The wholesome TV star who tried to buy weed from Henry Fonda
Henry Fonda wasn't known as a hard-partying hell-raiser like many of his contemporaries, leaving him rather bemused by the request.
(Credits: Far Out / Alamy)
Film » Cutting Room Floor
Mon 20 January 2025 15:45, UK
Every bit as stoic and steadfast as many of the characters he memorably brought to the screen, Henry Fonda wasnât an actor associated with the hard-partying, booze-soaked, drug-addled, and generally excessive lifestyle enjoyed by many of his âGolden Ageâ Hollywood peers.
Thatâs not to say he was a saint, though, with the legendary actor a well-known womaniser and ladiesâ man who was married five times and regularly found himself in the headlines whenever one of his marriages would dissolve before he inevitably tied the know once again very soon after.
He enjoyed an alcoholic beverage as much as the next guy and smoked cigarettes, but anything harder or more illicit wasnât really his bag. The same canât be said of his family, something Fonda acknowledged when he was cornered by the wholesome star of a popular TV series and asked if he had any weed.
Whereas Henry epitomised the âGolden Ageâ with his powerful performances and reputation among his contemporaries for being one of his generationâs finest talents, his son Peter was âNew Hollywoodâ all over. Instrumental in the success of the counterculture classic Easy Rider, the second-generation performer was part of the filmâs unholy trinity alongside Dennis Hopper and Jack Nicholson, three fast-rising stars who revelled in the debauchery of the time.
Charlotte Stewart definitely didnât fall into that category, having spent four seasons playing schoolteacher Eva Beadle Simms on Little House on the Prairie, the quaint rural historical drama. It was hardly a project anyone would associate with the hedonism of 1970s Hollywood, even if the actor was a regular presence at parties around town. On one occasion, she made the faux pas of asking her Cheyenne Social Club co-star if he happened to have any pre-rolled herbal remedies to hand, which he did not.
âOh, god! I donât know why I did that,â she recalled to Pop Culture Classics. âI thought maybe it would be a hip thing to do. âHey, Henryâ. Although I didnât call him Henry. I called him Mr Fonda. I said, âCan I speak to you for a minute?â He said, âSureâ. So we stepped outside for a minute, and I said, âDo you have a joint?'â
Taken aback by her request, the Academy Award-winning icon hit the nail on the head with his response: âHe said, âYou have the wrong Fonda.'â Everyone in Tinseltown knew that if there was a member of the family guaranteed to be carrying some form of narcotic on them at any given moment, it wasnât going to be Henry or even Jane.
Realising sheâd made a terrible mistake and embarrassed herself in front of one of the most respected figures in the business, Stewart realised immediately, pun potentially intended, âWhat a dope I had made of myself.â Confessing that asking Henry Fonda for a joint was âquite a rude thing to do,â it remains unknown if Peter happened to be at the same party. If he was, she probably got the chance to blaze one eventually.
Related Topics
Henry Fonda