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Peter Fonda, celebrated actor known for Easy Rider, dies aged 79
The actor Peter Fonda has died at the age of 79 following a battle with lung cancer, his family has said.
Fonda, who co-wrote, produced and starred in the classic 1969 road movie Easy Rider, died peacefully at his home in Los Angeles on Friday, his family said in a statement.
“In honor of Peter, please raise a glass to freedom.”
Fonda died at 11.05am local time, according to his family. The official cause was respiratory failure due to lung cancer, they said.
Fonda collaborated with another struggling young actor, Dennis Hopper, on the script about two pot-smoking, drug-slinging bikers on a trip through the south-west and deep south.
Fonda produced Easy Rider and Hopper directed it for a meager $380,000. It went on to gross $40m worldwide, a substantial sum for its time.
The film was a hit at Cannes, netted a best-screenplay Oscar nomination for Fonda, Hopper and Terry Southern, and has since been listed on the American Film Institute’s ranking of the top 100 American films. The establishment gave its official blessing in 1998 when Easy Rider was included in the United States National Film Registry for being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant”.
