79-year-old American actor Peter Fonda died in Los Angeles on Friday, August 16, from lung cancer. He is known for his cult roles Easy Rider and Ghost Rider and will star in The Last Full Measure, scheduled for release in late October in the United States.

American actor Peter Fonda, made famous by his role as a biker in the cult film Easy Rider (1969), which he co-wrote, died Friday, August 16, the morning, at his home in Los Angeles at the age 79, announced his entourage.

Son of Hollywood legend Henry Fonda, Jane Fonda's little brother and father of Bridget Fonda, Peter Fonda died of respiratory arrest caused by lung cancer, his publicist said in a statement.

"While we mourn the loss of this sweet and graceful man, we also wish to celebrate his indomitable spirit and his love of life.In honor of Peter, toast to freedom please," concludes the communiqué signed by his family.

"He left with a laugh"

"I'm very sad, it was my kind little brother, the family talker, I had wonderful moments alone with him these past few days, he left with a laugh," Jane Fonda said in a statement. to AFP.

Easy Rider , written by Peter Fonda, Dennis Hopper, and Terry Southern, interpreted by the first two and directed by Hopper, is one of the standard movies of the American counterculture of the sixties. It evokes the quest for freedom through a motorcycle odyssey in the great outdoors of the American Southwest.

The image of Peter Fonda with his legs extended on his Harley-Davidson chopper painted in the colors of the American flag is emblematic of the cinema of that time. A copy of this bike had sold at auction $ 1.35 million in 2014.

To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the release of the film (July 14, 1969), Peter Fonda had organized a screening in New York on September 20, with musicians to perform the famous rock soundtrack of the film, including the unforgettable Born to Be Wild from Steppenwolf.

A Golden Globe for the Gold of Life

In 1998, Peter Fonda competed in the Oscars for his role in Victor Nuñez's film The Gold of Life , which ultimately earned him a Golden Globe.

More recently, Peter Fonda had played Mephistopheles in Ghost Rider (2007). His latest film, The Last Full Measure , starring Samuel L. Jackson, Morgan Freeman and Laurence Fishburne, is due out in late October in the United States.

An environmental activist from the beginning, the actor made a splash at the Cannes Film Festival in 2011 when he called US President Barack Obama a "fucking traitor" by blaming him for managing a tide. black in the Gulf of Mexico caused by the sinking of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig.