Ernest Borgnine’s Later Years
For over a hundred years some of the greatest video treasures of all time have been produced. Some have been lost in the sands of time and others, soon to be rediscovered, will become fan favorites for a whole new generation.
Each week we will feature just one of the many hidden gems that you can see on ATVN with insights and commentaries on classic television shows and legendary cinematic performances.
This week, on what would have been his 105th birthday, we continue our salute to the talented career of Ernest Borgnine.
Borgnine swept the award circuit with his 1955 portrayal of the titular character in the Academy Award winning film, Marty, but his career was far from over.
While not known for making an abundance of pictures, Ernest had very few films that were not successful in xterms of financial and commercial success. Furthermore, he was frequently praised for the depth and diversity of his work–both as an individual and in the genres of movies in which he worked.
Some of his highlights over the following three decades included the 1965 survival drama The Flight Of The Phoenix, the 1969 western classic The Wild Bunch, 1972’s epic disaster blockbuster The Poseidon Adventure, the 1973 action adventure movie The Emperor Of The North, the 1978 road adventure film Convoy and the 1979 Walt Disney sci-fi flick The Black Hole.
His performance in Poseidon was especially touching as he was one of the leaders of a small band of survivors fighting for their lives aboard a doomed, overturned luxury liner…only to (SPOILER ALERT)…lose the love of his life just before the film’s dramatic climax.
But one of his longest and most endearing roles was that of Lieutenant Commander Quinton McHale on McHale’s Navy. People may not remember that this popular situation-comedy starring Borgnine that ran from 1962 to 1966 actually started as a serious hour-long program called Seven Against The Sea.
The show was quickly reworked for laughs and added TV veteran Joe Flynn and a relative newcomer to television, Tim Conway, playing McHale’s sidekick/ensign.
Borgnine and Conway formed an instant friendship and the chemistry between the two was evident from the earliest episodes of the program. In more than one interview, Conway would recall what a gregarious individual Ernest was to everyone on the Universal set. Recalls Conway: “It was the beginning of the trams going through Universal. Ernie was probably one of the few people at Universal who would stop the trams and say, ‘Hello, how are you?’ He would talk to everybody on the trams.”
The two remained close friends for over 40 years.
Borgnine would star in the 1980s adventure show, Airwolf. He also gave some of the most memorable guest-starring performances on some of television’s longest running shows including Little House On The Prairie, The Love Boat, Magnum P.I., Murder, She Wrote, Walker, Texas Ranger, Touched By An Angel, Highway To Heaven and others.
His appearance on “Little House,” not only earned him an Emmy but the two-part episode he guest-starred in was later featured prominently in a retrospective look back at the show’s most special moments.
He also continued performing live action roles well up into his mid-90s. Among them was his fourth and final appearance on the series finale of ER, a guest role as a husband who’s lost his wife. Borgnine earned another Emmy award for this performance.
On October 2, 2010, Borgnine appeared as himself in a sketch with Morgan Freeman on Saturday Night Live. On October 15, 2010, he appeared in Red, which was filmed earlier that year. In late 2011, Borgnine completed what would be his last film, playing Rex Page in The Man Who Shook the Hand of Vicente Fernandez.
His voice also became synonymous with a popular character on one of the longest running cartoons of all time, SpongeBob Square Pants. Borgnine voiced the Batman-esque “superhero,” Mermaid Man, from the start of the series in the 1990s until his death in 2012. Mermaid Man’s trusty sidekick on the program? His old pal from his McHale’s Navy days–Tim Conway.
Borgnine died of lung cancer (he was a heavy smoker for many years) on July 29, 2012. He was 95.
Be sure to look for classic television and film performances from Ernest Borgnine on ATVN. To view the complete rundown of classic programming on ATVN, check out the weekly listings here on our website.
The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Astound Broadband or any other agency, organization, employer or company.
