Henry Jaynes Fonda
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(→Early life) |
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Henry Fonda was working for $30 per week as a clerk at the Retail Credit Company in Omaha, Nebraska but [[Marlon Brando]]'s mother Dorothy who was a friend of Henry's mother, got him involved in the Omaha Community Playhouse of which Dorothy was a co-founder. His first role was as Ricky in ''You and I'' in 1925, but his first starring role was as Merton in the play ''Merton of the Movies'' in 1926 or 1927. Merton is a terrible actor. When film producers see how funny his over-acting is, they put him in a comedy but tell him it's a drama. | Henry Fonda was working for $30 per week as a clerk at the Retail Credit Company in Omaha, Nebraska but [[Marlon Brando]]'s mother Dorothy who was a friend of Henry's mother, got him involved in the Omaha Community Playhouse of which Dorothy was a co-founder. His first role was as Ricky in ''You and I'' in 1925, but his first starring role was as Merton in the play ''Merton of the Movies'' in 1926 or 1927. Merton is a terrible actor. When film producers see how funny his over-acting is, they put him in a comedy but tell him it's a drama. | ||
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| + | The first newspaper mention of him I find is Feb 1926, when he appeared at "The Strand" playing the role of Major John Hay, secretary to Abraham Lincoln, who was played by George Billings. I here correct Biography.com which incorrectly states that this occurred in 1927. Answers.com [http://www.answers.com/topic/henry-fonda here] states that Billings and Fonda toured for three months, after which he returning to Omaha, and 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." | ||
<table><tr><td>http://www.afi.com/Images/tvevents/laa/archive/gal_Fonda_Henry_2.jpg | <table><tr><td>http://www.afi.com/Images/tvevents/laa/archive/gal_Fonda_Henry_2.jpg | ||
| − | A very young Henry Fonda (Credit afi.com)</td><td> | + | A very young Henry Fonda (Credit afi.com)</td><td> |
The following year he met and fell in love with fellow-actress [[Margaret Sullavan]]. Her Wikipedia biography [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_Sullavan here] states that both her and Henry were in the 1929 "undergraduate musical" ''Close Up''. Since this was presumably while school was in session, it must have been in the Spring of that year. It doesn't seem likely that Henry was performing as a member of the college, so perhaps they had outside actors as well. She was then invited to join the University Players. | The following year he met and fell in love with fellow-actress [[Margaret Sullavan]]. Her Wikipedia biography [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_Sullavan here] states that both her and Henry were in the 1929 "undergraduate musical" ''Close Up''. Since this was presumably while school was in session, it must have been in the Spring of that year. It doesn't seem likely that Henry was performing as a member of the college, so perhaps they had outside actors as well. She was then invited to join the University Players. | ||
