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Peter Fonda, star of ‘Easy Rider’ and scion of Hollywood royalty, dies at 79

Peter Fonda, a scion of Hollywood royalty who starred as a hippie biker in the 1960s generational marker “Easy Rider,” shunned stardom and emerged decades later to the finest review of his career for playing a reserved beekeeper with explosive depths in “Ulee’s Gold,” died Aug. 16 at his home in Los Angeles. He was 79.

A statement from his family said the cause was respiratory failure due to lung cancer.

Mr. Fonda grew up in the shadow of his father, Henry Fonda, and older sister, Jane Fonda, both of whom won Oscars for acting.

After struggling in school and family drama — his mother committed suicide — he embarked on an acting career that reached its zenith in 1969, when he starred in “Easy Rider,” which captured the counterculture epoch like few other films.

Along with co-stars Dennis Hopper and Jack Nicholson, Mr. Fonda — often wearing a Captain American helmet — rode a motorcycle throughout the West, a rebel in search of a cause.

It took almost 30 years for Mr. Fonda to return to stardom, when he starred in “Ulee’s Gold” (1997) about a beekeeping widower caring for his granddaughters. The role earned him an Oscar nomination.