Peter Fonda

Forever imprinted in the public's mind as the counterculture icon Captain America in Easy Rider, Peter Fonda was born Feb. 23, 1940, in New York City, the son of acting legend Henry Fonda and brother of actress Jane Fonda. Although the 1969 film netted Fonda an Oscar nod for Best Original Screenplay, it also limited the way the public viewed him.

Before becoming Captain America, however, Fonda had already begun to cement his rebel image in The Wild Angels (1966), which cast him as the leader of a motorcycle gang, and 1967's The Trip, a movie about LSD's healing powers (featuring a script by Jack Nicholson).

With the exception of Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry (1974), Fonda's career hit a lull in the 1970s and '80s. But in the '90s he rebounded with films such as Ulee's Gold (1997) -- which earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor -- and 1999's The Limey.

Easy Rider

1969 R

With cash from a cocaine sale, two freewheeling hippies hop on their motorcycles and ride across America toward New Orleans, clashing with rednecks and picking up a boozy lawyer along the way in this counterculture classic.