Peter Fonda: Easy Rider star dies aged 79

'While we mourn the loss of this sweet and gracious man, we also wish for all to celebrate his indomitable spirit and love of life'

Hollywood star Peter Fonda has died aged 79 after respiratory failure from lung cancer, his family have said.

The actor, who is best known for his starring role as Wyatt in 1969’s counterculture classic Easy Rider, passed away peacefully at his home in Los Angeles, they said in a statement to People magazine.

“The official cause of death was respiratory failure due to lung cancer,” they said. “In one of the saddest moments of our lives, we are not able to find the appropriate words to express the pain in our hearts. As we grieve, we ask that you respect our privacy. And, while we mourn the loss of this sweet and gracious man, we also wish for all to celebrate his indomitable spirit and love of life.

“In honour of Peter, please raise a glass to freedom.”

Fonda was best known for his role in Easy Rider, which celebrated its 50th anniversary last month.

The script about two weed-smoking, drug-slinging bikers on a trip through the southwest and Deep South, also starred Dennis Hopper and Jack Nicholson in a breakout role

Fonda’s character Wyatt wore a stars-and-stripes helmet and rode a motorcycle called “Captain America,” re-purposing traditional images for the counter-culture.

Directed by Hopper and produced by Fonda for a $380,000, it would go on to gross $40m worldwide.

It would also earn Fonda a nomination for the Best Original Screenplay Oscar.

It has since been listed on the American Film Institute’s ranking of the top 100 American films and in 1998 it was included in the United States National Film Registry for being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant”.

Fonda was reportedly planning a concert and screening of the film in September.

The son of Henry Fonda and younger brother of Jane Fonda, he was nominated for the Best Actor Oscar in 1997 for his portrayal of a beekeeper in Ulee’s Gold. Although he did not win the Academy Award, he did win a Golden Globe for the role.

Three years later, he was awarded a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor, for his role in The Passion of Ayn Rand.

Paying tribute to her “sweet-hearted baby brother,” Jane Fonda said he was “the talker of the family”.

She added: “I have had beautiful alone time with him these last days. He went out laughing.”

Married three times, Fonda’s most-recent wife was Margaret DeVogelaere.