
Ernest Borgnine was born Ermes Effron Borgnino on January 24, 1917 in Hamden, Connecticut. His parents were Charles who had emigrated from Ottiglio (AL), Italy and Anna who had emigrated from Carpi (MO), Italy. As an only child, Ernest enjoyed most sports, especially boxing, but took no real interest in acting. At age 18, after graduating from high school in New Haven, and undecided about his future career, he joined the United States Navy, where he stayed for ten years until leaving in 1945. After a few factory jobs, his mother suggested that his forceful personality could make him suitable for a career in acting, and Borgnine promptly enrolled at the Randall School of Drama in Hartford. After completing the course, he joined Robert Porterfield's famous Barter Theatre in Abingdon, Virginia, staying there for four years, undertaking odd jobs and playing every type of role imaginable. His big break came in 1949, when he made his acting debut on Broadway playing a male nurse in "Harvey". In 1951, Borgnine moved to Los Angeles to pursue a movie career, and made his film debut as Bill Street in The Whistle at Eaton Falls (1951). His career took off in 1953 when he was cast in the role of Sergeant "Fatso" Judson in From Here to Eternity (1953). This memorable performance led to numerous supporting roles as "heavies" in a steady string of dramas and westerns. He played against type in 1955 by securing the lead role of Marty Piletti, a shy and sensitive butcher, in Marty (1955). He won an Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance, despite strong competition from Spencer Tracy, Frank Sinatra, James Dean and James Cagney. Throughout the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, Borgnine performed memorably in such films as The Catered Affair (1956), Ice Station Zebra (1968) and Emperor of the North (1973). Between 1962 and 1966, he played Lt. Commander Quinton McHale in the popular television series McHale's Navy (1962). In early 1984, he returned to television as Dominic Santini in the action series Airwolf (1984) co-starring Jan-Michael Vincent, and in 1995, he was cast in the comedy series The Single Guy (1995) as doorman Manny Cordoba. He also appeared in several made-for-TV movies. Ernest Borgnine passed away aged 95 on July 8, 2012, at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, California, of renal failure. He is survived by his wife Tova, their children and his younger sister Evelyn.
Serial | 하트웨이 | Big Frank Baum | 2021-12-27 |
Film | Jag är Ingrid | Self (archive footage) | 2015-08-27 |
Film | The Man Who Shook the Hand of Vicente Fernandez | Rex Page | 2012-04-27 |
Film | The Lion of Judah | Slink (voice) | 2011-06-03 |
Film | Night Club | Albert | 2011-04-11 |
Film | Red | Henry, The Records Keeper | 2010-10-13 |
Film | Podzimní úplněk | Frank | 2010-10-06 |
Serial | Alyna | Carl Taylor | 2010-09-20 |
Film | The Wishing Well | Big Jim | 2010-01-09 |
Film | The Ultimate SpongeBob SpongeBash | Mermaidman | 2009-07-17 |
Film | Oliviero Rising | Bill | 2009-02-10 |
Film | Skandály ze života zvířat | Milas | 2008-02-01 |
Film | Red and White: Gone with the West | Himself / Narrator | 2008-02-01 |
Film | Mr. Warmth: The Don Rickles Project | Self | 2007-10-13 |
Film | La cura del gorilla | Jerry | 2006-02-02 |
Serial | 功名が辻 | Bart Lonergan | 2006-01-08 |
Film | 3 Below | Grandpa | 2005-01-10 |
Film | Passion & Poetry: The Ballad of Sam Peckinpah | Self | 2005-01-01 |
Film | Sam Peckinpah's West: Legacy of a Hollywood Renegade | Self (archive footage) | 2004-07-25 |
Film | Blueberry | Rolling Star | 2004-02-09 |
Film | The Trail to Hope Rose | Eugene | 2004-01-01 |
Film | Barn Red | Michael Bolini | 2004-01-01 |
Film | The Long Ride Home | Lucas Moat | 2003-03-27 |
Film | Spongebob SquarePants: Deep Sea Sillies | Mermaid Man | 2003-01-28 |
Film | 11'09''01 September 11 | Old Man (segment "USA") | 2002-09-04 |
Film | The Kiss Of Debt | Godfather Mariano | 2000-01-01 |
Film | The Lost Treasure of Sawtooth Island | Ben Quinn | 1999-12-01 |
Film | The Last Great Ride | Franklin Lyle | 1999-01-01 |
Film | Povodeň | Quinton McHale | 1998-01-16 |
Film | Malí válečníci | Kip Killagin (voice) | 1998-07-10 |
Film | Pivní bratři | Ted Denslow | 1998-07-28 |
Film | Charlie 3: Všichni pejskové slaví Vánoce | Carface (voice) | 1998-11-17 |
Serial | The Single Guy | Manny Cordoba | 1995-09-21 |
Film | La Classe américaine | Ernest (archive footage) | 1993-12-31 |
Film | Tierärztin Christine | Dr. Gustav Gruber | 1993-11-21 |
Film | Mistress | Himself | 1992-07-24 |
Serial | MGM: When the Lion Roars | 1992-03-22 | |
Film | The Last Match | Coach | 1990-02-01 |
Film | Laser Mission | Prof. Braun | 1989-11-01 |
Film | Gummibärchen küßt man nicht | Bischof | 1989-08-17 |
Film | Spike of Bensonhurst | Baldo Cacetti | 1988-11-11 |
Serial | L'isola del tesoro | Billy Bones | 1987-11-19 |
Film | Tucet špinavců III: Smrtelná mise | Gen. Sam Worden | 1987-03-01 |
Film | The Spencer Tracy Legacy: A Tribute by Katharine Hepburn | Self (archive footage) | 1986-03-09 |
Film | Tucet špinavců: Druhá mise | Gen. Worden | 1985-02-04 |
Film | Carpool | Mickey Doyle | 1983-10-05 |
Film | James Bond: The First 21 Years | Self | 1983-05-27 |
Film | Požehnání smrti | Isaiah Schmidt | 1981-08-14 |
Film | Útěk z New Yorku | Cabbie | 1981-05-23 |
Film | Superpolda | Willy Dunlop | 1980-09-18 |
Film | AFI Life Achievement Award: A Tribute to James Stewart | Himself | 1980-03-16 |
Film | Černá díra | Harry Booth | 1979-12-18 |
Film | Na západní frontě klid | Stanislaus Katczinsky | 1979-11-14 |
Film | The Horror Show | (archive footage) | 1979-02-06 |
Film | Konvoj | Lyle Wallace | 1978-06-27 |
Film | Duch letu 401 | Dom Cimoli | 1978-02-18 |
Serial | Ježíš Nazaretský | The Centurion | 1977-03-27 |
Film | Natale in casa d'appuntamento | Max | 1976-01-01 |
Film | Hustle | Santuro | 1975-12-25 |
Film | Dobrodružství Poseidonu | Mike Rogo | 1972-12-13 |
Film | The Last Command | Mike Radin | 1955-08-03 |