Henry Jaynes Fonda
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==Henry Jaynes Fonda== | ==Henry Jaynes Fonda== | ||
===Early life=== | ===Early life=== | ||
− | Henry Fonda was born 16 May 1905 in Grand Island, Hall County, [[Nebraska]] to William Brace Fonda and his wife Herberta Jaynes. His father William was a printer. While Henry was still very young, sometime between 1905 and 1910, his father moved the family to Omaha, Nebraska where he opened a printing shop. | + | Henry Fonda was born 16 May 1905 in Grand Island, Hall County, [[Nebraska]] to William Brace Fonda and his wife Herberta Jaynes. His father William was a printer. While Henry was still very young, sometime between 1905 and 1910, his father moved the family to Omaha, Douglas County, Nebraska where he opened a printing shop. |
− | Henry graduated from Omaha Central High School in 1923. | + | Henry graduated from Omaha Central High School in 1923. A much later newspaper mention of him [http://www.newspaperarchive.com/PdfViewerTags.aspx?img=4564143¤tResult=3&src=search&firstvisit=true here] states that he went to the University of Minnesota and got a degree, his thesis being on communication systems. Another source states that he had been studying journalism but dropped out after about two years. |
− | + | "Dad has a $30-a-week job as a clerk at the Retail Credit Company in Omaha, but [[Marlon Brando]]'s mother a friend of my grandmother's, got him involved in the Omaha Community Playhouse, where dad was offered the part of Merton in the play ''Merton of the Movies''." (''My Story'', page 34) | |
− | The first newspaper mention of | + | Dorothy Brando was a co-founder of this playhouse and herself an amateur actress. Henry's first role was as Ricky in ''You and I'' in 1925, but his first starring role was as Merton in 1926 or 1927. The story of the play is that 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 Henry Fonda 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<br> | <table><tr><td>http://www.afi.com/Images/tvevents/laa/archive/gal_Fonda_Henry_2.jpg<br> |