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'''Henry Jaynes Fonda''' (1905-82), American Actor This page is written and copyright 2008 by Will Johnson, Freelance biographer, [mailto:wjhonson@aol.com wjhonson@aol.com]. http://www.afi.com/Images/tvevents/laa/archive/gal_Fonda_Henry_2.jpg Henry Fonda on afi.com ==Henry Jaynes Fonda== ===Early life=== Henry Fonda was born 16 May 1905 in Grand Island, Hall County, [[Nebraska]] to William Brace Fonda and his wife Herberta Jaynes. Henry Fonda was working for $30 per week as a clerk at the Retail Credit Company in Omaha, Nebraska but [[Marlon Brando]]'s mother who was a friend of Henry's mother, got him involved in the Omaha Community Playhouse. His first role was as Merton in the play ''Merton of the Movies''. In a much later newspaper mention of him [http://www.newspaperarchive.com/PdfViewerTags.aspx?img=4564143¤tResult=3&src=search&firstvisit=true here] they state that he went to the University of Minnesota and got a degree, his thesis being on communication systems. The first newspaper mention of him I find is at "The Strand" when he played Major John Hay secretary to Abraham Lincoln, played by George Billings. Answers.com [http://www.answers.com/topic/henry-fonda here] states that they toured for three months, after which he returning to Omaha became "assistant director at the Omaha Community Playhouse." In his early twenties, "...he hitched a ride to Cape Cod with a family friend and soon hooked up with the University Players, a summer stock repertory company in Falmouth, Massachusetts." The following year he met and fell in love with fellow-actress [[Margaret Sullavan]]. After a year and a half he proposed and they married. They lived in Greenwich Village, New York City, but the marriage only lasted about four months. Henry, lived many aspiring actors and singers, worked part-time, during this time, as a male model for artists. A newspaper article dated 13 Jul 1930 puts a maximal date on when Henry married Margaret as it states : "Henry Fonda and Margaret Sullavan, married and divorced, are going together again...." Meanwhile, his future wife, Frances (Seymour) Brokaw was "...living in splendor as Mrs Brokaw, in a mansion with a moat on Fifth Avenue..." (''My Life'', p 36) ===Early Career=== He played the Prince in ''Cinderella'' in Nov 1930 opposite Suzanne Pollard (stage name "Shirley Horton"), daughter of the Governor of Virginia (see [http://www.newspaperarchive.com/PdfViewerTags.aspx?img=50005553¤tResult=3&src=search&firstvisit=true here]). In Sep 1932 he played the part of Inspector Enderby in ''Michael and Mary'' (see [http://www.newspaperarchive.com/PdfViewerTags.aspx?img=55696065¤tResult=5&src=search&firstvisit=true here]). Henry Fonda co-starred with [[Imogene Coca]] in ''New Faces of 1934''. This was the first one of [[Leonard Sillman]]'s annual revues. See the mention [http://www.newspaperarchive.com/PdfViewerTags.aspx?img=38771701¤tResult=2&src=search&firstvisit=true here]. Note the interesting tidbit, that one of the potential backers who came to watch the auditions was none other than [[Libby Holmon]] later to be well-known in regards to her relationship with [[Montgomery Clift]]. At this time "Leland Hayward, who was on the brink of becoming the top talent agent in the country, signed him up and convinced a reluctant Fonda to go to Hollywood for $1,000 a week." (''My Life'', p 37). By Aug 1934, Henry had "signed with Walter Wagner, to play an important part in ''The President Vanishes''" (see [http://www.newspaperarchive.com/PdfViewerTags.aspx?img=45596791¤tResult=7&src=search&firstvisit=true here]). And [http://www.newspaperarchive.com/PdfViewerTags.aspx?img=40782721&firstvisit=true&src=search¤tResult=0 here] they state that he signed with Walter Waller to "make two pictures a year starting with the summer months of 1935." But note that "Henry Fonda, Broadway actor who will be seen this season [Winter of 1934 ?] in 'Rome Haul'" (erroneously called Rome "Hall"), which probably means he was still then in New York. Evidently this title was the title of the book by Walter Edmonds, and the play was re-named ''The Farmer Takes a Wife'' (see [http://www.newspaperarchive.com/PdfViewerTags.aspx?img=49072003¤tResult=21&src=search&firstvisit=true here]). The play appeared on Broadway, and tells the story of Molly Harkins, a pretty girl who works as a cook on a boat, moving from town to town, who meets Dan Harrow a rough simple man who wants to settle down as a farmer. He has to convince her to marry him. Henry Fonda plays the man, and June Walker the woman (see [http://www.newspaperarchive.com/PdfViewerTags.aspx?img=23032494¤tResult=22&src=search&firstvisit=true here]). Henry Fonda and his ex-wife Margaret Sullavan remained on reasonable terms for some time. They were seen together once-in-a-while and she eventually married his agent Leland Hayward and "lived just down the street in the 1940s", this according to his daughter Jane who remembers playing with the Hayward children. Margaret evidently caused a bit of a stir in some corners. Henry received one fan letter who courteously enclosed a self-addressed stamped envelope but presumptuously stated:<blockquote>Dear Mr Fonda: I am one of Miss Sullivan's [sic] most ardent worshippers, in fact, I'm in love with her. I see by the papers that you are her former husband. Will you introduce me when you arrive to Hollywood? Or, better still, write me a letter of introduction to her?"</blockquote> Henry met his next wife Frances Seymour in London in 1936 where she was vacationing from New York, and while she was visiting the set of ''Wings of the Morning'', in which he was starring. Soon after their return to New York, they were married. Frances was a wealthy widow with a daughter Frances "Pan" Brokaw from her prior marriage to George Brokaw who had died about 1933. Henry Fonda was the father of actors [[Jane Fonda]] (b. 1937) and [[Peter Fonda]]. Jane was born while Henry was filming ''Jezebel'' with [[Bette Davis]]. Henry was in the 1938 release ''Spawn of the North'' starring George Raft and Dorothy Lamour. In 1939 he "had a leading role" in ''The Story of Alexander Graham Bell'' also starring Don Ameche and Loretta Young. ===Middle Career=== http://www.afi.com/Images/tvevents/laa/archive/gal_Fonda_Henry_3.jpg Henry Fonda as Tom Joad Jane states that Henry was a man of dark moods and that they "...lived in constant awareness of the minefield we had to tread so as not to trigger his rage." (''My Life'', p 35). In about 1947 his then-wife Frances Seymour killed herself by slitting her throat while in a mental hospital. Henry Fonda played the title role in 1939's ''Young Mr. Lincoln''. In 1940 Henry received his first Oscar nomination playing in arguably his best-known role, as Tom Joad in the 1940 film ''The Grapes of Wrath'' based on the novel by Steinway. During WWII he served in the Navy. In 1946 he was in ''My Darling Clementine''. http://content.answers.com/main/content/wp/en/thumb/d/d0/250px-Fonda.henry.12am.JPG Henry Fonda from answers.com In 1955 he starred in the 1955 film ''Mister Roberts'' co-starring [[Jack Lemmon]]. In 1957 he was in ''Twelve Angry Men''. Henry played Adm. Chester Nimitz in the 1976 film ''Midway''. His first Best Actor Oscar did not come until 1981 for ''On Golden Pond'' co-starring [[Katherine Hepburn]]. Henry Fonda died of heart failure 12 Aug 1982 in [[Los Angeles County, California]]. ===Primary documents for 1=== *[http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv=1&rank=0&gsfn=&gsln=Fonda&sx=&f7=&f9=&f10=&f18__n=&f20=nebraska&rg_81004011__date=&rs_81004011__date=0&f23=&f17=&f16=&rg_f19__date=&rs_f19__date=0&_8000C002=&f21=&_80008002=&f22=&_80018002=&gskw=&prox=1&db=1910uscenindex&ti=0&ti.si=0&gss=angs-d&fh=11&recid=44813824&recoff=3+18+19 1910 Census of Omaha, Douglas County, Nebraska] *[http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv=1&rank=0&gsfn=&gsln=Fonda&sx=&f8=&f9=&f10=&f20=Nebraska&rg_fa5__date=&rs_fa5__date=0&f16__n=&rg_f19__date=&rs_f19__date=0&f18=&fa20=&f21=&fa18=&f22=&fa14=&gskw=&prox=1&db=1920usfedcen&ti=0&ti.si=0&gss=angs-d&fh=17&recid=51390463&recoff=3+18+19 1920 Census of Omaha, Douglas County, Nebraska] *[http://www.newspaperarchive.com/PdfViewerTags.aspx?img=93266224&firstvisit=true&src=search¤tResult=9 ''Waterloo Evening Courier'', 24 Feb 1926], page 13, "Lincoln of Stage Sinks All of Self in Soul He Plays" *[http://www.newspaperarchive.com/PdfViewerTags.aspx?img=44759880&firstvisit=true&src=search¤tResult=6 ''Fresno Bee'' (Fresno, California), 25 Apr 1930, pg 36] *''Jane Fonda : My Life So Far'', by Jane Fonda. Random House, New York. 2006. ISBN 0812975766 ===See Also=== *[[Connections:Alice Ghostley to Montgomery Clift|"Alice Ghostley to Montgomery Clift"]] ==William Brace Fonda== William Brace Fonda was born abt 1879 in Nebraska to Ten Eyck Fonda and his wife Harriet, who had moved there from their native New York. In 1900 he was a Salesman. He married Herberta Jaynes between 1900 and 1910. By 1910 the family is living in Omaha, Douglas County, Nebraska. Herberta (Jaynes) Fonda died in 1934 "at her home in Omaha", and William Fonda died about 1935, probably in Omaha. ===Primary documents for 2=== *[http://content.ancestry.com/iexec/?htx=View&r=an&dbid=7602&iid=NET623_925-0369&fn=Ten+Eycr+h&ln=Fonda&st=r&ssrc=&pid=32703986 1900 Census of Omaha, Douglas County, Nebraska] *[http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv=1&rank=0&gsfn=&gsln=Fonda&sx=&f7=&f9=&f10=&f18__n=&f20=nebraska&rg_81004011__date=&rs_81004011__date=0&f23=&f17=&f16=&rg_f19__date=&rs_f19__date=0&_8000C002=&f21=&_80008002=&f22=&_80018002=&gskw=&prox=1&db=1910uscenindex&ti=0&ti.si=0&gss=angs-d&fh=11&recid=44813824&recoff=3+18+19 1910 Census of Omaha, Douglas County, Nebraska] *[http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv=1&rank=0&gsfn=&gsln=Fonda&sx=&f8=&f9=&f10=&f20=Nebraska&rg_fa5__date=&rs_fa5__date=0&f16__n=&rg_f19__date=&rs_f19__date=0&f18=&fa20=&f21=&fa18=&f22=&fa14=&gskw=&prox=1&db=1920usfedcen&ti=0&ti.si=0&gss=angs-d&fh=17&recid=51390463&recoff=3+18+19 1920 Census of Omaha, Douglas County, Nebraska] *[http://content.ancestry.com/iexec/?htx=view&dbid=50003&iid=NEWS-OH-NE_JO.1975_06_15_0083&r=an&rc=1923,1967,2155,2017;2188,1967,2254,2017;2288,1967,2487,2017&fn=&ln=Record+William+B+Fonda&st=d&ssrc=&pid=511392851 "Henry Fonda on William B Fonda"], [[June 15]], 1975, ''News Journal'' (Mansfield, Ohio) : "The elder Fonda born in the mid-1880s, died in 1935. In 1905, when Henry was six months old, William and his wife Herberta moved from Grand Island, Neb., to Omaha, Neb., and set up a printshop ==Herberta Jaynes== Herberta Jaynes was born in [[Jun 26]], 1879 in Wisconsin, but by 1898 the family had moved to Omaha, Nebraska. She married William Brace Fonda sometime between 1900 and 1910 probably in Omaha. By 1910 the family is living in Omaha, Douglas County, Nebraska. ===Primary documents for 3=== *[http://content.ancestry.com/iexec/?htx=view&dbid=8099&iid=NEWS-NE-TH_NE_ST_JO.1898_12_25_0010&r=an&rc=1292,2854,1419,2883;1435,2854,1546,2883&fn=herberta&ln=jaynes&st=d&ssrc=&pid=471229450 "Social and Personal"], Dec 25, 1898, ''The Nebraska State Journal'' (Lincoln, Nebraska) :"Miss Alice Fuller will spend this week in Omaha as the guest of Miss Herberta Jaynes." - transcription courtesy of Will Johnson, wjhonson@aol.com, Professional Genealogist, from the original image on Ancestry *[http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv=1&rank=0&gsfn=&gsln=Fonda&sx=&f7=&f9=&f10=&f18__n=&f20=nebraska&rg_81004011__date=&rs_81004011__date=0&f23=&f17=&f16=&rg_f19__date=&rs_f19__date=0&_8000C002=&f21=&_80008002=&f22=&_80018002=&gskw=&prox=1&db=1910uscenindex&ti=0&ti.si=0&gss=angs-d&fh=11&recid=44813824&recoff=3+18+19 1910 Census of Omaha, Douglas County, Nebraska] *[http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv=1&rank=0&gsfn=&gsln=Fonda&sx=&f8=&f9=&f10=&f20=Nebraska&rg_fa5__date=&rs_fa5__date=0&f16__n=&rg_f19__date=&rs_f19__date=0&f18=&fa20=&f21=&fa18=&f22=&fa14=&gskw=&prox=1&db=1920usfedcen&ti=0&ti.si=0&gss=angs-d&fh=17&recid=51390463&recoff=3+18+19 1920 Census of Omaha, Douglas County, Nebraska] *[http://content.ancestry.com/iexec/?htx=view&dbid=8098&iid=NEWS-NE-TH_LI_ST.1934_10_08_0004&r=an&rc=1325,4817,1555,4867;1584,4817,1756,4867&fn=herberta&ln=jaynes&st=d&ssrc=&pid=490020868 Obit, "Herberta Jaynes Fonda"], [[Oct 8]], 1934, ''The Lincoln Star''(Lincoln, Nebraska) :<blockquote>Services at Omaha for Herberta Jaynes Fonda — Funeral services for Mrs. Herberta Jaynes Fonda were held in Omaha Monday afternoon. Mrs. Fonda was a schoolmate of Mrs. E.C. Hardy at the University of Nebraska. She was a member of Delta Gamma sorority. Mrs. Fonda died Oct. 5 at her home in Omaha. She was 55 years old. Surviving besides her husband, William B., are two daughters, Mrs. John B. Peacock of Omaha and Mrs. John Schoentgen of Council Bluffs, and a son, Harry Fonda of New York City. Mrs Schoentgen attended the university in 1927.</blockquote> - transcription courtesy of Will Johnson, wjhonson@aol.com, Professional Genealogist, from the original image on Ancestry ==Ten Eyck Fonda== Ten Eyck Fonda was born Dec 1839 in [[New York]] to native New York parents. He married, about 1864 to Harriet somebody also a New York native. They stayed in New York until at least 1871 when their son Ten Eyck Jr was born there, but by 1879 they had moved to Nebraska where their next surviving son William was born. Out of their six children, four were yet living in 1900 when they are enumerated in Omaha where Ten Eyck Fonda is a Railroad Ticket Agent. Ten Eyck and Harriet are yet living in Omaha in 1920 so it's probable that they both died there. ===Primary documents for 4=== *[http://content.ancestry.com/iexec/?htx=View&r=an&dbid=7602&iid=NET623_925-0369&fn=Ten+Eycr+h&ln=Fonda&st=r&ssrc=&pid=32703986 1900 Census of Omaha, Douglas County, Nebraska] *[http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv=1&rank=0&gsfn=&gsln=Fonda&sx=&f8=Nebraska&f9=&f10=&f20=New+York&rg_fa5__date=&rs_fa5__date=0&f16__n=&rg_f19__date=&rs_f19__date=0&f18=&fa20=&f21=&fa18=&f22=&fa14=&gskw=&prox=1&db=1920usfedcen&ti=0&ti.si=0&gss=angs-d&fh=5&recid=51291860&recoff=4+19+20+21+22+24 1920 Census of Omaha, Douglas County, Nebraska] ===Secondary sources for 4=== *[http://wc.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=amfonda&id=ind00200 "TenEyck Hilton Fonda"] in 'Fonda Family Genealogy', by Albert Mark, [mailto:mark@fonda.org mark@fonda.org], db amfonda at Rootsweb's WorldConnect Project ==Harriet M== ===Primary documents for 5=== *[http://content.ancestry.com/iexec/?htx=View&r=an&dbid=7602&iid=NET623_925-0369&fn=Ten+Eycr+h&ln=Fonda&st=r&ssrc=&pid=32703986 1900 Census of Omaha, Douglas County, Nebraska] *[http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv=1&rank=0&gsfn=&gsln=Fonda&sx=&f8=Nebraska&f9=&f10=&f20=New+York&rg_fa5__date=&rs_fa5__date=0&f16__n=&rg_f19__date=&rs_f19__date=0&f18=&fa20=&f21=&fa18=&f22=&fa14=&gskw=&prox=1&db=1920usfedcen&ti=0&ti.si=0&gss=angs-d&fh=5&recid=51291860&recoff=4+19+20+21+22+24 1920 Census of Omaha, Douglas County, Nebraska] [[Category:New York]] [[Category:Wisconsin]] [[Category:Nebraska]] [[Category:California]] [[Category:Movies and Television]]
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