Jane Fonda, the actress-activist daughter of John Steinbeck’s friend, the actor Henry Fonda, will receive the 2023 John Steinbeck “In the Souls of the People” Award on September 13 at San Francisco’s Herbst Theatre. The award is made annually by the Martha Heasley Cox Center for Steinbeck Studies at San Jose State University. Previous awardees include Bruce Springsteen, Arthur Miller, and Joan Baez. In a January 27 post—“Even John Steinbeck Thought Henry Fonda Was The Perfect Pick For Grapes Of Wrath”—film writer Jeremy Smith celebrates the performance that helped make Henry Fonda famous, and John Steinbeck’s friend.
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A friend, Douglas Reid, who was involved in Hollywood in the 1970s and `80s as an agent, told me once about meeting Henry Fonda, I think it was during the filming in 1971 of a charming commercial with Fonda, which I attach. Doug was also doing some acting at the time and was preparing a scene from a pretty good novel for a little theater reading. Doug asked Fonda if he had any tips about how to play a particular character. “What’s the script? Who’s the character?” Fonda asked, getting down to business. “I was really nervous about mentioning that,” said Doug, “but I did anyway – `It’s Tom Joad in `Grapes of Wrath.’ Well, his face just lit up, and he was happy as could be giving me tips.” Fonda would probably be happy, too, that his daughter is being honored in this way. The commercial _
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dCbjlvacFmY