
Ernest Borgnine was born Ermes Effron Borgnino on January 24, 1917 in Hamden, Connecticut. His parents were Charles who had emigrated from Ottiglio (AL), Italy and Anna who had emigrated from Carpi (MO), Italy. As an only child, Ernest enjoyed most sports, especially boxing, but took no real interest in acting. At age 18, after graduating from high school in New Haven, and undecided about his future career, he joined the United States Navy, where he stayed for ten years until leaving in 1945. After a few factory jobs, his mother suggested that his forceful personality could make him suitable for a career in acting, and Borgnine promptly enrolled at the Randall School of Drama in Hartford. After completing the course, he joined Robert Porterfield's famous Barter Theatre in Abingdon, Virginia, staying there for four years, undertaking odd jobs and playing every type of role imaginable. His big break came in 1949, when he made his acting debut on Broadway playing a male nurse in "Harvey". In 1951, Borgnine moved to Los Angeles to pursue a movie career, and made his film debut as Bill Street in The Whistle at Eaton Falls (1951). His career took off in 1953 when he was cast in the role of Sergeant "Fatso" Judson in From Here to Eternity (1953). This memorable performance led to numerous supporting roles as "heavies" in a steady string of dramas and westerns. He played against type in 1955 by securing the lead role of Marty Piletti, a shy and sensitive butcher, in Marty (1955). He won an Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance, despite strong competition from Spencer Tracy, Frank Sinatra, James Dean and James Cagney. Throughout the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, Borgnine performed memorably in such films as The Catered Affair (1956), Ice Station Zebra (1968) and Emperor of the North (1973). Between 1962 and 1966, he played Lt. Commander Quinton McHale in the popular television series McHale's Navy (1962). In early 1984, he returned to television as Dominic Santini in the action series Airwolf (1984) co-starring Jan-Michael Vincent, and in 1995, he was cast in the comedy series The Single Guy (1995) as doorman Manny Cordoba. He also appeared in several made-for-TV movies. Ernest Borgnine passed away aged 95 on July 8, 2012, at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, California, of renal failure. He is survived by his wife Tova, their children and his younger sister Evelyn.
Series | Chicken Soup for the Soul: Inspirational Stories Honoring Family | Unknown | 2024 |
Movie | Ingrid Bergman: In Her Own Words | Self (archive footage) | 2015-08-27 |
Movie | The Man Who Shook the Hand of Vicente Fernandez | Rex Page | 2012-04-27 |
Movie | Night Club | Albert | 2011-04-11 |
Movie | National Lampoon's Snatched | Big Frank Baum | 2011-01-01 |
Movie | The Lion of Judah | Slink (voice) | 2011-06-03 |
Movie | Love's Christmas Journey | Nicholas | 2011-11-05 |
Movie | The Wishing Well | Big Jim | 2010-01-09 |
Movie | Another Harvest Moon | Frank | 2010-10-06 |
Movie | RED | Henry, The Records Keeper | 2010-10-13 |
Movie | The Genesis Code | Carl Taylor | 2010-08-25 |
Movie | Oliviero Rising | Bill | 2009-02-10 |
Movie | The Ultimate SpongeBob SpongeBash | Mermaidman | 2009-07-17 |
Movie | Red and White: Gone with the West | Himself / Narrator | 2008-02-01 |
Movie | Strange Wilderness | Milas | 2008-02-01 |
Movie | Aces 'N' Eights | Thurmond Prescott | 2008-03-15 |
Movie | Frozen Stupid | Frank Norgard | 2008-08-01 |
Movie | Mr. Warmth: The Don Rickles Project | Self | 2007-10-13 |
Movie | A Grandpa for Christmas | Bert O'Riley | 2007-11-24 |
Movie | La cura del gorilla | Jerry | 2006-02-02 |
Movie | Armed and Deadly: The Making of 'The Dirty Dozen' | Self | 2006-01-01 |
Movie | 3 Below | Grandpa | 2005-01-10 |
Movie | Passion & Poetry: The Ballad of Sam Peckinpah | Self | 2005-01-01 |
Movie | Barn Red | Michael Bolini | 2004-01-01 |
Movie | Renegade | Rolling Star | 2004-02-09 |
Movie | Sam Peckinpah's West: Legacy of a Hollywood Renegade | Self (archive footage) | 2004-07-25 |
Movie | The Trail to Hope Rose | Eugene | 2004-01-01 |
Movie | Time Machine: When Cowboys Were King | Self | 2003-01-01 |
Movie | The Long Ride Home | Lucas Moat | 2003-03-27 |
Movie | 11'09''01 September 11 | Old Man (segment "USA") | 2002-09-04 |
Movie | The Kiss Of Debt | Godfather Mariano | 2000-01-01 |
Movie | Hoover | J. Edgar Hoover | 2000-12-25 |
Series | The District | Unknown | 2000-10-07 |
Movie | Castle Rock | Nate | 2000-01-01 |
Movie | The Last Great Ride | Franklin Lyle | 1999-01-01 |
Series | Family Law | Unknown | 1999-09-20 |
Movie | The Lost Treasure of Sawtooth Island | Ben Quinn | 1999-12-01 |
Movie | Small Soldiers | Kip Killagin (voice) | 1998-07-10 |
Movie | BASEketball | Ted Denslow | 1998-07-28 |
Movie | An All Dogs Christmas Carol | Carface (voice) | 1998-11-17 |
Movie | Everyone Loves Mel | Grandpa | 1998-10-10 |
Movie | Ernest Borgnine on the Bus | Self | 1997-04-01 |
Movie | Gattaca | Caesar | 1997-09-07 |
Movie | Big Guns Talk: The Story of the Western | Self | 1997-07-27 |
Movie | McHale's Navy | Admiral Quinton McHale Sr. | 1997-04-18 |
Movie | All Dogs Go to Heaven 2 | Carface (voice) | 1996-03-29 |
Movie | Merlin's Shop of Mystical Wonders | 1996-08-27 | |
Series | 7th Heaven | Unknown | 1996-08-26 |
Movie | The Wild Bunch: An Album in Montage | Self | 1996-11-01 |
Series | Early Edition | Unknown | 1996-09-28 |
Series | All Dogs Go To Heaven: The Series | Carface Caruthers (voice) | 1996-09-21 |
Series | Pinky and the Brain | Unknown | 1995-09-09 |
Movie | Captiva Island | Arty | 1995-01-01 |
Movie | Tierärztin Christine II: Die Versuchung | Dr. Gustav Gruber | 1995-10-12 |
Series | JAG | Unknown | 1995-09-23 |
Series | The Single Guy | Manny Cordoba | 1995-09-21 |
Movie | Outlaws: The Legend of O.B. Taggart | 1994-01-01 | |
Movie | Der blaue Diamant | Hans Kroger | 1993-01-01 |
Movie | La Classe américaine | Ernest (archive footage) | 1993-12-31 |
Movie | Tierärztin Christine | Dr. Gustav Gruber | 1993-11-21 |
Series | Walker, Texas Ranger | Unknown | 1993-04-21 |
Movie | Mistress | Himself | 1992-07-24 |
Series | MGM: When the Lion Roars | 1992-03-22 | |
Series | The Commish | Unknown | 1991-09-28 |
Movie | Mountain of Diamonds | Ernie | 1991-01-01 |
Series | Home Improvement | Unknown | 1991-09-17 |
Movie | The Last Match | Coach | 1990-02-01 |
Movie | Real Men Don't Eat Gummi Bears | Bischof | 1989-08-17 |
Movie | Laser Mission | Prof. Braun | 1989-11-01 |
Series | Oceano | Pedro El Triste | 1989-08-20 |
Movie | Hoodwinked | Sal Piccolo | 1989-11-15 |
Movie | The Big Turnaround | Father Lopez | 1988-01-01 |
Movie | Moving Target | Captain Morrison | 1988-01-01 |
Movie | The Opponent | Victor | 1988-07-08 |
Movie | Skeleton Coast | Colonel Smith | 1988-04-14 |
Movie | The Dirty Dozen: The Fatal Mission | Gen. Sam Worden | 1988-11-10 |
Movie | Spike of Bensonhurst | Baldo Cacetti | 1988-11-11 |
Movie | The Dirty Dozen: The Deadly Mission | Gen. Sam Worden | 1987-03-01 |
Series | Treasure Island in Outer Space | Billy Bones | 1987-11-19 |
Series | Jake and the Fatman | Unknown | 1987-09-26 |
Movie | The Spencer Tracy Legacy: A Tribute by Katharine Hepburn | Self (archive footage) | 1986-03-09 |
Movie | The Dirty Dozen: Next Mission | Gen. Worden | 1985-02-04 |
Series | Alice in Wonderland | 1985-12-09 | |
Movie | Airwolf: The Movie | Dominic Santini | 1984-06-26 |
Series | Airwolf | Dominic « Dom » Santini | 1984-01-22 |
Series | The Last Days of Pompeii | Marcus | 1984-05-06 |
Series | Murder, She Wrote | Unknown | 1984-09-30 |
Series | Highway to Heaven | Unknown | 1984-09-19 |
Movie | The Manhunt | Ben Robeson | 1984-12-09 |
Movie | Love Leads the Way: A True Story | Sen. Brighton | 1984-10-07 |
Movie | Code Name: Wild Geese | Frank Fletcher | 1984-10-05 |
Movie | James Bond: The First 21 Years | Self | 1983-05-27 |
Movie | Carpool | Mickey Doyle | 1983-10-05 |
Movie | Young Warriors | Lt. Bob Carrigan | 1983-08-28 |
Series | Masquerade | Jerry | 1983-12-15 |
Series | Matt Houston | Unknown | 1982-09-26 |
Movie | High Risk | Clint | 1981-05-01 |
Movie | Deadly Blessing | Isaiah Schmidt | 1981-08-14 |
Movie | Escape from New York | Cabbie | 1981-05-23 |
Series | Magnum, P.I. | Unknown | 1980-12-11 |
Movie | When Time Ran Out... | Det. Sgt. Tom Conti | 1980-03-28 |
Movie | Super Fuzz | Willy Dunlop | 1980-09-18 |
Movie | The Horror Show | (archive footage) | 1979-02-06 |
Movie | Ravagers | Rann | 1979-05-01 |
Movie | The Black Hole | Harry Booth | 1979-12-18 |
Movie | The Double McGuffin | Firat | 1979-06-01 |
Movie | All Quiet on the Western Front | Stanislaus Katczinsky | 1979-11-14 |
Movie | The Ghost of Flight 401 | Dom Cimoli | 1978-02-18 |
Movie | Convoy | Lyle Wallace | 1978-06-27 |
Series | Future Cop | 1977-03-05 | |
Series | Jesus of Nazareth | The Centurion | 1977-03-27 |
Movie | The Greatest | Angelo Dundee | 1977-05-17 |
Movie | Fire! | Sam Brisbane | 1977-05-08 |
Movie | The Prince and the Pauper | John Canty | 1977-06-03 |
Movie | Shoot | Lou | 1976-05-28 |
Movie | Holiday Hookers | Max | 1976-01-01 |
Movie | The Devil's Rain | Jonathan Corbis | 1975-07-01 |
Movie | Hustle | Santuro | 1975-12-25 |
Movie | Sunday in the Country | Adam Smith | 1974-11-22 |
Series | Little House on the Prairie | Unknown | 1974-09-11 |
Movie | Law and Disorder | Cy | 1974-10-09 |
Movie | Emperor of the North | Shack | 1973-05-23 |
Series | The Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts | Unknown | 1973-09-14 |
Movie | The Neptune Factor | Chief Diver Don MacKay | 1973-08-03 |
Movie | The Poseidon Adventure | Mike Rogo | 1972-12-13 |
Movie | The Boxer | Captain Perkins | 1972-02-02 |
Movie | The Revengers | Hoop | 1972-06-21 |
Movie | Rain for a Dusty Summer | The General | 1971-01-01 |
Movie | Who Killed the Mysterious Mr. Foster? | Deputy Sam Hill | 1971-02-01 |
Movie | Bunny O'Hare | Bill Green - Gruenwald | 1971-10-18 |
Movie | Hannie Caulder | Emmett Clemens | 1971-11-08 |
Movie | The Trackers | Sam Paxton | 1971-12-15 |
Movie | Suppose They Gave a War and Nobody Came? | Sheriff Harve | 1970-09-11 |
Movie | The Adventurers | Fat Cat | 1970-03-25 |
Movie | A Bullet for Sandoval | Don Pedro Sandoval | 1969-08-19 |
Movie | The Wild Bunch | Dutch Engstrom | 1969-06-17 |
Movie | The Split | Bert Clinger | 1968-11-04 |
Movie | The Legend of Lylah Clare | Barney Sheean | 1968-08-21 |
Movie | Ice Station Zebra | Boris Vaslov | 1968-10-23 |
Movie | The Dirty Dozen | Maj. Gen. Worden | 1967-06-15 |
Movie | Chuka | Sgt. Otto Hahnsbach | 1967-07-23 |
Series | Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In | Unknown | 1967-09-09 |
Movie | The Oscar | Barney Yale | 1966-03-04 |
Series | Run for Your Life | Unknown | 1965-09-13 |
Series | The Dean Martin Show | Unknown | 1965-09-16 |
Movie | The Flight of the Phoenix | Trucker Cobb | 1965-12-15 |
Series | Get Smart | Unknown | 1965-09-18 |
Movie | McHale's Navy | Quinton McHale | 1964-06-25 |
Series | The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson | Unknown | 1962-10-01 |
Series | McHale's Navy | Quinton McHale | 1962-10-11 |
Movie | Go Naked in the World | Pete Stratton | 1961-03-10 |
Movie | Black City | Peppino Navarra | 1961-09-16 |
Movie | The Last Judgment | Pickpocket | 1961-10-26 |
Movie | Barabbas | Lucius | 1961-12-23 |
Movie | Seduction Of The South | Sante Carbone | 1961-12-16 |
Movie | Man on a String | Boris Mitrov | 1960-05-20 |
Movie | Pay or Die! | Police Lt. Joseph Petrosino | 1960-07-27 |
Movie | The Rabbit Trap | Eddie Colt | 1959-06-01 |
Series | Laramie | Unknown | 1959-09-15 |
Movie | Summer of the Seventeenth Doll | Roo | 1959-12-01 |
Movie | Torpedo Run | Lt. Archer 'Archie' Sloan | 1958-10-24 |
Movie | The Vikings | Ragnar | 1958-06-11 |
Movie | The Badlanders | John McBain | 1958-09-03 |
Movie | Jubal | Shep Horgan | 1956-04-06 |
Movie | The Catered Affair | Tom Hurley | 1956-06-14 |
Movie | The Best Things in Life Are Free | Lew Brown | 1956-09-28 |
Movie | Three Brave Men | Bernard F. Goldsmith | 1956-12-01 |
Series | Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre | Unknown | 1956-10-05 |
Movie | Bad Day at Black Rock | Coley Trimble | 1955-01-13 |
Movie | Violent Saturday | Stadt, Amish Farmer | 1955-04-01 |
Movie | The Last Command | Mike Radin | 1955-08-03 |
Movie | The Square Jungle | Bernie Browne | 1955-12-30 |
Movie | Marty | Marty Piletti | 1955-04-11 |
Movie | Run for Cover | Morgan | 1955-04-29 |
Series | The Lone Wolf | Unknown | 1954-01-01 |
Movie | Johnny Guitar | Bart Lonergan | 1954-05-26 |
Movie | Demetrius and the Gladiators | Strabo | 1954-06-16 |
Movie | Vera Cruz | Donnegan | 1954-12-25 |
Movie | The Bounty Hunter | Bill Rachin | 1954-09-25 |
Series | The Oscars | Unknown | 1953-03-18 |
Series | General Electric Theater | Unknown | 1953-02-01 |
Movie | The Stranger Wore a Gun | Bull Slager | 1953-07-30 |
Movie | From Here to Eternity | Sgt. James R. 'Fatso' Judson | 1953-08-28 |
Series | This Is Your Life | Unknown | 1952-10-01 |
Movie | China Corsair | Hu Chang | 1951-06-12 |
Movie | The Whistle at Eaton Falls | Bill Street | 1951-08-02 |
Series | Hallmark Hall of Fame | Unknown | 1951-12-24 |
Movie | The Mob | Joe Castro | 1951-09-07 |
Series | Schlitz Playhouse of Stars | Unknown | 1951-10-05 |
Series | The Ed Sullivan Show | Unknown | 1948-06-20 |
Series | Ford Theatre | Unknown | 1948-10-17 |
Series | The Philco Television Playhouse | Unknown | 1948-10-03 |