Ernest Borgnine was an American actor and actor had an acting career spanning the best of over six decades from 1940 to 2012. He has been cited as one of the best in his business and was also a voice actor, providing voices for a number of video games. Years after his death, Borgnine still comes to mind like many other great actors.
Ernest Borgnine Bio
The actor was born on Ermes Effron Borgnino24. January 1917 in Hamden, Connecticut. His parents, Anna Boselli and Camillo Borgnino, were Italian immigrants and his mother was from the city of Capri while his father was from the municipality of Ottigli.
Two years after his birth, his parents suffered a separation that took him to Italy, where he lived with his mother until his parents reunited almost five years later. After this, his father changed his name to Charles Borgnine, which is why the family name was changed to Borgnine instead of Borgnino.
Raised in New Haven, Connecticut with one sister, Evelyn Borgnine Velardi, Borgnine attended James Hillhouse High School. There was nothing about him at the time that showed he would become a great actor later in his life as he was more interested in sports.
After high school, he enlisted in the US Navy; this was in 1935. He remained with the force until 1941 when he was discharged, only to re-enlist the next year and then serve again until 1945. After his years of service, he received various military awards such as World War II Victory Medal and the Navy Good Conduct Medal.
After leaving the Navy, Ernest returned home, where he stayed with his mother for some time before getting a job at a local factory. He also worked in a hair salon, brushing cut hair off the floor. His mother then encouraged him to try acting, believing he had the personality for the stage. He tried it and it paid off with a stage appearance in State of the Union in 1947, followed by more plays.
His film acting career began in 1951 when he landed a role in China Corsair, followed by The Whistle at Eaton Falls and The Mob in the same year. Despite telling a lot about himself in films before 1955, he became a name to be reckoned with after he did Marty that year. The performance earned him an Academy Award, Golden Globe, and BAFTA award, among others, less than 10 years after he began acting.
By the time he appeared in his last film, The Man Who Shake Hands with Vicente Fernandez in 2012, he had appeared in over 150 films and over 60 TV productions including McHale’s Navy (1962 to 1966), ER (2009) and Love’s Christmas Journey (2011).
His capital
Much can be argued about Ernest Borgnine, but it is agreed that he was hardworking, talented and ultimately successful. After a career spanning more than six decades, he left an estimated $15 million net worth.
Ernest Borgnine’s spouse
Ernest Borgnine was not only married five times during his lifetime, but was one of the shortest marriages in Hollywood considering he married his third wife, Ethel Merman, in 1964, which lasted just 42 days.
The first woman he was married to was Rhoda Kemins in 1949. Although the marriage produced a daughter, Nancee, who was born in 1952, they ended in divorce in 1958. The next year he married actress Katy Jurado, but this union lasted no longer than 1963, when they also divorced.
After that marriage, he married singer Ethel Merman, something everyone would agree was a colossal mistake as their time together, while short, was filled with bitterness and insults. As funny as Ethel is, she described the marriage with a blank page in her autobiography. Merman (1978).
After the divorce, Ernest married Donna Rancourt in 1965. The marriage produced three children; Sharon, born 1965, Christopher (born 1969) and Diana (born 1970). The marriage ended in 1972. In the same year he married the woman who would be his last wife, Tova Traesnaes. The two remained together until the death of Borgnine. Like the actor, Tova Traesnaes has been married and divorced, albeit only once.
When and how did he die?
At the age of 95, the legendary split-tooth actor died on July 8, 2012 in Los Angeles. Ernest Borgnine died after kidney failure. A few days earlier he went to the hospital for a routine check-up, but as he was joking, it turned out to be something serious. He died surrounded by his publicist Harry Flynn and family members.