Iconic Easy Rider Peter Fonda Passes

Peter Fonda passed away this weekend at age 79 from respiratory failure associated with his ongoing battle with lung cancer.

Fonda became an icon of the motorcycle industry after his role as Wyatt in the cult classic Easy Rider movie from 1969. He was inducted into the Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 2003, just three years after being awarded his own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. As an actor, Fonda was a mainstay of the early outlaw lifestyle films including Wild Angels; Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry; Race with the Devil_; and other cult classics like Love and a .45.

The reason he excelled in roles as the wandering spirit, the cerebral badass, and the champion of freedom was basically because he lived his life on his own terms. Which is the way we all want to live, and as a result it was a driving force behind his timeless popularity. He received an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay for his work as producer on Easy Rider.

Peter Henry Fonda was born in New York on February 23, 1940. He lived a charmed life as a member of the powerhouse Fonda family which includes his father, director, and actor, Henry Fonda; sister, actress, and human rights activist Jane Fonda; as well as his daughter Bridget.

In addition to influencing generations of young people to step outside their comfort zone, he also inspired many people to simply do what makes them happy. After all, we only live once. He enjoyed fast bikes, fast cars, and a free-wheeling lifestyle that his fans seemed to be enamored with throughout his career as both an actor and a director. He believed that freedom was our most important gift and conveyed it in his own approach to life.

His untimely passing comes just a month after the 50th anniversary of the release of Easy Rider and a month prior to the 50th anniversary screening of the movie and soundtrack that was scheduled to take place at Manhattan's Radio City Music Hall on September 20. If they continue to move forward with the event, it is safe to assume it will be a celebration of life in pure Easy Rider style.

Jane Fonda wrote this about her brother on her official Facebook page: “It’s hard for me to fully comprehend that my little brother—my co-conspirator, co-survivor, repository of family history—is gone. I feel so grateful that in the last weeks, days, hours we were reunited and experienced healing of the heart. The heart’s what mattered—his lungs may have taken him down but right up until he passed, his heart was flying free…as he would have wanted. Now, in his absence, I am able to conjure his beautiful, dear essence more vividly than ever and it lifts my own heart. Thank you, Peter.”