Birth Name: Ermes Effron Borgnino
Born: January 24, 1917
"Living"
Age 92
From movie "Marty"
TV Show "McHale's Navy"
Ernest Borgnine is an American actor. He won an Academy Award for Best Actor for the motion picture Marty. On television, he is known for playing the title character in the 1960s comedy series McHale's Navy. He earned an Emmy nomination at age 92 for his work on the series ER. August 2009 at age 92 he earned the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Rhode Island International Film Festival.
Naval career
Borgnine joined the United States Navy in 1935 after high school. He was discharged in 1941, but he re-enlisted when the United States entered World War II and served until 1945 (a total of ten years), reaching the rank of Gunner's Mate 1st Class. His military decorations included the American Campaign Medal, the Good Conduct Medal, the American Defense Service Medal with Fleet Clasp, and the World War II Victory Medal.
In 2004, Borgnine received the honorary rank of Chief Petty Officer from the Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy Terry D. Scott—the US Navy's highest ranking enlisted sailor at the time—for Borgnine's support of the Navy and naval families worldwide.
Character actor
As a young adult, Borgnine made his TV debut as a character actor in Captain Video and His Video Rangers, beginning in 1951. These two episodes led to countless other television roles that Borgnine would gain in Goodyear Television Playhouse, Short Short Dramas, The Ford Television Theatre, Waterfront, The Lone Wolf, Fireside Theatre, The O. Henry Playhouse, Frontier Justice, Laramie, The Blue Angels, Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre, Run for Your Life, Little House on the Prairie's Pt. 2 episode - "The Lord is My Shepherd", The Love Boat, Magnum, P.I., Highway To Heaven with old friend Michael Landon, Murder, She Wrote, Walker, Texas Ranger, Touched By An Angel and the final episodes of ER, among many more.
In 2009, at the age of 92, Borgnine earned an Emmy nomination for his performances in the final two episodes of the long-running NBC medical series ER.
Film career
After the war was over he returned to his parents' doorsteps, with no job and no direction. When he wasn't willing to settle for a dead end job at one of the factories, his mother would encourage him to pursue a more glamorous profession, and suggested that his personality would be suited for the stage. He surprised his mother by taking the suggestion to heart, although his father was far from being enthusiastic. Following graduation, he auditioned and was accepted to the Barter Theatre in Abingdon, Virginia, where audiences usually barter their vegetables. In 1947, he landed his first stage role in State of the Union. Although it was a short role, he won over the stage. His next role was as the Gentleman Caller in Tennessee Williams' The Glass Menagerie. In 1949, he debuted on Broadway in the role of a nurse in the play Harvey. More roles on stage led him to being a decades-long character actor.
In 1951, he moved to Los Angeles, California, where he received his big break in From Here to Eternity (1953), playing the cruel Sergeant "Fatso" Judson, in charge of the stockade, who taunts fellow soldier Angelo Maggio (played by Frank Sinatra).
Borgnine built a reputation as a dependable character actor and appeared in early film roles as villains, including Johnny Guitar, Vera Cruz and Bad Day at Black Rock. But in 1955, the actor starred as a warmhearted butcher in the film version of the television play Marty, which gained him an Academy Award for Best Actor (over From Here to Eternity co-star Frank Sinatra and former Best Actors Spencer Tracy and James Cagney).
Because of Borgnine's longevity, Marty currently stands as the oldest film with a Best Actor performance from someone still alive. With the passing of Charlton Heston on April 5, 2008, Borgnine is the only living actor who has won Best Actor for performances given prior to 1960 (by comparison, there are five living pre-1960 Best Actress recipients).
Borgnine's film career continued successfully through the 1960s and 1970s, including The Vikings, The Flight of the Phoenix, The Dirty Dozen, Ice Station Zebra, The Poseidon Adventure and The Black Hole. One of his most famous roles became that of Dutch, a member of The Wild Bunch in that 1969 Western classic from director Sam Peckinpah.
Television roles
McHale's Navy
In 1962, Borgnine joined the ranks of other sitcom stars such as John Forsythe, Andy Griffith, Danny Thomas, Alan Young, Fred MacMurray, and newcomer Buddy Ebsen. The same year, he signed a contract with Universal Studios for the lead role as the gruff but lovable skipper Lieutenant Commander Quinton McHale in what began as a serious one-hour 1962 episode called Seven Against the Sea for Alcoa Premiere. Just like the McHale character, Borgnine was a longtime navy man in real-life. This World War II sitcom also starred two hitherto-unfamiliar comedians/actors, the late Joe Flynn as Capt. Wallace B. Binghamton and Tim Conway as Ensign Charles Parker. Both of them got along very well with Borgnine, especially Conway, who "got hugged by Ernie" off the set. The insubordinate crew of PT-73 helped the show became an overnight success during its first season, although it did not land in the Top 30 until 1963, when it tied with Hazel in the ratings. Borgnine thrived on the adulation from fans for their favorite Navy man. He received an Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series in 1963. At the end of the fourth season in 1966 low ratings and repetitive story lines brought McHale's Navy to an end. Borgnine was very displeased about the show’s cancellation and was concerned about what television role he would then play. He starred in the 1964 film version of the series and appeared in a cameo performance in the 1997 remake.
Film
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)
Three 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 (1961)
McHale's Navy (1964)
The Flight of the Phoenix (1965)
The Oscar (1966)
McHale's Navy Joins the Air Force
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)
Emperor of the North Pole (1973)
The Neptune Factor (1973)
Law and Disorder (1974)
Vegeance Is Mine (1974)
The Devil's Rain (1975)
Hustle (1975 film) (1975)
Shoot (1976)
The Greatest (1977)
Crossed Swords (1978)
Convoy (1978)
Ravagers (1979)
The Double McGuffin (1979)
The Black Hole (1979)
When Time Ran Out (1980)
Super Fuzz (1980)
Escape from New York (1981)
Deadly Blessing (1981)
Young Warriors (1983)
Code Name: Wild Geese (1984)
The Manhunt (1985)
Skeleton Coast (1987)
Isola del tesoro (1987) (treasure island)
The Opponent (1987)
The Big Turnaround (1988)
Moving Target (1988)
Any Man's Death (1988)
Spike of Bensonhurst (1988)
Dirty Dozen: Fatal Mission (1988)
Real Men Don't Eat Gummi Bears (1989)
The Last Match (1990)
Tides of War (1990)
Laser Mission (1990)
Mistress (1992) (Cameo)
The Outlaws: Legend of O.B. Taggart (1994)
Captiva Island (1995)
The Wild Bunch: An Album in Montage (1996) (documentary)
Merlin's Shop of Mystical Wonders (1996)
All Dogs Go to Heaven 2 (1996) (voice)
Ernest Borgnine On the Bus (1997)
McHale's Navy (1997) (He did not play the lead role for Quinton McHale)
Gattaca (1997)
12 Bucks (1998)
Small Soldiers (1998) (voice)
BASEketball (1998)
Mel (1998)
The Last Great Ride (1999)
Abilene (1999)
The Lost Treasure of Sawtooth Island (1999)
The Kiss of Debt (2000)
Castlerock (2000)
Hoover (2000) (also executive producer)
Whiplash (2002)
11'9"September 1xx11 (2002)
Rail Kings (2002)
Barn Red (2003)
The American Hobo (2003) (documentary) (narrator)
The Long Ride Home (2003)
Blueberry (2004)
3 Below (2005)
Rail Kings (2005)
Chinaman's Chance (2006)
Cura del gorilla, La (2006)
Frozen Stupid (2006)
Strange Wilderness (2008)
Another Harvest Moon (2008)
Television
The Blue Angels in episode "The Blue Leaders" (1961)
McHale's Navy (1962–1966)
Sam Hill: Who Killed Mr. Foster? (1971)
The Trackers (1971)
Legend in Granite (1973)
Twice in a Lifetime (1974)
Holiday Hookers (1976)
Future Cop (1976) (pilot for series)
Jesus of Nazareth (1977) (miniseries)
Fire! (1977)
Future Cop (1977) (canceled after 7 episodes)
Little House on the Prairie ("The Lord is my Shepherd" episode)
The Ghost of Flight 401 (1978)
Cops and Robin (1978)
All Quiet on the Western Front (1979)
High Risk (1981)
Magnum, P.I. in "Mr. White Death" (Season 3-Episode 49) (1982)
Blood Feud (1983)
Carpool (1983)
Masquerade (1983) (pilot for series)
Love Leads the Way: A True Story (1984)
The Last Days of Pompeii (1984) (miniseries)
Airwolf (1984–1986)
The Dirty Dozen: The Next Mission (1985)
Alice in Wonderland (1985)
Space Island (1987) (miniseries)
The Dirty Dozen: The Deadly Mission (1987)
The Dirty Dozen: The Fatal Mission (1988)
Ocean (1989) (miniseries)
Jake Spanner, Private Eye (1989)
Appearances (1990)
Home Improvement (1991)
Mountain of Diamonds (1991)
Tierarztin Christine (1993)
Hunt for the Blue Diamond (1993)
The Simpsons - Boy-Scoutz n the Hood (voice) (1993)
Tierarztin Christine II: The Temptation (1995)
The Single Guy (1995-1997)
JAG in "Yesterday's Heroes" of Season 3 (1998)
All Dogs Go to Heaven: The Series (1996–1999) (voice, Carface)
SpongeBob SquarePants (voice, Mermaid Man) (1999–present)
7th Heaven (2002)
The Blue Light (2004)
The Trail to Hope Rose (2004)
A Grandpa for Christmas (2007)
Aces 'n Eights (2008)
ER (2009)
