Ermes Effron Borgnino or better known as Ernest Borgnine (born January 24, 1917) is a Golden Globe-, BAFTA- and Academy Award-winning American actor.


Early life

Borgnine was born Ermes Effron Borgnino in Hamden, Connecticut, the son of Anna (née Bosselli) and Charles B. Borgnino, who immigrated to the U.S. from Modena, Italy. His parents divorced when he was two years old and he and his mother went to live in Italy, but five years later they returned to Hamden, Connecticut, where he attended public schools.

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. In 2004, Borgnine received the honorary rank of Chief Petty Officer from the Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy Terry D. Scott -- the 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. He built a reputation as a dependable character actor and appeared in such films as Johnny Guitar (1954) and Bad Day at Black Rock (1955). In 1955, Borgnine starred in the film version of the television play Marty, which gained him an Academy Award for Best Actor. He subsequently appeared in many movies, sometimes in lead roles, but more often as a supporting major star.

Later film roles include The Vikings (1958), The Flight of the Phoenix (1965), The Dirty Dozen (1967), The Wild Bunch (1969), The Poseidon Adventure (1972) and The Black Hole (1979).

From 1962 through 1966, he starred in the 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 later starred in the 1964 film version of the series.

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.

Personal life

Borgnine has married five times.
1. Rhoda Kemins (1948–1959), whom he met while serving in the Navy;[5] They had one daughter, Gina, together.
2. The actress Katy Jurado (1959–1963)
3. The singer Ethel Merman (1964), which lasted barely over a month.
4. Donna Rancourt (1965-1972), with whom he had a son, Christopher, and a daughter, Sharon.
5. Tova Traesnaes (1972 to date)
6.
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.

Awards
· Academy Award 1956 Best Actor in a Leading Role - Marty


Filmography

· 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 (1962)
· 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)
· Jesus of Nazareth (1977)
· Crossed Swords (1978)
· Convoy (1978)
· All Quiet on the Western Front (1979)
· Ravagers (1979)
· The Double McGuffin (1979)
· The Black Hole (1979)
· When Time Ran Out... (1980)
· Super Fuzz (1980)
· High Risk (1981)
· 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) (www.imdb.com/title/tt0179577/)
· The Opponent (1987)
· The Big Turnaround (1988)
· Moving Target (1988)
· Any Man's Death (1988)
· Spike of Bensonhurst (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)
· 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"01 September 11 (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)
· Strange Wilderness (2008)

TV work
· 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 "Jonathan's Mountain" episode)
· The Ghost of Flight 401 (1978)
· Cops and Robin (1978)
· All Quiet on the Western Front (1979)
· 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 (voice) (1993)
· Tierarztin Christine II: The Temptation (1995)
· The Single Guy (1995-1997)
· All Dogs Go to Heaven: The Series (1996-1999) (voice, Carface)
· SpongeBob SquarePants (voice, Mermaid Man) (1999-present)
· The Blue Light (2004)
· The Trail to Hope Rose (2004)
· A Grandpa for Christmas (2007)

Turner Classic Movie profile
www.tcm.com/thismonth/article/

IMDB
www.imdb.com/name/nm0000308/