Actor and director Peter Fonda, who stepped out of his legendary Hollywood father's shadow to become a counterculture icon with his role in "Easy Rider," has died. He was 79.

Fonda died of respiratory failure due to lung cancer at his Los Angeles home, his family said in a statement Friday.

“It is with deep sorrow that we share the news that Peter Fonda has passed away,” the family 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 the son of actor Henry Fonda and the brother of actress and activist Jane Fonda, he was a member of the Hollywood powerhouse family. His daughter is actress Bridget Fonda.

In a statement, Jane Fonda said she spent her younger brother’s final days with him.

“I am very sad. He was my sweet-hearted baby brother. The talker of the family. I have had beautiful alone time with him these last days. He went out laughing,” she said.

Fonda broke out as a star with his turn in the 1969 blockbuster “Easy Rider,” which marked its 50th anniversary this year. The film also starred Jack Nicholson and Dennis Hopper.