Ernest Borgnine

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Ernest Borgnine shows off his new Chief Petty Officer cover at the Navy Memorial in Washington, D.C on October 15, 2004

Ernest Borgnine (born January 24, 1917) is an Academy Award-winning American actor.

He was born Ernesto Charles Borgnine (although some sources indicate he was born Ermes Effron Borgnine) in Hamden, Connecticut to Charles Borgnino and Anna Boselli, immigrants from Modena, Italy. He joined the United States Navy after high school and stayed in for ten years.

After a few years of drifting, he attended the Randall School of Drama in Hartford, Connecticut. Following graduation, he went to the famous Barter Theatre in Abingdon, Virginia. In 1949, he debuted on Broadway in Harvey.

In 1951 he moved to Los Angeles, California, receiving his big break in 1953's From Here to Eternity, playing the cruel "Fatso" who taunted and killed "Maggio", played by Frank Sinatra. Off-screen, the men were good friends.

In 1955, Borgnine starred in the drama Marty, which gained him an Academy Award for Best Actor. He subsequently appeared in many films sometimes in lead roles but more often supporting major stars. He is the earliest (chronological) awardee of the Academy Award for Best Actor still alive.

From 1962 through 1966 he starred in the popular situation comedy television series McHale's Navy, and starred in the 1964 film version. Borgnine's later television work included a co-starring role (with Jan-Michael Vincent) as veteran helicopter pilot Dominic Santini in the action/espionage series Airwolf from 1984 to 1986.

Among his five wives were the late Ethel Merman (to whom he was wed for fewer than two months) and the late Mexican-born actress, Katy Jurado. He married Tova Traesnaes in 1972. Tova runs a hugely successful cosmetics company (TOVA) from Beverly Hills which Ernest helps her with in his spare time. His time spent with Merman wasn't apparently that great, as a chapter in her autobiography entitled "Ernest Borgnine" is comprised of one blank page.

For his contribution to the motion picture industry, Ernest Borgnine has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6324 Hollywood Blvd. In 1996, he was inducted into the Western Performers Hall of Fame at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

Since 1999, Borgnine's voice has appeared on the cartoon SpongeBob SquarePants as the elderly superhero Mermaid Man and has appeared on an episode of The Simpsons as himself. He has also recently appeared in television commercials.

He holds the 33rd degree of the Scottish Rite of Masonry and has long been active in the Craft. He is also a recipient of the Grand Cross, which is the highest honor for service to the Scottish Rite.

Trivia

• He was given the middle name Charles, after Charles Gerson, the doctor who delivered him.

• He is often referenced by the Marvel comic book character, Deadpool.

• He is referenced in Weird Al Yankovic's song That's Your Horrorscope for Today.

• Walter Matthau's character in Grumpier Old Men claims a neighboring female "looks like Ernest Borgnine."

• Borgnine, along with Tony Curtis, voiced opposition to the subject matter of the film Brokeback Mountain and vowed to not even watch it before voting for the Academy Award for Best Motion Picture of 2005.

• Supports the United States Republican Party.

Filmography

Ernest Borgnine shows off his new Chief Petty Officer cover at the Navy Memorial in Washington, D.C October 15, 2004

• China Corsair (1951)
• The Whistle at Eaton Falls (1951)
• The Mob (1951)
• From Here to Eternity (1953)
• The Stranger Wore a Gun (1953)
• Johnny Guitar (1954)
• Demetrius and the Gladiators (1954)
• The Bounty Hunter (1954)
• Vera Cruz (1954)
• Bad Day at Black Rock (1955)
• Marty (1955)
• Run for Cover (1955)
• Violent Saturday (1955)
• The Last Command (1955)
• The Square Jungle (1955)
• Jubal (1956)
• The Catered Affair (1956)
• The Best Things in Life Are Free (1956)
• These Brave Men (1956)
• The Vikings (1958)
• The Badlanders (1958)
• Torpedo Run (1958)
• Summer of the Seventeenth Doll (1959)
• The Rabbit Trap (1959)
• Man on a String (1960)
• Pay or Die (1960)
• Black City (1961)
• The Italian Brigands (1961)
• Go Naked in the World (1961)
• The Last Judgement (1961)
• Barabbas (1962)
• McHale's Navy (1964)
• The Flight of the Phoenix (1965)
• The Oscar (1966)
• The Dirty Dozen (1967)
• Chuka (1967)
• The Man Who Makes the Difference (1968) (short subject)
• The Legend of Lylah Clare (1968)
• Ice Station Zebra (1968)
• The Split (1968)
• The Wild Bunch (1969)
• A Bullet for Sandoval (1969)
• The Adventurers (1970)
• Suppose They Gave a War and Nobody Came? (1970)
• Murder in the Ring (1971)
• Rain for a Dusty Summer (1971)
• Willard (1971)
• Bunny O'Hare (1971)
• Hannie Caulder (1971)
• The World of Sport Fishing (1972) (documentary)
• Film Portrait (1972) (documentary)
• The Revengers (1972)
• The Poseidon Adventure (1972)

Lee Marvin and Ernest Borgnine in a climactic scene from the 1973 film Emperor of the North Pole.