starring [[Fay Wray]] in her last performance) about [[Clarence Gideon]]'s fight to have the right to publicly funded legal counsel for the indigent.

[[File:Hepburn Fonda On Golden Pond.jpg|thumb|left|Fonda won an Academy Award for his work with [[Katharine Hepburn]] in ''[[On Golden Pond (1981 film)|On Golden Pond]]''.]]
''[[On Golden Pond (1981 film)|On Golden Pond]]'' in 1981, the film adaptation of [[Ernest Thompson]]'s play, marked one final professional and personal triumph for Fonda. Directed by [[Mark Rydell]], the movie presented a powerful collaboration between Fonda, Katharine Hepburn, and his daughter, [[Jane Fonda]]. The elder Fonda played an emotionally brittle and distant father who becomes more accessible at the end of his life. Jane Fonda has said that elements of the story mirrored their real-life relationship and helped them resolve certain issues. She bought the film rights in the hope that her father would play the role and later described it as "a gift to my father that was so unbelievably successful."<ref>{{Cite news |last=Kennedy |first=Dana |date=May 6, 2001 |title=An Unscripted Life Starring Herself |work=The New York Times |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9A07EFD71738F935A35756C0A9679C8B63 |access-date=May 4, 2010}}</ref>

Premiered in December 1981, the film was well received by critics and, after a [[Roadshow theatrical release|limited release]] on December 4, ''On Golden Pond'' developed enough of an audience to be widely released on January 22. With 10 Academy Award nominations, the film earned nearly $120&nbsp;million at the box office, becoming an unexpected blockbuster. In addition to wins for Hepburn (Best Actress), and Thompson (Screenplay), ''On Golden Pond'' brought Fonda his only Oscar{{snd}}for Best Actor (he was the oldest recipient of the award; it also earned him a Golden Globe Best Actor award). Fonda was by that point too ill to attend the ceremony, and his daughter Jane accepted on his behalf. She said when accepting the award that her dad would probably quip, "Well, ain't I lucky." Years later, Fonda's performance would be remembered as a "brutally honest portrayal of frightened old age."<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Burr |first=Ty |url=https://ew.com/article/1993/08/13/30-outstanding-stars/ |title=30 outstanding stars |date=August 13, 1993 |magazine=Entertainment Weekly |access-date=March 31, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151106110710/http://www.ew.com/article/1993/08/13/30-outstanding-stars |archive-date=November 6, 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref>

Fonda's final performance was in the 1981 television drama ''[[Summer Solstice (1981 film)|Summer Solstice]]''<ref>{{Cite news |last=Hal Erickson |author-link=Hal Erickson (author) |date=2013 |title=The New York Times |publisher=[[Baseline (database)|Baseline]] & [[All Movie Guide]] |department=Movies & TV Dept. |url=https://movies.nytimes.com/movie/47630/Summer-Solstice/overview |url-status=dead |access-date=January 24, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130524193903/http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/47630/Summer-Solstice/overview |archive-date=May 24, 2013}}</ref> with Myrna Loy. It was filmed after ''On Golden Pond'' had wrapped and Fonda was in rapidly declining health.