Hollywood actor peter fonda breathed his last at the age of 79 at his home in Los Angeles. The actor was battling lung cancer and succumbed to the disease. He is known to the film fraternity as the man who made the 1969 road movie “Easy Rider” on a shoestring budget and it went on to gross millions worldwide. He co-wrote, produced and starred in the classic movie. His father was Henry Fonda and his sister was Jane Fonda.

The Guardian mentions his past. Even though he was born into Hollywood royalty, Peter Fonda trod away from the beaten path. He was a non-conformist and created a name for himself by becoming the face of the counterculture movement of the 1960s.

He earned an Oscar nomination for co-writing “Easy Rider.” It was a psychedelic road trip movie. Subsequently, he earned a nomination for his performance in the 1997 movie “Ulee’s Gold.” In this movie, he portrayed the role of a Vietnam veteran and widowed beekeeper.

‘Easy Rider’ celebrated its 50th anniversary

Peter Fonda was born in New York in 1940. His mother died when he was only 10 years old. Peter never achieved the celebrity status of his father Henry Fonda or his older sister Jane Fonda. However, he came up with an identity of his own that set him apart from others.

It helped him to cement his place in popular culture. Recently “Easy Rider” celebrated its 50th anniversary.

The Guardian describes the background of Peter’s hit movie.

He collaborated with Dennis Hopper who was another struggling young actor. The two of them wrote the script and the storyline was about a couple of pot-smoking, drug-slinging bikers. They were on a trip through the south-west and deep south. Peter was its producer and Hopper was the director. “Easy Rider” went on to become a hit at the Cannes film festival.

Peter and Hopper earned Oscar nomination for best screenplay. Later the movie entered the list of one of the top 100 American films. The honor was bestowed by the American Film Institute. In 1998, they included the movie in the United States National Film Registry.

Peter Fonda was different

According to Sky News, 79-year-old actor and writer of “Easy Rider” was different. He was born in New York in 1940 and during the 1960s was a member of the counterculture. His father Henry Fonda was a famous Hollywood actor as was his elder sister Jane. Both were Celebrities but Peter was out of sync with them. It was the psychedelic road trip movie “Easy Rider” that propelled him to fame. He teamed up with Dennis Hopper on the script.

The story was about two long-haired, weed-smoking bikers. Peter's character Wyatt wore a stars-and-stripes helmet and the motorbike he rode was called Captain America. After the success of the movie, he starred in and directed “The Hired Hand” in 1971. Later, he earned a second Oscar nomination for best actor in the 1997 film “Ulee's Gold.”
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