He was born Ermes Effron Borgino on January 24, 1917, in Hamden, Connecticut, to Italian immigrants but spent several of his childhood years in Milan, Italy, before the family moved back to Connecticut.
After high school, Borgnine served in the US Navy from 1935 until 1945, posted in both the Atlantic and Pacific during the second World War. He took up acting at the urging of his mother, who told him, “You always like to make a darn fool of yourself in front of people.”
Borgnine won the Academy Award as best actor for portraying a lonely, socially awkward butcher in Marty in 1955. The movie was named best picture and also won Oscars for director Delbert Mann and screenwriter Paddy Chayefsky.
He was married to five women. His 1964 marriage to Broadway star Ethel Merman lasted fewer than 40 days.
The documentary Ernest Borgnine on the Bus chronicles the actor’s 1996 trip in his customised bus across the United States to visit with fans.
Borgnine also won a Golden Globe for Marty. His television work earned him three Primetime Emmy nominations — in 1963 for McHale’s Navy, in 1980 for an adaptation of All Quiet on the Western Front and in 2009 for a guest spot on ER.
He became the oldest performer nominated for a Golden Globe in recognition of his 2007 work in the TV movie A Grandpa for Christmas. He received the Screen Actors Guild lifetime achievement award last year.
