- Cliff Robertson, PT 109, 1963. The role was Lieutenant (jg) John F Kennedy. And JFK had the last word on who would play him.
- Bruce Dern, The Wild Angels, 1966. Promotion. Fonda took on the leading role of Black Jack (changed to Heavenly Blues by Peter), when George Chakiris refused to do his own motor-cycling. Dernsie took over Fonda’s Loser.
- Robert Vaughn, The Venetian Affair, 1967. Peter was still a Roger Corman biker, two years away from Easy Rider glory, when replaced by the rise and rise of TV’s top spy, The Man From UNCLE, 1964-1968.
- Dean Stockwell, The Dunwich Horror, 1969. “People seldom visit Dunwich,” said HP Lovecraft. “The town is ruined, decadent and its annals reek of overt viciousness, murder, crime and violent deed, un-nameable.” The film, not so much… David Carradine and Keir Dullea all managed to escape this being Wilbur in utter mess. Director Curtis Harrington was still pepping up the AIP script for Peter Fonda when “there was this commotion going on out front. We all went outside. AIP had loaned Fonda a Lincoln convertible. He’d left this car sitting there with the engine running, with a note stuck on the windshield that read: ‘You can take this car and The Dunwich Horror and shove them up your ass! Columbia has more guts than you’ll ever have!’ Columbia had just agreed to finance Easy Rider.”
- Ryan O’Neal, Love Story, 1970.
- Kris Kristofferson, Pat Garrett and Billy The Kid, 1972.
- Jack Nicholson, One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest, 1974.
- Robert De Niro, Taxi Driver, 1975
- David Carradine, Deathrace 2000, 1975. “Too ridiculous for words…” Producer Roger Corman had pre-sold the film and offered him a lot of money. No script, just drawings of cars. “I couldn’t do it as it was over the Christmas holidays I wanted to spend with my child.” Carradine jumped at it, “to do something right away that would create the image of a monster to get rid of the image of that little Chinese guy that I’d been playing for four years [on Kung Fu]. And, you know, it did kick-start my movie career.”
- Bradford Dillman, Piranha, 1978. After Peter Fonda refused the hero Paul Grogan. He was succeeded by Eric Braeden, until he left for another gig. Enter: Dillman in his first film for Roger Corman – “the best of the Jaws rip-offs,” said Steven Spielberg. (Dillman’s final cinema film was another Corman opus, Heroes Stand Alone, 1989).
- Dabney Colemnan, On Golden Pond, 1980. Jane Fonda bought the rights to film the Ernest Thompson play in order to finally win her Dad an acting Oscar. She also wanted both of his kids in the movie. She fitted fine – playing Henry Fonda’s daughter! But there was nothing for Peter to do. Well, he was suggested as Jane’s love interest. Nothing new. They had been kissing cousins in one episode of the Franco-Italian Spirits of the Deadin 1967 – the tale directed by Jane’s then- husband, Roger Vadim, of course. That was he 60s. Now the 80s were starting And the kids could ruin Pop’s Oscar bid. So Jane dropped Pete, called up Coleman from their previous gig, 9 to 5, and found a walk-on for her three-year-old son, Troy Garrity, who has since collected 48 other screen roles. What? Oh sure, Hank won the Osacr but was, alas, too ill to pick it up in person. He died in the summer of ’82.
- Peter Weller, RoboCop, 1986. The cop as a machine – “the future of law enforcement.” Blade Runner bred the idea. Actors galore came and went: Armand Assante, Tom Berenger, Dale Dye (Hollywood’s favourite military adviser on Vietnam war films),Peter Fonda (“Here I am!” “No, you’re not!”), Rutger Hauer, Lance Henriksen (when Weller complained about the suit), Michael Ironside (first choice), Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone. Most were too big for the suit, (seven of them), too bulky to fit into a police car! Every studio in town laughed at the concept. Even the short-tempered Dutch director Paul Verhoeven first thought it a dumb actioner. (Read it again, said his missus). Orion took a chance on it (and his Hollywood debut), ending up with two sequels, four more as movie-length TV series episodes, two cartoon shows, various comic books… and a $1bn-plus from toys and figurines alone. Ken Russell said it was the greatest science-fiction film since Metropolis in 1927. Ken was always over then top.
- John Mahoney, Say Anything…, 1989. This was the first time that writer-director Cameron Crowe heard about Fonda’s daughter, Bridget-future star of his second film, Singles, 1992.
- Michael Madsen, Hell Ride, 2007. Quentin Tarantino loved The Savage Seven, 1967, and told the star, Larry Bishop, that he was destined to make the best ever biker movie – Larry directing, QT producing. “Any film that gets Dennis Hopper back on a motorcycle can’t be all bad”,” said critic Keith Phillips. “But Hell Ridesure tries to be.” Despite Hopper’s participation (he looked more like Sam, Peckinpah), Fonda refused to join the party. “I’m done with biker movies.” And so reservoir hound Mr Blonde became The Gent.
- Ciaran Hinds, Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance, 2010. Fonda was the most important of three actors refusing to reprise their roles from the first film in 2005. Fonda decided after reading but five pages of the (senseless) scenario. About Nicolas Cage and The Devil, (No one could confirm if Fonda said: Hell, nol) Rolling Stone critic Peter Travers said the dishwater dull sequel to the hellishly bad original “will turn your whisper into a primal Cage scream: MAKE THIS MOVIE STOP!”
Tributes >>>>>>>>
“Peter Fonda was one of the oddest people I’ve ever met, and honestly, I think he’d be thrilled to know I remembered him that way. What a life” – Mara Wilson.
« Peter Fonda was a revolutionary filmmaker during a revolutionary time. Born in the house I now live in, his spirit will be missed.” – Rob Reiner.
“I am very sad. He was my sweet-hearted baby brother. The talker of the family. I have had beautiful alone time with him these last days. He went out laughing.” – Jane Fonda
Birth year: 1940Death year: 2019Other name: Casting Calls: 15