Another acting legend has passed, and this time it’s Ernest Borgnine at the age of 95 from renal failure. Perhaps not amazingly well known to the younger film fan, Borgnine is an Oscar winner and gave one of the great performances in 1955′s ‘Marty’ (which won him the award, along with Best Picture for the film), but that’s just the tip of the iceberg for Borgnine. He will definitely be missed, and after the jump you can see some of the kind words that were written about him over at Deadline (here). Take a gander below, and feel free to honor the man in any way that you see fit…
Here’s a bit of the obituary that Deadline has:
A son of Italian immigrants and a World War II Navy veteran, Borgnine received his big showbiz break (after some minor local stage roles) relatively late, at age 33, when he was cast as the hospital attendant in a Broadway production of Harvey. That was followed by roles in some 200 films — the most impact: that villain’s villain in the World War II classic From Here to Eternity. He was cast repeatedly as the bad guy until he landed the part of the unconventional leading man in Marty. His 1956 Academy Award was his first and only Oscar nomination and, to everyone’s surprise, including his own, Borgnine beat out an all-star roster of Hollywood legends including James Cagney, Frank Sinatra, Spencer Tracy, and posthumously James Dean. “Unfortunately, they don’t write movies like that anymore,” Borgnine told Deadline in 2011.
Borgnine was one of the first successful film actors to cross over to TV at a time when the new medium was seen as a flash-in-the-pan at best. “I remember a day when you were told in no uncertain terms that, by golly, you couldn’t mention television while you were making a picture. It’s not that they necessarily felt it was direct competition. They just didn’t believe in it.” He helped to bring the fledgling tube some legitimacy with his serious acting work on pioneering, quality shows like G.E. Theatre and The Philco Television Playhouse. Then, of course, he brought TV some well earned laughs with his breakout role on the 1962-1966 ensemble comedy McHale’s Navy and then co-starred two decades later in the action series Airwolf. In 2009, at the age of 92, Borgnine earned an Emmy nomination for his performances in the final two episodes of the longrunning NBC medical series ER. Most of all, Borgnine could celebrate something most actors can only dream about: a long and successful career.
-Rest in peace…
Joey Magidson
July 9, 2012 at 9:58 am
He will be missed…
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Robbie
July 9, 2012 at 10:00 am
McHale’s Navy was my dad’s favorite show. Some of my fondest memories are watching it with him. R.I.P. sir.
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John H. Foote
July 9, 2012 at 3:28 pm
He was just a wonderful old character actor who worked hard all his life, was never a big star but highly respected as an actor — love Marty (1955) which made it clear you did not have to be an Adonis to work in movies or win an Oscar — will never forget the goofy look of joy on his face the first time we see him in the theatre in Escape from New York…what a great actor he was….and when he went to the dark side to play a bad guy, he was terrifying.
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sotolongo
July 9, 2012 at 8:52 pm
I never liked his politics or anti-gay stance, but I respect for the great actor he was. He never gave a bad performance. His Marty will never be surpassed as well as his performances in Bad Day at Black Rock, From Here to Eternity and many others. He earned and deserved his plaudits.
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Joey Magidson
July 9, 2012 at 11:46 pm
I didn’t agree personally with the man, but it never stopped me from admiring his work…
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