Peter Fonda, the son of acting legend Henry Fonda who found fame in 1969’s “Easy Rider” that was shot on Route 66, has died. He was 79.
According to the Los Angeles Times and other media outlets, Fonda died after a bout with lung cancer.
Fonda produced, co-wrote and starred in “Easy Rider,” which was directed by co-star Dennis Hopper. The counterculture film cost less than a half-million dollars to make and grossed more than $60 million. Despite a bleak ending, it spurred a lot of people to buy motorcycles and hit the open road, with no small debt to Steppenwolf.
Here’s a one-hour film about how the movie was made.
As noted, “Easy Rider” was shot on location on Route 66 in Gallup, New Mexico; Needles, California; Flagstaff, Arizona; and Bellmont, Arizona; to name a few. Mr. Zip 66 helpfully mapped out the cross-country path taken in the movie.
Fonda’s link to Route 66 proved durable enough that he appeared in the 2000 documentary “Route 66: Main Street of America” as the host. The 30-minute film aired on The Learning Channel.
My favorite Peter Fonda movie, however, is 1997’s “Ulee’s Gold.” It was a film where he channeled his taciturn father and even looked like him in several scenes.
(Image of Peter Fonda riding a Captain America motorcycle in 2009 by Brian Snelson via Flickr)
Although a supporting role, I really liked Peter Fonda in the 2007 film “Ghost Rider”. Peter Fonda as Mephistopheles / The Devil, with whom Blaze makes a contractual deal in order to save the latter’s father from cancer. Deceivingly, Mephistopheles causes Blaze’s father to die the next day in a motorcycling accident. Mephistopheles is in search for his illegitimate son, Blackheart, who seeks to overthrow him. The two race in search of the Contract of San Venganza, a binding note of 1,000 damned souls. Kinda makes you wanna see the movie again, doesn’t it?