Ernest Borgnine (born January 24, 1917, Hamden, Connecticut, U.S.—died July 8, 2012, Los Angeles, California) was an American actor whose portly physique and coarse features made him a commanding presence in scores of films and television productions, in which he skillfully portrayed characters ranging from brutish thugs to hapless everymen.

Early life and war record

Borgnino was born to Italian immigrant parents. As a small child, he moved with his mother to northern Italy for several years before returning to Connecticut, at which point his family changed its surname to Borgnine. After graduating from high school in 1935, Borgnine served in the U.S. Navy for six years and then reenlisted once the United States entered World War II, rising to the rank of gunner’s mate first class by the time of his discharge in 1945. Initially ambivalent about his civilian career prospects, Borgnine pursued acting at the encouragement of his mother, taking advantage of the G.I. Bill (a 1944 U.S. legislation that provided benefits to war veterans) to study for six months at the Randall School in Hartford, Connecticut. In 1946 he joined the Barter Theatre in Abingdon, Virginia, where he worked backstage before earning roles in more than a dozen productions.

Acting debut and success

In 1949 Borgnine made his Broadway debut in the comedy Harvey, which led to further work onstage as well as in the burgeoning medium of television. He embarked on a film career with a role as a factory foreman in the docudrama The Whistle at Eaton Falls (1951), but he did not receive significant attention until his performance as the belligerent jailer Fatso Judson in the widely praised military drama From Here to Eternity (1953). Thereafter Borgnine appeared in similarly menacing supporting parts in several high-profile films, including the westerns Johnny Guitar (1954), Vera Cruz (1954), and Bad Day at Black Rock (1955). In 1955, however, he starred in the romantic drama Marty, an adaptation of a television drama written by Paddy Chayefsky. For his against-type performance as a lonesome, kindhearted butcher, Borgnine received numerous accolades, including the Academy Award for best actor.

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Later career

Steady and versatile film work followed, from The Catered Affair (1956), in which Borgnine played another dramatic lead (opposite Bette Davis), to the adventure movie The Vikings (1958), in which he was cast as the bloodthirsty chieftain Ragnar. Drawing on his naval experience, he then portrayed the waggish Lieut. Comdr. Quinton McHale in the television comedy series McHale’s Navy (1962–66) as well as the 1964 film of the same name. Borgnine’s most notable film roles in the late 1960s were in gritty male-dominated ensemble pieces, including the World War II movie The Dirty Dozen (1967), the Cold War action film Ice Station Zebra (1968), and the revisionist western The Wild Bunch (1969). He later appeared in the big-budget disaster film The Poseidon Adventure (1972) and portrayed a Depression-era train conductor with a vendetta against hoboes in Emperor of the North Pole (1973; also released as Emperor of the North), his fifth and final collaboration with director Robert Aldrich.

Borgnine maintained a prolific output in the late 20th century and into the 21st century. In addition to his film work, he continued to appear on television, with supporting parts in the action-adventure series Airwolf (1984–86) and the sitcom The Single Guy (1995–97) and, from 1999, a recurring role on the children’s cartoon SpongeBob SquarePants. Borgnine’s autobiography, Ernie, was published in 2008, and three years later he received a lifetime achievement award from the Screen Actors Guild.