This article was originally published on Lizanest.com
Meet Henry Fonda, aka “One-Take Fonda,” who always nailed his scenes in Hollywood. But there’s more to him than meets the eye. Sure, he had that smooth charm that could win over anyone, but he also had a dark side. His five wives and kids felt the sting of his cold and ruthless behavior. One marriage even ended in tragedy with a suicide. The Fonda family kept quiet about it all until after Henry passed away. Then, the truth came out…
The Ice-Cold Patriarch
To his kids, Henry Fonda wasn’t the ideal father—he was a stranger in their home. Jane Fonda recalled longing for his affection but receiving only silence. “I never knew if he loved me,” she once said. Conversations were sparse, eye contact was rare, and praise was nonexistent.
His emotional absence defined their childhood. He wasn’t cruel—just distant, as if life’s warmth didn’t reach him. And yet, millions saw him as America’s moral compass. Off screen, however, the man who embodied decency couldn’t look his daughter in the eye and say, “I’m proud of you.”