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Marty film poster - 1955
Ernest Borgnine (/ˈbɔːrɡnaɪn/; born Ermes Effron Borgnino on
January 24, 1917 was an American actor whose career
spanned over six decades. He was noted for his gruff but relaxed voice
and gap-toothed Cheshire Cat grin.
He was born in Hamden, in New Haven County, which is located in southern Connecticut. Originally settled by the Puritans as part of New Haven Colony, it was incorporated as its own town in May of 1786.
Borgnine's film career began in 1951, and included supporting roles in China Corsair (1951), From Here to Eternity (1953), Vera Cruz (1954), Bad Day at Black Rock (1955), and The Wild Bunch (1969).
Bad Day at Black Rock movie poster
He also played the unconventional lead in many films, winning the Academy Award for Best Actor in 1956 for Marty (1955) which also won the 1956 Academy Award for Best Picture. Of all his films this was my favorite. The film was directed by Delbert Mann and also starred Betsy Blair. It also featured Frank Sutton of Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. fame.
The screenplay was written by Paddy Chayefsky, expanding upon his 1953 teleplay of the same name, which was broadcast on The Philco-Goodyear Television Playhouse and starred Rod Steiger in the title role. The music was written by Roy Web who wrote the score for the 1949 film, Mighty Joe Young (Wrestling Wonders link below).
In addition to winning the Academy Award for Best Picture, the film enjoyed international success, becoming the fourth American film to win the Palme d'Or. Marty, The Lost Weekend (1945) (link below) and Parasite (2019) are the only three films to win both organizations' grand prizes.
In 1994, Marty was deemed "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant" and selected for preservation in the Library of Congress' National Film Registry.
Borgnine achieved continuing success in the sitcom McHale's Navy (1962–1966), in which he played the title character.
He co-starred as Dominic Santini in the action series Airwolf (1984–1986), in addition to a wide variety of other roles.
Borgnine married five times. His first marriage, from 1949 to 1958, was to Rhoda Kemins. He was then married to actress Katy Jurado from 1959 to 1963. Borgnine's marriage to singer Ethel Merman
in 1964 lasted only 42 days. Their time together was mostly spent
hurling profane insults at each other, and both later admitted that the
marriage was a colossal mistake (Merman's description of the marriage
in her autobiography was a solitary blank page). Their divorce was
finalized on May 25, 1965.
From 1965 to 1972, Borgnine was married to Donna Rancourt. His fifth and
last marriage was to Tova Traesnaes, which lasted from February 24, 1973, until his death.
Ernest Borgnine died of kidney failure on July 8, 2012, at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. He was 95 years old.
Viewfinder links:
Miklós Rózsa ~ The Lost Weekend
Net links:
Ernest Borgnine ~
Connecticut History ~ Borgnine: Breaking the Hollywood Mold
Hallmark Drama ~ Love's Christmas Journey
Monthly Portland ~ The Importance of Being Ernest Borgnine
Rotten Tomatoes ~ Ernest Borgnine
Through the Clutter ~ 144 Borgnine Movies, Ranked Best to Worst
YouTube links:
Marty trailer (1955)
Marty Deleted scene (English subtitles) (1955)
The Motion Archive ~ Ernest Borgnine on Marty (interview)
