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: 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, 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.
1953–1961: Film stardom in a trailer for
Marty, 1955 presents the Oscar for Best Actor to Borgnine for his performance in
Marty, 1956. 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.
1962–1966: ''McHale's Navy'' '' in 1963 , and
Carl Ballantine (in top bunk) in ''McHale's Navy'' in 1962 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. In 1963, he 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 storylines brought ''McHale's Navy
to an end. At the time McHale's Navy'' began production, Borgnine was married to actress
Katy Jurado. Her death in 2002 drew Borgnine and Conway much closer; about his acting mentor's long career, Conway said: "There were no limits to Ernie. When you look at his career—Fatso Judson to Marty, that's about as varied as you get in characters and he handled both of them with equal delicacy and got the most out of those characters."
1967–1982: Continued success in 1962 Borgnine's film career flourished for the next three decades, including roles in
The Flight of the Phoenix (1965),
The Dirty Dozen (1967) with
Lee Marvin,
Ice Station Zebra (1968),
Willard (1971)
The Poseidon Adventure (1972),
Emperor of the North (1973),
Convoy (1978),
The Black Hole (1979),
All Quiet on the Western Front (1979),
Super Fuzz (1980), and
Escape from New York (1981). One of his most famous roles was that of Dutch in the Western classic
The Wild Bunch (1969) from director
Sam Peckinpah. Of his role in
The Wild Bunch, Borgnine later said, "I did [think it was a moral film]. Because to me, every picture should have some kind of a moral to it. I feel that when we used to watch old pictures, as we still do, I'm sure, the bad guys always got it in the end and the good guys always won out. Today, it's a little different. Today, it seems that the bad guys are getting the good end of it. There was always a moral in our story". It was released in 1990. in 1995, he appeared with
Jonathan Silverman in
The Single Guy as doorman Manny Cordoba, which lasted two seasons. According to Silverman, Borgnine came to work with more energy and passion than all other stars combined. He was the first person to arrive on the set every day and the last to leave. The next year, Borgnine starred in the televised fantasy/thriller film ''
Merlin's Shop of Mystical Wonders (partially adapted from the 1984 horror film The Devil's Gift). As narrator and storyteller, Borgnine recounts a string of related supernatural tales, his modern-day fables notably centering on an enchanted and malicious cymbal-banging monkey toy stolen from the wizard Merlin. The film was later featured in the parodical television series Mystery Science Theater 3000 and has since gained a prominent cult following. Also in 1996, Borgnine toured the United States on a bus to meet his fans and see the country. The trip was the subject of a 1997 documentary, Ernest Borgnine on the Bus''. He served one year as the chairman of the National Salute to Hospitalized Veterans, visiting patients in many
Department of Veterans Affairs medical centers. In 1997, Borgnine appeared in the big-screen adaptation comedy film ''
McHale's Navy'', where he played Rear Admiral Quinton McHale, who was the father of Tom Arnold's character, Quinton McHale, Jr. In 1998, Borgnine appeared in the
Trey Parker and
Matt Stone comedy
BASEketball as entrepreneur Ted Denslow. Starting in 1999, Borgnine provided his voice talent to the
animated sitcom SpongeBob SquarePants as the elderly superhero Mermaid Man (where he was paired up with ''McHale's Navy'' co-star Tim Conway as the voice of Mermaid Man's sidekick Barnacle Boy). He expressed affection for this role, in no small part for its popularity among children. After his death, Nickelodeon aired again all of the episodes in which Mermaid Man appeared, in memoriam. Borgnine appeared as himself in
The Simpsons episode "
Boy-Scoutz 'n the Hood", in addition to a number of television commercials. In 2000, he was the executive producer of
Hoover, in which he was the only credited actor. In 2007, Borgnine starred in the
Hallmark original film
A Grandpa for Christmas. He played a man, who discovers, after his estranged daughter ends up in the hospital because of a car accident, that he has a granddaughter he never knew about. She is taken into his care, and they become great friends. Borgnine received a
Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor in a Miniseries or Motion Picture made for Television for his performance. At 90, he was the oldest Golden Globe nominee ever. In 2010, he costarred in
The Wishing Well. Borgnine's autobiography
Ernie was published by
Citadel Press in July 2008.
Ernie is a loose, conversational recollection of highlights from his acting career and notable events from his personal life. On April 2, 2009, he appeared in several episodes of the final season of the long-running medical series
ER. His role was that of a husband dealing with the decline of his wife, who would die in the final episode of the series. In his final scene, his character is in a hospital bed lying beside his just-deceased wife. His performance garnered an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series, his third nomination and his first in 29 years (since being nominated for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or a Special in 1980 for
All Quiet on the Western Front). In 2009, at age 92, he starred as Frank, the main character of
Another Harvest Moon, directed by Greg Swartz and also starring
Piper Laurie and
Anne Meara. On October 2, 2010, Borgnine appeared as himself in a "
What Up with That?" sketch with
Morgan Freeman on
Saturday Night Live. On October 15, 2010, he appeared in
Red, which was filmed earlier that year. In late 2011, Borgnine completed what became his last film, playing Rex Page in
The Man Who Shook the Hand of Vicente Fernandez. ==Personal life and death ==