January 24, 2022

Ernest Borgnine ~ Marty

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Marty film poster - 1955


Ernest Borgnine (/ˈbɔːrɡnn/; 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).     
 
 
 
 
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:
          
Ernest Borgnine           
Gorgeous George           
Katy Jurado          
Ethel Merman             
Miklós Rózsa ~ The Lost Weekend          
Rod Steiger          
Frank Sutton           
          
Net links:
           
Ernest Borgnine ~                
         Filmography             
         Television            
Connecticut History ~ Borgnine: Breaking the Hollywood Mold      
Getty Images ~ Ernest Borgnine          
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:
           
Ernest Borgnine           
Marty movie clips                     
Marty trailer (1955)         
Marty Deleted scene (English subtitles) (1955)              
The Motion Archive ~ Ernest Borgnine on Marty (interview)
          
 
 
 
 
 
          
          
Styrous® ~ Monday, January 24, 2022 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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