Ernest Borgnine (born Ermes Effron Borgnino; January 24, 1917 – July 8, 2012) was an American actor whose career spanned over six decades. He was noted for his gruff but calm voice and gap-toothed Cheshire Cat grin. A popular performer, he also appeared as a guest on numerous talk shows and as a panelist on several game shows.
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 for Marty (1955). He achieved continuing success in the sitcom McHale's Navy (1962–1966), in which he played the title character, and co-starred as Dominic Santini in the action series Airwolf (1984–1986), in addition to a wide variety of other roles.
Borgnine earned his third Primetime Emmy Award nomination at age 92 for his work on the 2009 series finale of ER. He was known as the original voice of Mermaid Man on SpongeBob SquarePants from 1999 until his death in 2012. He had earlier replaced the late Vic Tayback as the voice of the villainous Carface Caruthers in both All Dogs Go to Heaven 2 (1996) and All Dogs Go to Heaven: The Series (1996–1998).
Academy Awards
Best Actor
Golden Globe Awards
Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama
British Academy Film Awards
Best Actor in a Leading Role
National Board of Review Awards
Best Actor
Known For
Gattaca
(1997)
Caesar
Escape from New York
(1981)
Cabbie
Convoy
(1978)
Lyle Wallace
RED
(2010)
Henry, The Records Keeper
Small Soldiers
(1998)
Kip Killagin (voice)
The Dirty Dozen
(1967)
Maj. Gen. Worden
Super Fuzz
(1980)
Willy Dunlop
The Poseidon Adventure
(1972)
Mike Rogo
The Wild Bunch
(1969)
Dutch Engstrom
From Here to Eternity
(1953)
Sgt. James R. 'Fatso' Judson
Barabbas
(1961)
Lucius
Marty
(1955)
Marty Piletti
All Quiet on the Western Front
(1979)
Stanislaus Katczinsky
BASEketball
(1998)
Ted Denslow
Hannie Caulder
(1971)
Emmett Clemens
The Vikings
(1958)
Ragnar
Full Filmography
Acting
The Mob
(1951)
Joe Castro
The Whistle at Eaton Falls
(1951)
Bill Street
China Corsair
(1951)
Hu Chang
The Stranger Wore a Gun
(1953)
Bull Slager
From Here to Eternity
(1953)
Sgt. James R. 'Fatso' Judson
Demetrius and the Gladiators
(1954)
Strabo
The Bounty Hunter
(1954)
Bill Rachin
Vera Cruz
(1954)
Donnegan
Johnny Guitar
(1954)
Bart Lonergan
Marty
(1955)
Marty Piletti
Bad Day at Black Rock
(1955)
Coley Trimble
Violent Saturday
(1955)
Stadt, Amish Farmer
The Last Command
(1955)
Mike Radin
The Square Jungle
(1955)
Bernie Browne
Run for Cover
(1955)
Morgan
Three Brave Men
(1956)
Bernard F. Goldsmith
Jubal
(1956)
Shep Horgan
The Best Things in Life Are Free
(1956)
Lew Brown
The Catered Affair
(1956)
Tom Hurley
Torpedo Run
(1958)
Lt. Archer 'Archie' Sloan
The Badlanders
(1958)
John McBain
The Vikings
(1958)
Ragnar
Summer of the Seventeenth Doll
(1959)
Roo
The Rabbit Trap
(1959)
Eddie Colt
Pay or Die!
(1960)
Police Lt. Joseph Petrosino
Man on a String
(1960)
Boris Mitrov
Barabbas
(1961)
Lucius
Black City
(1961)
Peppino Navarra
Go Naked in the World
(1961)
Pete Stratton
The Last Judgment
(1961)
Pickpocket
Seduction Of The South
(1961)
Sante Carbone
McHale's Navy
(1964)
Quinton McHale
The Flight of the Phoenix
(1965)
Trucker Cobb
The Oscar
(1966)
Barney Yale
Chuka
(1967)
Sgt. Otto Hahnsbach
The Dirty Dozen
(1967)
Maj. Gen. Worden
The Split
(1968)
Bert Clinger
The Legend of Lylah Clare
(1968)
Barney Sheean
Ice Station Zebra
(1968)
Boris Vaslov
A Bullet for Sandoval
(1969)
Don Pedro Sandoval
The Wild Bunch
(1969)
Dutch Engstrom
Suppose They Gave a War and Nobody Came?
(1970)
Sheriff Harve
The Adventurers
(1970)
Fat Cat
Willard
(1971)
Al Martin
Who Killed the Mysterious Mr. Foster?
(1971)
Deputy Sam Hill
Rain for a Dusty Summer
(1971)
The General
Hannie Caulder
(1971)
Emmett Clemens
Bunny O'Hare
(1971)
Bill Green - Gruenwald
The Trackers
(1971)
Sam Paxton
The Revengers
(1972)
Hoop
The Boxer
(1972)
Captain Perkins
The Poseidon Adventure
(1972)
Mike Rogo
Legend in Granite
(1973)
Vince Lombardi
Emperor of the North
(1973)
Shack
The Neptune Factor
(1973)
Chief Diver Don MacKay
Twice in a Lifetime
(1974)
Vince Boselli
Sunday in the Country
(1974)
Adam Smith
Law and Disorder
(1974)
Cy
Hustle
(1975)
Santuro
The Devil's Rain
(1975)
Jonathan Corbis
Future Cop
(1976)
Officer Joe Cleaver
Shoot
(1976)
Lou
Holiday Hookers
(1976)
Max
Fire!
(1977)
Sam Brisbane
The Prince and the Pauper
(1977)
John Canty
The Greatest
(1977)
Angelo Dundee
The Ghost of Flight 401
(1978)
Dom Cimoli
Convoy
(1978)
Lyle Wallace
Cops and Robin
(1978)
Joe Cleaver
The Double McGuffin
(1979)
Firat
The Black Hole
(1979)
Harry Booth
All Quiet on the Western Front
(1979)
Stanislaus Katczinsky
The Horror Show
(1979)
(archive footage)
Ravagers
(1979)
Rann
When Time Ran Out...
(1980)
Det. Sgt. Tom Conti
Super Fuzz
(1980)
Willy Dunlop
High Risk
(1981)
Clint
Deadly Blessing
(1981)
Isaiah
Escape from New York
(1981)
Cabbie
James Bond: The First 21 Years
(1983)
Self
Blood Feud
(1983)
J. Edgar Hoover
Carpool
(1983)
Mickey Doyle
Young Warriors
(1983)
Lt. Bob Carrigan
Airwolf: The Movie
(1984)
Dominic Santini
Love Leads the Way: A True Story
(1984)
Sen. Brighton
Code Name: Wild Geese
(1984)
Frank Fletcher
The Manhunt
(1984)
Ben Robeson
The Dirty Dozen: Next Mission
(1985)
Gen. Worden
The Spencer Tracy Legacy: A Tribute by Katharine Hepburn
(1986)
Self (archive footage)
The Dirty Dozen: The Deadly Mission
(1987)
Gen. Sam Worden
Skeleton Coast
(1988)
Colonel Smith
The Dirty Dozen: The Fatal Mission
(1988)
Gen. Sam Worden
Moving Target
(1988)
Captain Morrison
The Big Turnaround
(1988)
Father Lopez
Spike of Bensonhurst
(1988)
Baldo Cacetti
The Opponent
(1988)
Victor
Laser Mission
(1989)
Prof. Braun
Hoodwinked
(1989)
Sal Piccolo
Real Men Don't Eat Gummi Bears
(1989)
Bischof
Any Man's Death
(1990)
Herr Gantz
The Last Match
(1990)
Coach
Tides of War
(1990)
Doctor
Appearances
(1990)
Emil Danzig
Mountain of Diamonds
(1991)
Ernie
Mistress
(1992)
Himself
La Classe américaine
(1993)
Ernest (archive footage)
Tierärztin Christine
(1993)
Dr. Gustav Gruber
Der blaue Diamant
(1993)
Hans Kroger
Captiva Island
(1995)
Arty
Tierärztin Christine II: Die Versuchung
(1995)
Dr. Gustav Gruber
Outlaws: The Legend of O.B. Taggart
(1995)
Sheriff Laughton
All Dogs Go to Heaven 2
(1996)
Carface (voice)
Burt Lancaster: Daring to Reach
(1996)
Self (archive footage)
Merlin's Shop of Mystical Wonders
(1996)
The Wild Bunch: An Album in Montage
(1996)
Self
Ernest Borgnine on the Bus
(1997)
Self
McHale's Navy
(1997)
Admiral Quinton McHale Sr.
Big Guns Talk: The Story of the Western
(1997)
Self
Gattaca
(1997)
Caesar
Everyone Loves Mel
(1998)
Grandpa
An All Dogs Christmas Carol
(1998)
Carface (voice)
BASEketball
(1998)
Ted Denslow
Small Soldiers
(1998)
Kip Killagin (voice)
The Lost Treasure of Sawtooth Island
(1999)
Ben Quinn
Abilene
(1999)
Hotis Brown
The Last Great Ride
(1999)
Franklin Lyle
Sir John Mills' Moving Memories
(2000)
Self (archive footage)
Castle Rock
(2000)
Nate
Frank Sinatra Memorial
(2000)
Self
The Kiss Of Debt
(2000)
Godfather Mariano
Hoover
(2000)
J. Edgar Hoover
11'09''01 September 11
(2002)
Old Man (segment "USA")
The Long Ride Home
(2003)
Lucas Moat
The American Hobo: History of the Railriding Worker
(2003)
Himself - Narrator
Spongebob SquarePants: Deep Sea Sillies
(2003)
Mermaid Man
Time Machine: When Cowboys Were King
(2003)
Self
Sam Peckinpah's West: Legacy of a Hollywood Renegade
(2004)
Self (archive footage)
The Blue Light
(2004)
Faerie King
Renegade
(2004)
Rolling Star
Barn Red
(2004)
Michael Bolini
The Trail to Hope Rose
(2004)
Eugene
Rail Kings
(2005)
Steamtrain
That One Summer
(2005)
3 Below
(2005)
Grandpa
Passion & Poetry: The Ballad of Sam Peckinpah
(2005)
Self
La cura del gorilla
(2006)
Jerry
Armed and Deadly: The Making of 'The Dirty Dozen'
(2006)
Self
A Grandpa for Christmas
(2007)
Bert O'Riley
Mr. Warmth: The Don Rickles Project
(2007)
Self
Red and White: Gone with the West
(2008)
Himself / Narrator
Frozen Stupid
(2008)
Frank Norgard
Aces 'N' Eights
(2008)
Thurmond Prescott
Strange Wilderness
(2008)
Milas
Railroad to Hell: A Chinaman's Chance
(2008)
Judge Holliday
The Wishing Well
(2009)
Big Jim
Square Roots: The Story of SpongeBob SquarePants
(2009)
Oliviero Rising
(2009)
Bill
Private Screenings: Ernest Borgnine
(2009)
Self
Another Harvest Moon
(2010)
Frank
RED
(2010)
Henry, The Records Keeper
The Genesis Code
(2010)
Carl Taylor
The Lion of Judah
(2011)
Slink (voice)
Love's Christmas Journey
(2011)
Nicholas
Night Club
(2011)
Albert
National Lampoon's Snatched
(2011)
Big Frank Baum
The Man Who Shook the Hand of Vicente Fernandez
(2012)
Rex Page
Remote Control Magic: The Movie
(2012)
Self (archive footage)
Passion & Poetry: Sam's Trucker Movie
(2013)
Self
Ingrid Bergman: In Her Own Words
(2015)
Self (archive footage)
Naples '44
(2016)
Self
Rat Pack
(2022)
Self (archive footage)
Crew