Ermes Effron Borgnino (born January 24, 1917),[1][2] better known by his stage name Ernest Borgnine, is an American Golden Globe-BAFTA and Academy Award-winning actor.
Biography
Early life
Borgnine was born Ermes Effron Borgnino in Hamden, Connecticut, the son of Anna (née Boselli) who immigrated to the U.S. from Carpi, Italy and Charles B. Borgnino, who immigrated to the U.S. from Ottiglio, Italy.[3] His parents divorced when he was two years old and he and his mother went to live in Italy,[4] but five years later they returned to Hamden, Connecticut, where he attended public schools.
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 U.S. Navy's highest ranking enlisted sailor at the time — for Borgnine's support of the Navy and Navy families worldwide.
Acting career
After a few years of drifting, Borgnine attended the Randall School of Drama in Hartford, Connecticut. Following graduation, he went to the famous Barter Theatre in Abingdon, Virginia. His first role was as the Gentleman Caller in Tennessee Williams' "Glass Menagerie". In 1949, he debuted on Broadway in the role of a nurse in the hit play Harvey.
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). After Maggio ends up in the stockade for being drunk on duty, Fatso beats him to death. However, Fatso meets his own end in a knife fight with Maggio's best friend, Private Robert E. Lee Prewitt (Montgomery Clift) as payback for Maggio's death.
Borgnine built a reputation as a dependable character actor and appeared in early film roles as villains, including Johnny Guitar and Bad Day at Black Rock. But in 1955, the actor starred as a warm-hearted butcher in the film version of the television play Marty, which gained him an Academy Award for Best Actor.
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 currently the only living actor who has won Best Actor for performances given prior to 1960.
Later film roles include The Vikings, The Flight of the Phoenix, The Dirty Dozen, The Wild Bunch, The Poseidon Adventure and The Black Hole.
Borgnine played Lieutenant Commander Quentin McHale in what began as a serious one hour 1962 television pilot Seven Against the Sea. From 1962 through 1966, the series became a popular situation comedy television series McHale's Navy, for which he received an Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series, in 1963. Borgnine starred in the 1964 film version of the series, and appeared in a cameo performance in the 1997 remake.
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. The series ran from 1984 to 1986.
He was the first center square in the original version of the television game show Hollywood Squares, with host Peter Marshall.
For his contribution to the motion picture industry, Ernest Borgnine has received 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.
Also in 1996, Borgnine toured the U.S. in a bus to meet his fans and see the country. The trip was the subject of a 1997 documentary, Ernest Borgnine on the Bus. He also served one year as the Chairman of the National Salute to Hospitalized Veterans, visiting patients in Department of Veterans Affairs medical centers.
Since 1999, Borgnine has provided his voice talent to the cartoon SpongeBob SquarePants as the elderly superhero Mermaid Man (where he is once again paired up with his McHale's Navy co-star, Tim Conway, who voices Mermaid Man's sidekick Barnacle Boy). Borgnine has also appeared on an episode of The Simpsons as himself in addition to a number of television commercials. In 2000, he was the executive producer of Hoover, in which he is the only credited actor.
In 2007, 90-year-old Borgnine starred in the Hallmark Original Movie A Grandpa for Christmas. He starred as a grandpa who discovers that, when his estranged daughter is in a car accident, that he has a granddaughter he never knew about. She is taken into his care, and they soon become great friends. For his performance in A Grandpa For Christmas, Borgnine received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture made for Television. At 90, he was the oldest Golden Globe nominee ever. He did not win, however.
Autobiography
Borgnine has completed his autobiography, Ernie, which was published by Citadel in July 2008. Ernie is a loose, conversational recollection of highlights from his acting career and notable events from his personal life.
In the wake of the book's publication, he has begun a small promotional tour, visiting independent bookstores in the Los Angeles area to promote the book's release and meet some of his fans.[5]
Personal life
Borgnine has married five times.
- Rhoda Kemins (1949–1958), whom he met while serving in the Navy;[6] They had one daughter, Nancee, born in 1953.
- The actress Katy Jurado (1959–1963)
- The singer Ethel Merman (1964), which lasted barely over a month. (divorce final May 25, 1965)
- Donna Rancourt (1965-1972), with whom he had a son, Christopher, and a daughter, Sharon.
- Tova Traesnaes (1972 to date)
He holds the 33rd degree of the Scottish Rite of Masonry and has long been active in the Craft and is also a member of the Shriners. Borgnine is also a recipient of the Grand Cross, which is the highest honor for service to the Scottish Rite. Borgnine is also a member of the Lambda chapter of the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity.
Borgnine also had a street named in his honor in his hometown of Hamden, Connecticut, and still retains a large and vocal following in that area.
For 30 years (1972-2002), Borgnine marched in Milwaukee's annual Great Circus Parade as the "Grand Clown".
On August 14, 2008, Borgnine claimed on FoxNews, most likely without his knowledge given he was whispering to a compere wearing a lapel microphone, that the secret to his long life was that he "masturbates a lot".[7][8]
Awards and nominations
Filmography
Film
Television
Quotes
| “ |
Spencer Tracy was the first actor I've seen who could just look down into the dirt and command a scene. He played a set-up with Robert Ryan that way. He's looking down at the road and then he looks at Ryan at just the precise, right minute. I tell you, Rob could've stood on his head and zipped open his fly and the scene would've still been Mr Tracy's. |
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| “ |
The trick is not to become somebody else. You become somebody else when you're in front of a camera or when you're on stage. There are some people who carry it all the time. That, to me, is not acting. What you've gotta do is find out what the writer wrote about and put it into your mind. This is acting. Not going out and researching what the writer has already written. This is crazy! |
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| “ |
Everything I do has a moral to it. Yes, I've been in films that have had shootings. I made The Wild Bunch (1969), which was the beginning of the splattering of blood and everything else. But there was a moral behind it. The moral was that, by golly, bad guys got it. That was it. Yeah. |
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| “ |
Ever since they opened the floodgates with Clark Gable saying, 'Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn,' somebody's ears pricked up and said, 'Oh boy, here we go!'. Writers used to make such wonderful pictures without all that swearing, all that cursing. And now it seems that you can't say three words without cursing. And I don't think that's right. |
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A 91 year old Ernest gives the secret to looking so young during an interview on Fox News,
| “ |
I don't dare tell you...[whispers] I masturbate a lot." |
” |
References
- ^ "Ernest Borgnine." International Dictionary of Films and Filmmakers, Volume 3: Actors and Actresses, 4th ed. St. James Press, 2000. Reproduced in Biography Resource Center. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Thomson Gale. 2006: "Born: Ermes Effron Borgnino in Hamden, Connecticut, 24 January 1917 (some sources say 1915 or 1918)."
- ^ Clooney, Nick (2003). The Movies That Changed Us: Reflections on the Screen. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 0-7434-1044-0. , p. 114
- ^ Ernest Borgnine Biography (1917-)
- ^ Associated Press, Ernest Borgnine at 90 still wants to act, but people ask, ‘Is he still alive?’, January 24, 2007
- ^ "The Importance of Being Ernie". Retrieved on 2008-08-05.
- ^ M. A. Schmidt (April 10, 1955). "Ernest Borgnine: Fiendish 'Fatso' to Meek 'Marty'". New York Times. Retrieved on 2006-11-14.
- ^ "Anchors Floored After Mic Picks Up Ernest Borgnine’s Shock Secret to Long Life". Breitbart.tv (August 14, 2008).
- ^ Jordan, Katy (August 15, 2008). "Ernest Borgnine, 91, reveals his little secret", Boston Herald. Retrieved on 2008-08-15.
External links
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