One of the true powerhouses of acting Peter Fonda has passed away at the age of 79.

An award winning actor, writer and director, Fonda passed away after a short struggle with cancer on August 16th 2019. The son of Hollywood great Henry Fonda and sister of actress Jane Fonda, Peter had been acting almost constantly since the late 1950s and starred in over a hundred movies and television shows in a career that spanned seven decades.

He appeared genre movies such as Escape from LA and Marvels Ghost Rider movie opposite Nicholas Cage, in which he played Mephistophilis one of the big bads of the Marvel comics and was often cast as the bad guy or antagonist in the majority of his performances.

However he is perhaps best know for his performance as Wyatt in the cult seminal movie Easy Rider, which he also co wrote with fellow star and the movies director Dennis Hopper. Often imitated over the years, Easy Rider was an instant cult hit and gained much critical praise and was the real launch pad for Jack Nicholson’s career.

Fonda was part of one of Hollywood’s royal families with his daughter Bridget also being a renowned actress.

Fonda was often seen wearing a pair of sunglasses and several years ago he did a photo shoot for a book about Elvis Presley and was lent a pair of the singers sunglasses by his widow Priscilla Presley.  Here is what he had to say.

“What a strange and wonderful moment it was to wear Elvis’s sunglasses. In the early sixties, I used to play touch football with Elvis and his “gang” in a little park right at the junction of Beverly Drive and Coldwater Canyon, in LA. Elvis wore a helmet and face guard. He didn’t need to (though I totally understand why he did), as there was no chance that any of us would hurt that beautiful face. We all loved El, and we sure as hell didn’t want to mess with his boys. “

Strangely enough Peter Fonda passed away on August 16th the same day as Elvis the King of Rock and Roll!