Extremely sad news, as one of the very last of the greatest Hollywood character actors, Ernest Borgnine, has passed away. In this extremely long and busy career, Mr. Borgnine played it all. He specialized in great villains, but he also played some of the best lovable coots ever. Moreover, if you call up an image search on Google or Bing, most of the photos feature a man with one of the widest grins you’ve ever seen. Mr. Borgnine always seemed to exude the joy of someone who knows he’s been greatly, greatly blessed.
So many highlights. Obviously, there was the Best Actor Oscar he won for Marty (1956). And his trademark role as the star on the sitcom McHale’s Navy. Check out this list, however: From Here to Eternity, Bad Day at Black Rock, The Vikings, The Flight of the Phoenix, The Dirty Dozen, Ice Station Zebra, The Wild Bunch, Willard, Emperor of the North (seriously, track that one down), Escape from New York.…
Mr. Borgnine also enlivened a boatload of primo crap (especially awful soap opera pictures) and wonderful schlock over the years, starting with the Jabootu classic The Oscar. And he won a Razzie for Worst Supporting Actor for Wes Craven’s Deadly Blessing. Then there’s The Adventurers, Go Naked in the World, The Legend of Lylah Clare, The Devil’s Rain, The Poseidon Adventure, The Black Hole, When Time Ran Out, or Superfuzz. Then there was his recurring role on Airwolf.
That just scratches the surface. Throw in a metric ton of episodic TV appearances, and Mr. Borgnine boasted over 200 acting credits on the IMDB. You could do worse, far worse, than to grab a couple of Ernest Borgnine movies for next weekend. Or wait for TCM to run its inevitable, and hugely warranted, tribute. Man, I wish I still had TCM.
I last saw him in Red a few years ago. At the age of 92 or 93, he didn’t just appear, curled up in a chair or something, but stood and acted, trading lines with Bruce Willis and clearly having a grand old time. Indeed, he appeared in two scenes, coming back later in the picture. I always wondered if they wrote him another scene when they realized how spritey he still was. Among all his other blessings, Mr. Borgnine had a clear mind his entire long life.
Mr. Borgnine was 95 at the time of his passing. He served his country for 10 years in the United States Navy, including a reenlistment stint during World War II.
