On Golden Pond
original movie poster
Directed by	Mark Rydell
Produced by	Bruce Gilbert
Written by	Ernest Thompson
Starring	Katharine Hepburn Henry Fonda Jane Fonda
Music by	Dave Grusin
Distributed by	Universal Pictures
Release date(s)	December 4, 1981 (USA-limited dates)
Running time	109 min.
Language	English
IMDb profile

On Golden Pond (1981) was a successful Broadway play written by playwright Ernest Thompson which was turned into a successful and popular movie starring Katharine Hepburn and Henry Fonda. The film tells the story of a summer spent by an aging couple at their summer home on Golden Pond, where they are visited by their daughter and her new husband and his son. Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (504x755, 57 KB)original movie poster source: www. ... Mark Rydell (born March 23, 1934 in New York City) is an American film director and producer. ... Bruce Clifford Gilbert (born on 18 May 1946 in Watford, Hertfordshire is an English Musician) Gilbert was the guitarist of punk band Wire (band), which began in 1976. ... Ernest Thompson, (born November 6, 1949), in Bellows Falls, Vermont, is an American Playwright and actor. ... Katharine Houghton Hepburn (May 12, 1907 – June 29, 2003) was an iconic four-time Academy Award-winning American star of film, television and stage, widely recognized for her sharp wit, New England gentility and fierce independence. ... Henry Fonda in the classic 1957 film 12 Angry Men. ... Jane Seymour Fonda (born December 21, 1937) is an American actress, writer, political activist, former fashion model, and fitness guru. ... David Grusin (born June 26, 1934 in Littleton, Colorado) is a jazz pianist, composer, and arranger whose works in films and TV have garnered him numerous awards. ... Universal Studios Theme Parks. ... December 4 is the 338th day (339th on leap years) of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1981 (MCMLXXXI) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... 1981 (MCMLXXXI) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Broadway theatre[1] is often considered the highest professional form of theatre in the United States. ... Ernest Thompson, (born November 6, 1949), in Bellows Falls, Vermont, is an American Playwright and actor. ... Katharine Houghton Hepburn (May 12, 1907 – June 29, 2003) was an iconic four-time Academy Award-winning American star of film, television and stage, widely recognized for her sharp wit, New England gentility and fierce independence. ... Henry Fonda in the classic 1957 film 12 Angry Men. ...

Original Broadway production

The play opened on February 28, 1979, at the New Apollo Theatre with Tom Aldredge and Frances Sternhagen, and was co-produced by the actress Greer Garson. It was originally produced, Off-Broadway, by the Hudson Guild Theatre company and ran for 126 performances. Sternhagen was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play. The production re-opened at the Century Theatre a few months after the run closed at the New Apollo, with the same cast. ... Born January 13, 1930, and raised in Washington, D.C., Frances Sternhagen taught acting, singing and dancing to school children before first performing herself with the Arena Stage Group. ... Eileen Evelyn Greer Garson (September 29, 1904 – April 6, 1996) was an Academy Award-winning actress, most known for being the leading lady in many pictures co-starring Walter Pidgeon. ... Off-Broadway plays or musicals are performed in New York City in smaller theatres than Broadway, but larger than Off-Off-Broadway, productions. ... What is popularly called the Tony Award (formally, the Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre) is an annual award celebrating achievements in live American theater, including musical theater, primarily honoring productions on Broadway in New York. ... The Century Theatre, originally known as the New Theatre, was a playhouse, New Yorks most spectacularly unsuccessful theater (WPA Guide). ...

Film adaptation

Jane Fonda purchased the rights to the play. Like in the play, the couple is visited by their daughter who attempts to close the age-old gap between herself and her father (Jane and Henry's actual real-life situation). Produced by the British ITC Entertainment production company, it starred Katharine Hepburn (Ethel), Henry Fonda (Norman), Jane Fonda (their daughter Chelsea), Doug McKeon (their step-grandson Billy Ray) and Dabney Coleman. Jane Seymour Fonda (born December 21, 1937) is an American actress, writer, political activist, former fashion model, and fitness guru. ... -1... Katharine Houghton Hepburn (May 12, 1907 – June 29, 2003) was an iconic four-time Academy Award-winning American star of film, television and stage, widely recognized for her sharp wit, New England gentility and fierce independence. ... Henry Fonda in the classic 1957 film 12 Angry Men. ... Jane Seymour Fonda (born December 21, 1937) is an American actress, writer, political activist, former fashion model, and fitness guru. ... Dabney Coleman Dabney Wharton Coleman (born January 3, 1932) is an American actor. ...

The movie was adapted by Ernest Thompson from his stage play and was directed by Mark Rydell. The movie was released at the same time that Thompson's new play, The West Side Waltz, also starring Hepburn, was being produced on Broadway. Thompson received an Academy Award in 1981 for his work. Ernest Thompson, (born November 6, 1949), in Bellows Falls, Vermont, is an American Playwright and actor. ... Mark Rydell (born March 23, 1934 in New York City) is an American film director and producer. ... The West Side Waltz was a Broadway play starring Katherine Hepburn written by the playwright Ernest Thompson. ... Academy Award The Academy Awards, popularly known as the Oscars, are the most prominent film awards in the United States and most watched awards ceremony in the world. ...

It won Academy Awards for Best Actor in a Leading Role (Henry Fonda), Best Actress in a Leading Role (Katharine Hepburn) and Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium. It was nominated for Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Jane Fonda), Best Cinematography, Best Director, Best Film Editing, Best Music, Original Score, Best Picture and Best Sound. Academy Award The Academy Awards, popularly known as the Oscars, are the most prominent film awards in the United States and most watched awards ceremony in the world. ... The Academy Award for Best Actor is one of the awards given to people working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences; nominations are made by Academy members who are actors and actresses. ... The Academy Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role is one of the awards given to people working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences; nominations are made by Academy members who are actors and actresses. ... The Academy Award for Writing Adapted Screenplay is one of the Academy Awards, the most prominent film awards in the United States. ... The Academy Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role is one of the awards given to people working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences; nominations are made by Academy members who are actors and actresses. ... The Academy Award for Best Cinematography is awarded each year to a cinematographer for his work in one particular motion picture. ... The Academy Award for Directing is an accolade given to the person that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences feels was best director of the past year. ... The Academy Award for Film Editing was first given for films issued in 1934. ... From Rule Sixteen of the Special Rules for The Music Awards Original Score: An original score is a substantial body of music in the form of dramatic underscoring written specifically for the film by the submitting composer. ... // The Academy Award for Best Motion Picture is one of the Academy Awards, awards given to people working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which are voted on by others within the industry. ... The Academy Award for Sound Mixing is an Academy Award that recognizes the finest or most aesthetic sound mixing or recording, and is generally awarded to the production sound mixers and re-recording mixers of the winning film. ...

It was a record-setting fourth win for Hepburn, and a first Best Actor Oscar for Henry Fonda, who had received an Honorary Oscar the year before. He was too ill to attend the ceremonies, so Jane accepted the award on his behalf. Henry Fonda would die just five months later.

The movie was one of the highest grossing films of the year.

Despite their many common acquaintances and long careers in show business, Henry Fonda and Hepburn had not only never worked together, but had never even met each other until working on the film. On the first day of shooting, Hepburn presented Henry Fonda with her longtime companion Spencer Tracy's "lucky" hat, which Fonda wore in the film. Spencer Tracy (left) in 1960s Inherit the Wind with Fredric March. ...

Thompson spent his summers along the shores of Great Pond, located in Belgrade, Maine, but the film was made on Squam Lake, in central New Hampshire. Belgrade is a town located in Kennebec County, Maine. ... It is a lake located in New Hampshire right outside of Holderness. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ...

Fonda & Hepburn , On Golden Pond

The house used in the film was leased from a New Hampshire physician and was modified significantly for the shoot. The production company was contractually obligated to return the house to its original state after the film wrapped. An entire second floor was added as a balcony over the main living area was requested by the production designer. After the shoot the owner liked the rennovations so much that he elected to keep the house that way and asked the crew not to dismantle the second story. A gazebo and a small boathouse were also relocated during the shoot. Ms. Hepburn did all of her own stunts, including the swimming, for the duration of the shoot. The scene in which Norman (Henry Fonda) and Billy (Doug McKeon) run their boat, the Thayer IV, into the rocks was done repeatedly. The vintage wooden Chris-Craft boats were so sturdy that they kept bouncing off the rocks without any damage. The crew had to modify the boats so they would break away in the wreck. The water level in Squam Lake was so low during the summer of production that Fonda and McKeon could have stood during the scene in which they were supposedly clinging to the rocks for fear of drowning. The September water was barely knee deep, but it was cold enough that the pair had to wear wetsuits under their clothes. Katharine, on the other hand, dove into the water without the aid of the wetsuit. She wanted the scene to keep its authenticity. Scenes in which Billy takes the boat out on his own were filmed on nearby Lake Winnipesaukee. Image File history File links HepburnGoldenPond. ... Image File history File links HepburnGoldenPond. ... Lake Winnipesaukee at Sunset The largest lake in New Hampshire, Lake Winnipesaukee is the sixth largest natural lake lying within the United States. ...

When visiting Holderness NH, one can take a boat tour of Squam Lake and view the filming sites from the movie. There is also a restaurant called "Walter's Basin", which is named after the trout called "Walter" that Billy catches with Norman. For filming, "Walter" was brought in from a nearby trout pond called "Castle in the Clouds". He was released after his capture back into Squam Lake. It is a lake located in New Hampshire right outside of Holderness. ...

Recent adaptation

In 2001, CBS aired a live television adaptation of On Golden Pond, which was heavily publicized in the press, mainly due to the reunion of former Sound of Music stars Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer. It also starred Glenne Headly. 2001: A Space Odyssey. ... It has been suggested that CBS evening news anchors be merged into this article or section. ... The Sound of Music is a Broadway musical and film based on the book The Story of the Trapp Family Singers by Maria von Trapp. ... Julie Andrews as Maria, with the Von Trapp children in The Sound Of Music. ... Christopher Plummer photographed by Carl Van Vechten, 1959 Christopher Plummer, CC (born Arthur Christopher Orme Plummer on December 13, 1927), is a Canadian theatrical, film and television actor. ... Glenne Headly (born on 13 March 1955 in New London, Connecticut, USA) is an American actress. ...

Broadway revival

In 2005, a new Broadway production starred James Earl Jones and Leslie Uggams. It opened on April 7, 2005, at the Cort Theatre. Though it received great notices for Uggams and Jones, the latter receiving a Tony Award nomination for Best Actor in a Play, it struggled to find an audience and closed a few months later, in June, after 93 performances. Jones, who was often ill during the production, was diagnosed with pneumonia forcing the production to a sudden close. The production received a Tony Award nomination for Best Revival of a Play. James Earl Jones (born January 17, 1931 in Arkabutla Township, Mississippi in Tate County) is among Americas best known African American film and stage actors. ... Leslie Uggams (born May 25, 1943 in New York City) is an African American actress and singer, best known for her Tony Award-winning work in Hallelujah, Baby! Uggams first started in show business in 1950, playing the niece of Ethel Waters on the television series Beulah. ... The Cort Theatre is a Broadway theatre. ... What is popularly called the Tony Award (formally, the Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre) is an annual award celebrating achievements in live American theater, including musical theater, primarily honoring productions on Broadway in New York. ... What is popularly called the Tony Award (formally, the Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre) is an annual award celebrating achievements in live American theater, including musical theater, primarily honoring productions on Broadway in New York. ...