Ernie is on my list of guys to have a cup of coffee/glass of beer with. Regular guy.
Many decades ago I read about him. It seems he was first cast as a vicious bully type in the tradition of such villians as Ernest Torrance, but "Marty" humanized him.
He did so many good movies. Besides "The Dirty Dozen," there was that fine remake of "All Quiet on the Western Front."
He was the likeable Katchninsky there and he played it just as well as Louis Wholheim played it in the first one.
p.s. Louis Wholheim was also a fellow one would like to split a beer with. Pity he died of stomach cancer in the early 30s and didn't make more movies.