Ernest Borgnine ( BORG-nyne; born Ermes Effron Borgnino; January 24, 1917 – July 8, 2012) was an American actor whose career spanned over six decades. He was noted for his gruff but relaxed voice and gap-toothed Cheshire Cat grin. A popular performer, he appeared as a guest on numerous talk shows and as a panelist on several game shows.
Borgnine's film career began in 1951 and included supporting roles in China Corsair (1951), From Here to Eternity (1953), Vera Cruz (1954), Bad Day at Black Rock (1955), and The Wild Bunch (1969). He played the unconventional lead in many films, winning the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in Marty (1955), which won the Academy Award for Best Picture. Borgnine starred as the title character in the sitcom McHale's Navy (1962–1966) and co-starred as Dominic Santini in the action series Airwolf (1984–1986).
Borgnine earned his third Primetime Emmy Award nomination at age 92 for his work on the 2009 series finale of ER. He was the voice of Mermaid Man on SpongeBob SquarePants from 1999 until his death in 2012.
Borgnine was born Ermes Effron Borgnino (Italian: [borˈɲiːno]) on January 24, 1917, in Hamden, Connecticut, the son of Italian immigrants. His mother, Anna (née Boselli, 1894–1947) hailed from Carpi, near Modena, and his father Camillo Borgnino (1891–1975) was a native of Ottiglio near Alessandria. Borgnine's parents separated when he was two years old, and he lived with his mother in Italy for about four and a half years. By 1923, his parents had reconciled, the family name was changed from Borgnino to Borgnine, and his father changed his first name to Charles. Borgnine had a younger sister, Evelyn Borgnine Velardi. The family settled in New Haven, Connecticut, where Borgnine graduated from James Hillhouse High School. He took to sports while growing up and showed no interest in acting.
Borgnine joined the United States Navy in October 1935, after graduation from high school. He served aboard the destroyer/minesweeper USS Lamberton and was honorably discharged from the Navy in October 1941. In January 1942, he re-enlisted in the Navy after the attack on Pearl Harbor. During World War II, he patrolled the Atlantic Coast on an antisubmarine warfare ship, the patrol yacht USS Sylph. In September 1945, he was once again honorably discharged from the Navy. He served a total of almost 10 years in the Navy and obtained the grade of gunner's mate first class. His military awards include the Navy Good Conduct Medal, American Defense Service Medal with "A" Device, American Campaign Medal with 3⁄16" bronze star, and the World War II Victory Medal.
In 1997, Borgnine received the United States Navy Memorial, Lone Sailor Award. On December 7, 2000, Borgnine was named the Veterans Foundation's Veteran of the Year.
In October 2004, Borgnine received the honorary title of chief petty officer from Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy Terry D. Scott. The ceremony for Borgnine's naval advancement was held at the U.S. Navy Memorial in Washington, DC. He received the special honor for his naval service and support of naval personnel and their families worldwide.
1946–1952: Theatre and television roles
Borgnine returned to his parents' house in Connecticut after his Navy discharge without a job to go back to and no direction. In a British Film Institute interview about his life and career, he said:
After World War II, we wanted no more part in war. I didn't even want to be a Boy Scout. I went home and said that I was through with the Navy and so now, what do we do? So I went home to mother, and after a few weeks of patting me on the back and "You did good," and everything else, one day she said, "Well?" like mothers do. Which meant, "All right, you gonna get a job or what?"
He took a local factory job, but was unwilling to settle down to that kind of work. His mother encouraged him to pursue a more glamorous profession and suggested to him that his personality would be well suited for the stage. He surprised his mother by taking the suggestion to heart, although his father was far from enthusiastic. In 2011, Borgnine remembered,
She said, "You always like getting in front of people and making a fool of yourself, why don't you give it a try?" I was sitting at the kitchen table and I saw this light. No kidding. It sounds crazy. And 10 years later, I had Grace Kelly handing me an Academy Award.
He studied acting at the Randall School of Drama in Hartford, then moved to Virginia, where he became a member of the Barter Theatre in Abingdon, Virginia. It had been named for the director's allowing audiences to barter produce for admission during the cash-lean years of the Great Depression. In 1947, Borgnine landed his first stage role in State of the Union. Although it was a short role, he won over the audience. His next role was as the Gentleman Caller in Tennessee Williams' The Glass Menagerie.
In 1949, Borgnine went to New York City, where he had his Broadway debut in the role of a nurse in the play Harvey. 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 gained on Goodyear Television Playhouse, The Ford Television Theatre, Fireside Theatre, Frontier Justice, Laramie, Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre, and Run for Your Life. An appearance as the villain on TV's Captain Video led to Borgnine's casting in the motion picture The Whistle at Eaton Falls (1951) for Columbia Pictures. In 1957, he appeared in the first episode of the TV Western series Wagon Train.
Borgnine moved to Los Angeles, California, where he received his big break in a Columbia film directed by Fred Zinnemann, the romantic war drama From Here to Eternity (1953), playing the sadistic Sergeant "Fatso" Judson, who beats a stockade prisoner in his charge, Angelo Maggio (played by Frank Sinatra). The film received critical acclaim, including the Academy Award for Best Picture. The following year, he acted in four films, three of them Western dramas, Johnny Guitar starring Joan Crawford, The Bounty Hunter with Randolph Scott, Vera Cruz starring Burt Lancaster and Gary Cooper, and in the Biblical drama Demetrius and the Gladiators. Borgnine built a reputation as a dependable character actor, and played villains in early films, including movies such as Johnny Guitar and Vera Cruz.
In 1955, he starred as a villain in the John Sturges neo-Western Bad Day at Black Rock starring Spencer Tracy, Lee Marvin, and Walter Brennan. He starred as Marty Piletti, the titular warmhearted butcher in Marty, the 1955 film version of the television play of the same title. The film debuted at the Cannes Film Festival where it received acclaim and the Palme D'Or. Borgnine won numerous accolades, including the Academy Award for Best Actor beating Frank Sinatra, James Dean (who had died by the time of the ceremony), and former Best Actor winners Spencer Tracy and James Cagney. He also received the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role, Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama, the National Board of Review Award for Best Actor, and the New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor.
Borgnine travelled to Australia to play the lead in a role originally intended for Burt Lancaster, the cane cutter Roo, in Summer of the Seventeenth Doll.
In 1962, Borgnine signed a contract with Universal Studios for the lead role as the gruff but lovable skipper, Quinton McHale, in what began as a serious one-hour 1962 episode called "Seven Against the Sea" for Alcoa Premiere, and later reworked to a comedy called McHale's Navy, a World War II sitcom, which also co-starred unfamiliar comedians Joe Flynn as Capt. Wally Binghamton and Tim Conway as Ens. Charles Parker. The insubordinate crew of PT-73 helped the show become a success during its first season, landing in the top 30 in 1963.