Posted on 01/23/2007 7:10:18 AM PST by lunarbicep
At a recent reunion of the cast of the 1960s TV comedy "McHale's Navy," the actors were appalled at the arrival of their former commandant. A driver helped Ernest Borgnine from the car. The once-exuberant Lt. Cmdr. Quinton McHale was stooped over and walked haltingly, muttering gibberish.
His former ensign, comedian Tim Conway, rushed forward and exclaimed, "Ernie, what has happened to you?"
Suddenly Borgnine straightened up, threw out his massive chest and bellowed, "What's going on here?" followed by his signature high-decible laugh.
Prankster Borgnine shows little evidence of aging as he approaches his 90th birthday on Wednesday. His round, pudgy face is little changed. His only concession to age was abandoning the bus he used to drive around the country, talking with local folks along the way.
"I gave up the bus when I was 88," he said. "I figured if I had an accident, I could be sued for plenty. Now I take cruises. I just returned from one that started in Auckland, New Zealand, and visited a lot of islands. I made a couple of speeches and had a great time."
Borgnine is preparing for a Hallmark Hall of Fame movie, but otherwise his film work has been scarce of late.
"I keep telling myself, `Damn it, you gotta go to work,"' he said. "But there aren't many people who want to put Borgnine to work these days. They keep asking, `Is he still alive?'"
Borgnine talked about his life and times at his spacious aerie near Coldwater Canyon in the higher reaches of Beverly Hills. He bought the 14-room house in 1965 for $110,000 and has expanded it. The value now is in the millions.
The Borgnine story is unique among Hollywood sagas because acting had nothing to do with it for nearly three decades.
He was born in Hamden, Conn., to Italian parents. They divorced when he was 2 and his mother took him to live in Italy. He returned to the U.S. five years later and joined the Navy in 1935. He was discharged in 1941, then re-enlisted when World War II started.
"I never considered being an actor until I was 28," he said. "When I was home from the Navy after the war, my mother said, `Have you ever thought of becoming an actor?' I decided to give it a try."
He joined a drama company in Hartford, Conn., then spent five years at the Barter Theater in Abingdon, Va., learning the actor's trade from the bottom up. He moved to New York where he played a role in "Harvey" and appeared in television dramas.
Hollywood discovered Borgnine- as a heavy. He was the vicious soldier who beat Frank Sinatra to a pulp in "From Here To Eternity" and the outlaw who menaced one-armed Spencer Tracy in "Bad Day at Black Rock." Then along came "Marty."
Rod Steiger had won plaudits for his role as the shy Bronx butcher in Paddy Chayefsky's original TV drama and was considered ideal for the film version. But he had already signed to play the villain Jud in "Oklahoma!" Chayefsky and director Delbert Mann scouted other actors, including Ernest Borgnine.
"They came to the set of `Bad Day at Black Rock' and asked if I could read some scenes from `Marty,'" Borgnine recalled. "So I started reading from the script and all of a sudden I started crying. I gave the performance of my life. I looked over and saw that Paddy and Delbert were crying too. I knew I had won the part."
"Marty" was an Oscar phenomenon. The low-budget, black-and-white drama competed against such giants as "Picnic" and "Mister Roberts." A publicity campaign which cost more than the movie's budget blanketed the industry. Result: Oscars for best picture and for Borgnine, Mann and Chayefsky. Borgnine's salary for the film: $5,000.
Borgnine spoke frankly about his five wives, including Katy Jurado, the Mexican actress with whom Ernie battled across Europe and America; Ethel Merman, to whom he was married for 32 days, and Tova, the beauty-products tycoon.
"Tova and I have been married for 34 years," Borgnine said proudly, "That's longer than the total of my four other marriages." The thought of it prompted another loud guffaw.
Tova appeared during the interview, and the pair posed for some lovey-dovey photographs. She has sold her company to a competitor, for which she is now the spokeswoman. She is indeed the ideal representative: perfect skin, coiffeur, attire.
Asked about today's movies, Borgnine responded: "I don't like `em. Oh, there are some good ones that come along. I liked the two pictures that Clint Eastwood made. `The Queen' is very good. I liked `Bobby.' But the majority... ." His voice trailed off.
Borgnine will celebrate his birthday Wednesday with a festive dinner with friends and family at a local bistro. Asked if he had any more mountains to climb, he replied: "I just want to do more work. Every time I step in front of a camera I feel young again. I really do. It keeps your mind active and it keeps you going."
He could pass for seventy.
Thanks... will do.
Wow... Ernest Borgnine is NINETY?! Geesh, so many of these stars are so much older than I thought they were.
Connecticut ping!
Borgnine has some Connecticut connections. Thanks for the heads up on this one, blue-duncan.
Please Freepmail me if you want on or off my infrequent Connecticut ping list.
First off, who knew he was still alive? And looking great for 90 too!
Second, I think one of the reasons the older military shows, like McHale's Navy and Hogan's Heroes, or the movies like Tora Tora Tora, had a realistic "feel" to them that modern military movies don't (even though special effects are a lot better) is that practically all of the actors were themselves military veterans, most of World War II.
Think about that! There was a time when Hollywood was full of vets! Of course, during that time, Hollywood supported the country and wasn't a nest of vipers.
How many modern vets are in the movies or television?
I think Grace Kelly has to be one of the most beautiful women to ever appear in film or on earth.
I would have to agree with you 100%
i did see this (with Richard Thomas--John Boy) back in 1982 in my high school US History class... it was excellent... thanks for the reminder... i had forgotten that EB was in it...
As an Irish boy, I can't say I don't like her. She and The Duke were the best male/female team ever! He described her attitude perfectly when he said that she was "the greatest guy" he ever knew. What a compliment to a beautiful but down-to-earth woman!
She reminds me alot of Jane Russell, who I was fortunate enough to sit with at GWBs first inauguration. Man, is she fiesty in the most delightful way!
Forrest Tucker in F Troup seemed the same way to me as a small youngster way back then.
Hats off to you Mr. Borgnine! Thanks for your good work over the years.
Now that's the way to live!
"Marty" is one of the great, great movies of all time. Even while watching it, you can hardly believe that something this lovely and warm was ever made in Hollywood. The scene when he brings the girl to his apartment to meet his mother is so very natural. I remember when I saw it for the first time, about 10 years ago, and I have been grinning ever since.
Really? That's pretty cool. My wife went to college at Southern, just a short walk from that intersection. In fact, we even went to Mass at St. Anne's a few times when I came up from school in NYC to visit.
To Max McxGee: "McGee, you're late. Where've you been."
McGee: "Out with a woman."
To McGee: "I'm fining you $1,000 dollars McGee. And the next time it happens, I'm fining you $5,000 dollars."
"One more thing McGee. If you find a woman worth $5,000 dollars, come get me to go with you."
that was one sick movie.....
Yeah, that was cool.
TCM had that one when I was sick during my Christmas vacation, so I watched that (and a bunch of other old movies).
It ain't Ron Howard but the actor who played "John-boy Walton " in the series "The Waltons"
wow. I thought he was dead.
Very true bump!!
Happy birthday to Mr. Borgnine...
...and for heavens' sake, if he still wants to work, somebody give him an acting job !
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