Ernest Borgnine, the rough-hewn actor who seemed destined for tough-guy characters but won an Academy Award for embodying the gentlest of souls, a lonely Bronx butcher in the 1955 film "Marty," died Sunday in Los Angeles. He was 95.
The death, at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, was announced by Harry Flynn, his longtime spokesman.
Mr. Borgnine made his first memorable impression in films at the age of 36, appearing in "From Here to Eternity" (1953) as Fatso Judson, the sadistic stockade sergeant who beats Frank Sinatra's character, Pvt. Angelo Maggio, to death. But Paddy Chayefsky, who wrote "Marty" as a television play, and Delbert Mann, who directed it, saw something beyond brutality in Mr. Borgnine and offered him the title role when it was made into a feature film.
The 1950s had emerged as the decade of the common man, with Willy Loman of "Death of a Salesman" on Broadway and the likes of the bus driver Ralph Kramden ("The Honeymooners") on television. Mr. Borgnine's Marty Pilletti, a 34-year-old blue-collar bachelor who still lives with his mother, fit right in, showing the tender side of the average, unglamorous guy next door.
He received the Oscar for best actor for his portrayal, which also earned a Golden Globe Award.
Mr. Borgnine won even wider fame as the star of the ABC sitcom "McHale's Navy" (1962-66), originating the role of an irreverent con man of a torpedo boat skipper. He wrote in his autobiography, "Ernie," that he initially turned down the role because he refused to do a television series. He changed his mind when a boy came to his door selling candy and said he knew who James Arness of "Gunsmoke" and Richard Boone of "Have Gun, Will Travel" were, but he had never heard of Ernest Borgnine.
Familiar face of villainy
Over a career that lasted more than six decades, the burly, big-voiced Mr. Borgnine was never able to escape typecasting completely. Although he did another Chayefsky screenplay, starring with Bette Davis as a working-class father of the bride in "The Catered Affair" (1956) and even appeared in a musical, "The Best Things in Life Are Free" (1956), playing a Broadway showman, the vast majority of the characters he played were villains.
Military roles continued to beckon. One of his best known was as Lee Marvin's commanding officer in "The Dirty Dozen" (1967), about hardened prisoners on a World War II commando mission. He also starred in three sequels made for television.
But he worked in virtually every genre. Filmmakers cast him as a gangster, even in satirical movies like "Spike of Bensonhurst" (1988). He was in Westerns such as "Bad Day at Black Rock" (1955) and Sam Peckinpah's blood-soaked classic "The Wild Bunch" (1969).
He played gruff police officers, like his character in the disaster blockbuster "The Poseidon Adventure" (1972), and bosses from hell, as in the horror movie "Willard" (1971).
Ermes Effron Borgnino was born on Jan. 24, 1917, in Hamden, Conn., near New Haven. His father was a railroad brakeman. His mother was said to be the daughter of a count, Paolo Boselli, an adviser to King Victor Emmanuel of Italy.
He joined the Navy at 18 and served for 10 years. During World War II, he was a gunner's mate. After the war, his mother suggested he try acting. Her reasoning, he reported, was, "You've always liked making a damned fool of yourself."
In the late 1940s, he headed for New York, where by 1952 he was appearing on Broadway as a bodyguard in the comic fantasy "Mrs. McThing," starring Helen Hayes. He had already made his movie debut playing a Chinese shopkeeper in the 1951 adventure "China Corsair."
TV series in '80s, '90s
Mr. Borgnine never retired from acting. In the 1980s, he starred in another television series, the adventure drama "Airwolf," playing a helicopter pilot. He took a supporting role as a bubbly doorman in the 1990s sitcom "The Single Guy."
He had five wives. In 1949 he married Rhoda Kemins, whom he had met when they were both in the Navy. They had a daughter but divorced in 1958. On New Year's Eve 1959, he and the Mexican-born actress Katy Jurado were married; they divorced in 1962.
His third marriage was his most notorious because of its brevity. He and the Broadway musical star Ethel Merman married in late June 1964 but split up in early August. Mr. Borgnine later contended that Merman left because she was upset that on an international honeymoon trip he was recognized and she wasn't.
Final marriage in 1973
In 1965 he married Donna Rancourt; they had two children before divorcing in 1972. In 1973, he married for the fifth and final time, to Tova Traesnaes, who under the name Tova Borgnine became a cosmetics entrepreneur.
She survives him, as do his children, Christofer, Nancee and Sharon Borgnine; a stepson, David Johnson; six grandchildren; and his sister, Evelyn Verlardi.
Asked about his acting methods in 1973, Mr. Borgnine told the New York Times: "No Stanislavski. I don't chart out the life histories of the people I play. If I did, I'd be in trouble. I work with my heart and my head, and naturally emotions follow."
Sometimes he prayed, he said, or just reflected on character-appropriate thoughts. "If none of that works," he added, "I think to myself of the money I'm making."
The death, at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, was announced by Harry Flynn, his longtime spokesman.
Mr. Borgnine made his first memorable impression in films at the age of 36, appearing in "From Here to Eternity" (1953) as Fatso Judson, the sadistic stockade sergeant who beats Frank Sinatra's character, Pvt. Angelo Maggio, to death. But Paddy Chayefsky, who wrote "Marty" as a television play, and Delbert Mann, who directed it, saw something beyond brutality in Mr. Borgnine and offered him the title role when it was made into a feature film.
The 1950s had emerged as the decade of the common man, with Willy Loman of "Death of a Salesman" on Broadway and the likes of the bus driver Ralph Kramden ("The Honeymooners") on television. Mr. Borgnine's Marty Pilletti, a 34-year-old blue-collar bachelor who still lives with his mother, fit right in, showing the tender side of the average, unglamorous guy next door.
He received the Oscar for best actor for his portrayal, which also earned a Golden Globe Award.
Mr. Borgnine won even wider fame as the star of the ABC sitcom "McHale's Navy" (1962-66), originating the role of an irreverent con man of a torpedo boat skipper. He wrote in his autobiography, "Ernie," that he initially turned down the role because he refused to do a television series. He changed his mind when a boy came to his door selling candy and said he knew who James Arness of "Gunsmoke" and Richard Boone of "Have Gun, Will Travel" were, but he had never heard of Ernest Borgnine.
Familiar face of villainy
Over a career that lasted more than six decades, the burly, big-voiced Mr. Borgnine was never able to escape typecasting completely. Although he did another Chayefsky screenplay, starring with Bette Davis as a working-class father of the bride in "The Catered Affair" (1956) and even appeared in a musical, "The Best Things in Life Are Free" (1956), playing a Broadway showman, the vast majority of the characters he played were villains.
Military roles continued to beckon. One of his best known was as Lee Marvin's commanding officer in "The Dirty Dozen" (1967), about hardened prisoners on a World War II commando mission. He also starred in three sequels made for television.
But he worked in virtually every genre. Filmmakers cast him as a gangster, even in satirical movies like "Spike of Bensonhurst" (1988). He was in Westerns such as "Bad Day at Black Rock" (1955) and Sam Peckinpah's blood-soaked classic "The Wild Bunch" (1969).
He played gruff police officers, like his character in the disaster blockbuster "The Poseidon Adventure" (1972), and bosses from hell, as in the horror movie "Willard" (1971).
Ermes Effron Borgnino was born on Jan. 24, 1917, in Hamden, Conn., near New Haven. His father was a railroad brakeman. His mother was said to be the daughter of a count, Paolo Boselli, an adviser to King Victor Emmanuel of Italy.
He joined the Navy at 18 and served for 10 years. During World War II, he was a gunner's mate. After the war, his mother suggested he try acting. Her reasoning, he reported, was, "You've always liked making a damned fool of yourself."
In the late 1940s, he headed for New York, where by 1952 he was appearing on Broadway as a bodyguard in the comic fantasy "Mrs. McThing," starring Helen Hayes. He had already made his movie debut playing a Chinese shopkeeper in the 1951 adventure "China Corsair."
TV series in '80s, '90s
Mr. Borgnine never retired from acting. In the 1980s, he starred in another television series, the adventure drama "Airwolf," playing a helicopter pilot. He took a supporting role as a bubbly doorman in the 1990s sitcom "The Single Guy."
He had five wives. In 1949 he married Rhoda Kemins, whom he had met when they were both in the Navy. They had a daughter but divorced in 1958. On New Year's Eve 1959, he and the Mexican-born actress Katy Jurado were married; they divorced in 1962.
His third marriage was his most notorious because of its brevity. He and the Broadway musical star Ethel Merman married in late June 1964 but split up in early August. Mr. Borgnine later contended that Merman left because she was upset that on an international honeymoon trip he was recognized and she wasn't.
Final marriage in 1973
In 1965 he married Donna Rancourt; they had two children before divorcing in 1972. In 1973, he married for the fifth and final time, to Tova Traesnaes, who under the name Tova Borgnine became a cosmetics entrepreneur.
She survives him, as do his children, Christofer, Nancee and Sharon Borgnine; a stepson, David Johnson; six grandchildren; and his sister, Evelyn Verlardi.
Asked about his acting methods in 1973, Mr. Borgnine told the New York Times: "No Stanislavski. I don't chart out the life histories of the people I play. If I did, I'd be in trouble. I work with my heart and my head, and naturally emotions follow."
Sometimes he prayed, he said, or just reflected on character-appropriate thoughts. "If none of that works," he added, "I think to myself of the money I'm making."
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