Ernest Borgnine, the big brawling teddy bear actor who is a living Hollywood legend will turn 90-years of age tomorrow, reaching a time in his life only a few achieve, one decade from that 100 mark.
Most recognized as Lt. Cmdr. Quinton McHale from the huge 1960’s TV hit comedy “McHales Navy,” Borgnine is an Oscar winning actor with a list of film and TV achievements that remain the envy of many of the other giants in showbiz.
Still very active as he approaches his 90th birthday tomorrow, the strong features are still there, the raspy voice as strong as ever, and that practical jokester gleam in his eye still twinkles every chance it gets. It was only two years ago that Borgnine gave up his famous traveling bus in which he use to hop in and just take off to parts unknown. But, being without his wheels hasn’t kept him from traveling, having just returned from visiting all the islands of New Zealand, making public appearances and speeches.
He still stays busy in the industry that has brought him so much joy for the last 56 years. This year alone Ernest will be seen in three new films, “Strange Wilderness,” “Chinaman’s Chance” and “Oliviero Rising.”
Children will recognize his voice as Mermaid Man in the popular “SpongeBob SquarePants” series and movies.
“I keep telling myself, `Damn it, you gotta go to work,”‘ he said. “But there aren’t many people who want to put Borgnine to work these days. They keep asking, `Is he still alive?'”
Well, we are here to tell you that not only is he alive, he is very well, able and willing.
His McHale role was not that far from the mark from his real life to some extend. Borgnine joined the U.S. Navy in 1935, served 5 years then re-enlisted when WWII started, so he knew what war and a uniform felt like. And, while those days did have their funny moments, real war was not McHale’s Navy.
“I never considered being an actor until I was 28,” he said. “When I was home from the Navy after the war, my mother said, `Have you ever thought of becoming an actor?’ I decided to give it a try.”
Soon after the war he signed on to a drama company in Hartford, Conn., then spent five years at the Barter Theater in Abingdon, Va., learning the actor’s trade from the bottom up. He moved to New York where he played a role in “Harvey” and appeared in television dramas.
Hollywood was looking for a heavy and felt that Borgnine would fit that bill. His name forever became embossed on the minds of producers when he beat Frank Sinatra to a bloody mess in the award winning film “From Here To Eternity” and soon followed as the bad guy to Spencer Tracy’s good goody in “Bad Day at Black Rock.”
But a role was to come along that would change how Hollywood saw Ernest Borgnine, and that was his Academy Award winning performance in “Marty.”
When the role had to be turned down by another great actor named Rod Steiger due to his other commitments, the studio turned to Borgnine.
“They came to the set of `Bad Day at Black Rock’ and asked if I could read some scenes from `Marty,'” Borgnine recalled. “So I started reading from the script and all of a sudden I started crying. I gave the performance of my life. I looked over and saw that Paddy and Delbert were crying too. I knew I had won the part.”
This low-budget, black-and-white drama, would be considered an ulikely Indie champion today, blew its big-time competition such as “Picnic” and “Mister Roberts” off the map and walked away with the Oscar for Best Picture and Best Actor for Ernest. His life would never be the same, and 51 years after “Marty,” Borgnine is still going strong.
So, given today’s technology and advances in moviemaking, what does a sharp veteran like Borgnine think about product coming out of Hollywood today?
“I don’t like `em.” Ernie says. “Oh, there are some good ones that come along. I liked the two pictures that Clint Eastwood made. `The Queen’ is very good. I liked `Bobby.’ But the majority… .”
That doesn’t mean he has given up on the business that has been so much a part of his life. He recently told Variety, “I just want to do more work. Every time I step in front of a camera I feel young again. I really do. It keeps your mind active and it keeps you going.”
If I reach that golden-age of 90, I hope I still feel as young and fresh about life as Ernest Borgnine. Happy Birthday Ernie and many more happy and healthy ones to come.
Ernie Borgnine starred in over 25 genre-related film and TV shows. Here is a list of just a few of them:
(Ernies First gig)
Other recommended Borgnine films (not yet mentioned) that should be part of your film viewing:
