7.09.2012

ERNEST BORGNINE: MC HALE'S NAVY STAR


Ernest Borgnine 1917-2012

Ernest Borgnine (born Ermes Effron Borgnino, January 24, 1917 – July 8, 2012) was an American film and television actor whose career spanned more than six decades. He was an unconventional lead in many films of the 1950s, winning an Oscar in 1955 for Marty.

Ernest Borgnine

We loved Mc Hale's Navy as a kid and thought that show was so funny.. Then when I was young I was the film "Marty" on Bill Kennedy's Movie Show on the weekends. This film and Ernest Borgnine in particular, blew my mind with his acting... The film was so sad to me that I never watched it again. Maybe I will be brave and see it again this week as I am certain it will be playing all over TV.

Marty is a 34-year-old butcher whose Italian family is constantly after him to get married. He meets plain-looking school teacher Clara. They are both lonely, unglamorous people who have resigned themselves to their lonely lives. But they manage, in time, find their way to love.


In 1962, Borgnine joined the ranks of other sitcom stars such as John Forsythe, Andy Griffith, Danny Thomas, Alan Young, Fred MacMurray and Buddy Ebsen. That 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, and later reworked to a comedy called McHale's Navy, a World War II sitcom. The insubordinate crew of PT-73 helped the show become an overnight success during its first season, landing in the Top 30 in 1963.

Just like the McHale character, Borgnine was a longtime navy man in real life. He thrived on the adulation from fans for their favorite navy man, and in 1963 received an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series.



At the end of the fourth season, in 1966 low ratings and repetitive story lines brought McHale's Navy to an end. Borgnine was not happy about the show’s cancellation and was concerned about what television role he might play in the future. He also starred in the 1964 film version of the series and later appeared in a cameo performance in the 1997 remake.



After McHale's Navy Ernest co-starred in the mid-1980s action series Airwolf, in addition to a wide variety of other roles. Borgnine was also known for his role as Mermaid Man in the animated television series SpongeBob SquarePants. Borgnine earned an Emmy Award nomination at age 92 for his work on the series ER.


Borgnine married five times. He was first married to Rhoda Kemins (1949–1958), whom he met while serving in the Navy;[8] They had one daughter, Nancee (born May 28, 1952). Then he married actress Katy Jurado (1959–1963) Borgnine once referred to his second ex-wife this way: "Beautiful, but a tiger."

He later married singer Ethel Merman (1964); the marriage barely lasted a month. Their divorce was finalised on May 25, 1965. Borgnine married Donna Rancourt (1965–1972), with whom he had a son, Christopher (born August 9, 1969) and two daughters, Sharon (born August 5, 1965) and Diana (born December 29, 1970). His fifth and last marriage was to Tova Traesnaes (married February 24, 1973).

On January 24, 2007, Borgnine celebrated his 90th birthday at a bistro in West Hollywood, California. Guests included his wife Tova, decades-long friend Tim Conway, Dennis Farina, Army Archerd, Andy Granatelli, Bo Hopkins, Burt Young, Steven Bauer, his son Cris Borgnine, grandson Anthony Borgnine, Connie Stevens, David Gerber, Debbie Reynolds, Joe Mantegna, Norm Crosby and many more.

2 comments:

Liza said...

R.I.P. Ernie. He was great in the movie MARTY. Reminded me of a lot of the men I knew growing up.He was a real star of film,not like some of these actors of today.He will be missed.

Liza said...

R.I.P. Ernie. He was great in the movie MARTY. Reminded me of a lot of the men I knew growing up.He was a real star of film,not like some of these actors of today.He will be missed.

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...

addtoany