The Beginning of His Decline
Even as he got older and not feeling too great, Henry kept on acting on Broadway, taking on some really tough roles. He was so good that in 1974, he got nominated for a really special award called the Tony Award for his amazing acting in a play. But then, in a really sad twist, in April that year, Henry collapsed on stage because he was so tired.
After getting surgery for prostate cancer, Henry had some heart problems called cardiac arrhythmia. He had to get a pacemaker put in to help his heart, which made him feel a bit better. But his career was going downhill fast. He tried to keep up his acting, playing Admiral Nimitz in 1976, but things weren’t going so well. And by the end of the ’70s, his fame took a huge hit when he played the President in a really bad disaster movie in 1979.