Ernest Borgnine Biography

Ernest Borgnine (January 24, 1917 " July 8, 2012) was an American film and television actor whose career spanned more than six decades. He was an unconventional lead in many films of the 1950s, winning an Oscar in 1955 for Marty. On television, he played Quinton McHale in the 1962"1966 series McHale's Navy and co-starred in the mid-1980s action series Airwolf, in addition to a wide variety of other roles. Borgnine earned an Emmy Award nomination at age 92 for his work on the series ER. He was also known for being the original voice of Mermaid Man on SpongeBob SquarePants from 1999 to 2012.

Early life

Borgnine was born Ermes Effron Borgnino () in 1917 in Hamden, Connecticut. He was the son of Anna (née Boselli), who emigrated from Carpi (Modena, Italy) to the United States, and Camillo Borgnino, who emigrated to the United States from Ottiglio (Alessandria, Italy).

Borgnine's parents separated when he was two years old, and he and his mother lived in Italy for about 4 1/2 years. By 1923, his parents had reconciled, and the family name was changed from Borgnino to Borgnine. The family settled in North Haven, Connecticut, where he attended public schools. Borgnine took to sports while growing up, but showed no interest in acting.

Naval service

Borgnine joined the United States Navy in 1935, after graduation from James Hillhouse High School in New Haven, Connecticut. He was discharged in 1941, but re-enlisted after Pearl Harbor and served until 1945, accumulating a total of ten years in the Navy and reaching the rank of gunner's mate 1st class in the process. He served aboard the destroyer . His military decorations included the Navy Good Conduct Medal, American Defense Service Medal with Fleet Clasp, American Campaign Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, and the World War II Victory Medal.

Borgnine received the honorary rank of chief petty officer in October 2004, from Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy Terry D. Scott for Borgnine's support of the Navy and naval families worldwide.

Career

After the end of World War II, Borgnine returned to his parents' home with no job and no direction. In a British Film Institute interview about his life and career, Borgnine said:

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As he was unwilling to settle for a dead-end factory job, his mother encouraged him to pursue a more glamorous profession and suggested that his personality would be well suited for the stage. He surprised his mother by taking the suggestion to heart, although his father was far from enthusiastic. In 2011, Borgnine remembered,

Stage

After graduation from acting studies, Borgnine auditioned and was accepted as an intern to the Barter Theatre in Abingdon, Virginia. It had been named for the director's allowing audiences to barter produce for admission during the cash-lean years of the Great Depression. In 1947, Borgnine landed his first stage role in State of the Union. Although it was a short role, he won over the audience. His next role was as the Gentleman Caller in Tennessee Williams' The Glass Menagerie.

In 1949, Borgnine went to New York, where he had his Broadway debut in the role of a nurse in the play Harvey. More roles on stage led him to being cast for decades as a character actor.

Films

In 1951, Borgnine moved to Los Angeles, California, where he eventually received his big break in From Here to Eternity (1953), playing the sadistic Sergeant "Fatso" Judson, who beats a stockade prisoner in his charge, Angelo Maggio (played by Frank Sinatra). Borgnine built a reputation as a dependable character actor and played villains in early films, including movies like Johnny Guitar, Vera Cruz and Bad Day at Black Rock.

In 1955, the actor starred as a warmhearted butcher in Marty, the film version of the television play of the same name. He gained an Academy Award for Best Actor over Frank Sinatra, James Dean (who had died by the time of the ceremony), and former Best Actor winners Spencer Tracy and James Cagney.

Borgnine's film career flourished for the next three decades, including roles in The Flight of the Phoenix (1965), The Dirty Dozen (1967), Ice Station Zebra (1968), The Poseidon Adventure (1972), Emperor of the North (1973), Convoy (1978), The Black Hole (1979), All Quiet On The Western Front (1979) and Escape from New York (1981).

One of his most famous roles was that of Dutch, a member of The Wild Bunch in the 1969 Western classic from director Sam Peckinpah. Of his role in The Wild Bunch, Borgnine later said,

"I did [think it was a moral film]. Because to me, every picture should have some kind of a moral to it. I feel that when we used to watch old pictures, as we still do I'm sure, the bad guys always got it in the end and the good guys always won out. Today it's a little different. Today it seems that the bad guys are getting the good end of it. There was always a moral in our story."

Television

Borgnine made his TV debut as a character actor in Captain Video and His Video Rangers, beginning in 1951. These two episodes led to countless other television roles that Borgnine would gain in Goodyear Television Playhouse, The Ford Television Theatre, Fireside Theatre, Frontier Justice, Laramie, Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre, Run for Your Life, Little House on the Prairie (a two-part episode entitled "The Lord is My Shepherd"), The Love Boat, Magnum, P.I., Highway to Heaven, Murder, She Wrote, Walker, Texas Ranger, Home Improvement, Touched by an Angel, and the final episodes of ER, the first episode of Wagon Train, and many others.

In 2009, at the age of 92, Borgnine earned an Emmy nomination for his performances in the final two episodes of ER.

McHale's Navy

In 1962, Borgnine joined the ranks of other sitcom stars such as John Forsythe, Andy Griffith, Danny Thomas, Alan Young, Robert Young, Fred MacMurray and Buddy Ebsen. That same year he signed a contract with Universal Studios for the lead role as the gruff but lovable skipper Lieutenant Commander Quinton McHale in what began as a serious one-hour 1962 episode called Seven Against the Sea for Alcoa Premiere, and later reworked to a comedy called McHale's Navy, a World War II sitcom. The insubordinate crew of PT-73 helped the show become an overnight success during its first season, landing in the Top 30 in 1963.

Just like the McHale character, Borgnine was a longtime navy man in real life. He thrived on the adulation from fans for their favorite navy man, and in 1963 received an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series. At the end of the fourth season, in 1966 low ratings and repetitive story lines brought McHale's Navy to an end. Comedian Tim Conway said about the sitcom: "You know, we were all guys, it was about the war, and about men, so, there weren't many women working on the show, so we can spit, talk, swear, and everything " smoke? Gosh. So, it was male oriented." Conway once referred to Borgnine making new friends off of the Universal set, "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 at the tram." While the show McHale's Navy was going strong, Tim had also said of Borgnine's short-lived marriage to Ethel Merman, "Ernie is volatile. I mean, there's no question about that; and Ethel was a very strong lady. So, you put 2 bombs in a room, something is going to explode, and I guess it probably did." The last thing he said about the McHale's Navy cancellation was, "We had gone from the South Pacific to Italy, and then, once in a while, we got to New York or something. The storylines were beginning to duplicate themselves. So, they actually said, 'Maybe, they had its run!'". Conway kept in touch with Borgnine, for more than 40 years, while living not too far from one another. In 1999, the duo reunited to guest-voice in several episodes of the popular 2000s animated comedy, SpongeBob SquarePants. Katy Jurado's death in 2002 drew Borgnine & Conway much closer, as Tim had heard so much of the actress's death. He said he heard his resisting friend once referred to one of his ex-wives, "Beautiful, but a tiger."

Airwolf

Borgnine returned to a new contract with Universal Studios in 1983, for a co-starring role opposite Jan-Michael Vincent, on Airwolf. After he was approached by producer Donald P. Bellisario, who had been impressed by Borgnine's guest role as a wrestler in a 1982 episode of Magnum, P.I., he immediately agreed. He played Dominic Santini, a helicopter pilot, in the series which became an immediate hit. Borgnine's strong performances belied his exhaustion due to the grueling production schedule, and the challenges of working with his younger, troubled series lead. The show was cancelled by CBS in 1986

The Single Guy

He auditioned a third time for a co-starring role opposite Jonathan Silverman in The Single Guy as doorman Manny Cordoba, which lasted two seasons. According to Silverman, Borgnine would come to work with more energy and passion than all other stars combined. He was the first person to arrive on the set every day and the last to leave.

Merlin's Shop of Mystical Wonders

In 1996, Borgnine starred in the televised fantasy/thriller film Merlin's Shop of Mystical Wonders (partially adapted from the 1984 horror film The Devil's Gift). As narrator and storyteller, Borgnine recounts a string of related supernatural tales, his modern-day fables notably centering around an enchanted and malicious cymbal-banging monkey toy stolen from the wizard Merlin. The film was later featured in the parodical television series Mystery Science Theater 3000, and has since gained a prominent cult following.

Other activities

Also in 1996, Borgnine toured the United States on a bus to meet his fans and see the country. The trip was the subject of a 1997 documentary, Ernest Borgnine on the Bus. He also served one year as the Chairman of the National Salute to Hospitalized Veterans, visiting patients in many Department of Veterans Affairs medical centers.

Work after 1999

Starting in 1999, Borgnine provided his voice talent to the animated sitcom SpongeBob SquarePants as the elderly superhero Mermaid Man (where he was paired up with his McHale's Navy co-star Tim Conway as the voice of Mermaid Man's sidekick Barnacle Boy). He expressed affection for this role, in no small part for its popularity among children. After his death, on July 11, 2012 Nickelodeon re-aired all of the episodes in which Mermaid Man appeared in memoriam. Borgnine also appeared as himself in The Simpsons episode "Boy-Scoutz 'n the Hood", in addition to a number of television commercials. In 2000, he was the executive producer of Hoover, in which he was the only credited actor.

In 2007, Borgnine starred in the Hallmark original film, A Grandpa for Christmas. He played a man who, after his estranged daughter ends up in the hospital after being in a car accident, discovers that he has a granddaughter that he never knew about. She is taken into his care, and they soon become great friends. Borgnine received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture made for Television for his performance. At 90, he was the oldest Golden Globe nominee ever.

Borgnine's autobiography Ernie was published by Citadel Press in July 2008. Ernie is a loose, conversational recollection of highlights from his acting career and notable events from his personal life.

On April 2, 2009, Borgnine appeared in the last episode of the long-running medical series ER. His role was that of a husband whose long marriage ended with his wife's death. In his final scene, his character is in a hospital bed lying beside his just-deceased wife. His performance garnered an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series, his third nomination and his first in 29 years (since being nominated for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or a Special in 1980 for All Quiet on the Western Front).

In 2009, at age 92, he starred as Frank, the main character of Another Harvest Moon, directed by Greg Swartz and also starring Piper Laurie and Anne Meara. On October 2, 2010, Borgnine appeared as himself in a sketch 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.

Personal life

Borgnine married five times. His first wife was Rhoda Kemins (1949"1958), whom he met while serving in the Navy. They had one daughter, Nancee (born May 28, 1952). Then he married actress Katy Jurado (1959"1963). Borgnine's marriage to singer Ethel Merman (1964) lasted 38 days. Their divorce was finalized on May 25, 1965.

He then married Donna Rancourt (1965"1972), with whom he had a son, Cristopher (born August 9, 1969) and two daughters, Sharon (born August 5, 1965) and Diana (born December 29, 1970). His fifth and last marriage was to Tova Traesnaes, which lasted from February 24, 1973 until his death.

He has a sister, Evelyn Velardi (born 1926). His mother, Anna Borgnine, died in 1949, of tuberculosis, just days before his first wedding.

Death

Borgnine died of kidney failure approximately 1:30 p.m. on July 8, 2012, at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, California with his family at his side. He was 95 years old. Attenders at his funeral included several members of the United States Navy SEALs, as well as his Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy co-star, Tim Conway, Scott Eastwood, Leonard Nimoy, Dylan McDermott, Gary Sinise, Joan Rivers, Joe Mantegna, Marlee Matlin, LeVar Burton, Rob Lowe, James Corden, Jenny McCarthy, Flea, Bruce Campbell, and Roger Ebert.His remains were later cremated.

Honors

Borgnine's hometown of Hamden, Connecticut, where he enjoyed a large and vocal following named a street in his honor. For 30 years (1972"2002), Borgnine marched in Milwaukee's annual Great Circus Parade as the "Grand Clown".

In 1997, Borgnine was the commencement speaker at Lakeland College, and received an honorary doctorate in humane letters in recognition of his distinguished acting career.

In 1998, the Palm Springs, California, Walk of Stars dedicated a Golden Palm Star to him.

Film awards and nominations

Borgnine won the 1955 Academy Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of Marty Piletti in the film Marty. At the time of his death, he was the oldest living recipient of the Best Actor Oscar.

For his contribution to the motion picture industry, Ernest Borgnine received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6324 Hollywood Blvd. In 1996, he was inducted into the Western Performers Hall of Fame at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

He was honored with the Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award at the 17th Screen Actors Guild Awards, held January 30, 2011.

Year	Award	Category	Title	Result
1955	Academy Award	Best Actor	Marty
	BAFTA Award	Best Foreign Actor
	Golden Globe Award	Best Actor " Motion Picture Drama
	NBR Award	Best Actor
	NYFCC Award	Best Actor
1962	Emmy Award	Outstanding Continued Performance by an Actor in a Series (Lead)	McHale's Navy
1979		Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or a Special	All Quiet on the Western Front
1999	Daytime Emmy Award	Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program	All Dogs Go to Heaven: The Series
2007	Golden Globe Award	Best Performance by an Actor in a Mini-Series or a Motion Picture Made for Television	A Grandpa for Christmas
2009	Emmy Award	Outstanding Guest Actor " Drama	ER
2009	Lifetime Achievement Award	from the Rhode Island International Film Festival
2011	Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award	from the Screen Actors Guild

Awards from fraternal groups

In 2000, Borgnine received his 50-year pin as a Freemason in Abingdon Lodge No. 48, Abingdon, Virginia. He joined the Scottish Rite Valley of Los Angeles (in the Southern Jurisdiction of the U.S.A) in 1964, received the KCCH in 1979, was coroneted a 33° Inspector General Honorary in 1983, and received the Grand Cross of the Court of Honour in 1991. He was also a member of the Loyal Order of Moose at that organization's Lodge in Junction City, Oregon. He volunteered to be Stories of Service National spokesman, urging his fellow World War II vets to come forward and share their stories.

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1951	China Corsair	Hu Chang
	The Whistle at Eaton Falls	Bill Street
	The Mob	Joe Castro
1953	From Here to Eternity	Staff Sergeant James R. "Fatso" Judson
	The Stranger Wore a Gun	Bull Slager
1954	Johnny Guitar	Bart Lonergan
	Demetrius and the Gladiators	Strabo
	'	Bill Rachin
	Vera Cruz	Donnegan
1955	Bad Day at Black Rock	Coley Trimble
	Marty	Marty	Academy Award for Best Actor BAFTA Award for Best Foreign Actor Golden Globe Award for Best Actor " Motion Picture Drama National Board of Review Award for Best Actor New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor
	Run for Cover	Morgan
	Violent Saturday	Stadt, Amish Farmer
	'	Mike Radin
	The Square Jungle	Bernie Browne
1956	Jubal	Shep Horgan
	'	Tom Hurley
	'	Lew Brown
	Three Brave Men	Bernard F. "Bernie" Goldsmith
1958	'	Ragnar
	'	John "Mac" McBain
	Torpedo Run	Lieutenant/Lieutenant Commander Archer "Archie" Sloan
1959	Summer of the Seventeenth Doll	Roo Webber
	'	Eddie Colt	Locarno International Film Festival Award for Best Actor
1960	Man on a String	Boris Mitrov
	Pay or Die	Police Lieutenant Joseph Petrosino	Nominated"?Golden Laurel
1961	Black City	Peppino Navarra
	The Italian Brigands	Sante Carbone
	Go Naked in the World	Pete Stratton
	'	Pickpocket
	Barabbas	Lucius
1964	McHale's Navy	Lt. Commander Quinton McHale, Sr	Spin-off of the series of the same name
1965	'	Trucker Cobb
1966	'	Barney Yale
1967	'	Major General Worden
	Chuka	Sergeant Otto Hansbach
1968	'	Himself	Documentary short film
	'	Barney Sheean
	Ice Station Zebra	Boris Vaslov
	'	Bert Clinger
1969	'	Dutch Engstrom
	'	Don Pedro Sandoval
1970	'	Fat Cat
	Suppose They Gave a War and Nobody Came?	Sheriff Harve
1971	Rain for a Dusty Summer	The General
	Willard	Al Martin
	Bunny O'Hare	Bill Green / William Gruenwald
	Hannie Caulder	Emmett Clemens
	Sam Hill: Who Killed Mr. Foster?	Deputy Sam Hill
	'	Sam Paxton
1972	'	Himself	Documentary
	Film Portrait
	'	Hoop
	'	Detective Lieutenant Mike Rogo
	Ripped Off	Captain Perkins
1973	Emperor of the North Pole	Shack
	'	Chief Diver Don MacKay
	Legend in Granite	Vince Lombardi
1974	Law and Disorder	Cy
	Vengeance Is Mine	Adam Smith
	Twice in a Lifetime	Vince Boselli
1975	'	Jonathan "John" Corbis
	Hustle	Santuro
1976	Shoot	Lou
1977	'	Angelo Dundee
	Fire!	Sam Brisbane
1978	Crossed Swords	John Canty
	Convoy	Natoosha County Sheriff Lyle 'Cottonmouth' Wallace of Arizona
	'	Dom Cimoli
	Cops and Robin	Joe Cleaver
1979	Ravagers	Rann
	'	Firat
	'	Harry Booth
	Holiday Hookers	Max
1980	When Time Ran Out	Detective Sergeant Tom Conti
	Super Fuzz	Sergeant Willy Dunlop
1981	Escape from New York	Cabbie
	Deadly Blessing	Isaiah Schmidt
	High Risk	Clint
1983	'	Lieutenant Bob Carrigan
	Carpool	Mickey Doyle
1984	Code Name: Wild Geese	Fletcher
	Love Leads the Way: A True Story	Senator Brighton
1985	Man Hunt	Ben Robeson
	Alice in Wonderland	The Lion
1987	Skeleton Coast	Colonel Smith
	'	Victor
1988	'	Father Lopez
	Moving Target	Captain Morrison
	Any Man's Death	Herr Gantz
	Spike of Bensonhurst	Baldo Cacetti	Nominated"?Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male
	Real Men Don't Eat Gummi Bears	Bischof
1989	Jake Spanner, Private Eye	Sal
1990	'	Coach
	Tides of War	Doctor
	Laser Mission	Professor Braun
	Appearances	Emil Danzig
1991	Mountain of Diamonds	Ernie
1992	Mistress	Himself	Cameo
1993	Tierärztin Christine	Dr. Gustav Gruber
	Hunt for the Blue Diamond	Hans Kroger
1994	'	Unknown
1995	Captiva Island	Arty
	Tierärztin Christine II: The Temptation	Dr. Gustav Gruber
1996	The Wild Bunch: An Album in Montage	Himself	Voice; Documentary
	Merlin's Shop of Mystical Wonders	Grandfather
	All Dogs Go to Heaven 2	Carface Carruthers	Voice only
1997	Ernest Borgnine on the Bus	Himself	Documentary
	McHale's Navy	Admiral Quinton McHale, Sr. (a.k.a. Cobra)	Based on the series of the same name
	Gattaca	Caesar
1998	12 Bucks	Lucky
	Small Soldiers	Kip Killigan	Voice
	BASEketball	Ted Denslow
	Mel	Grandpa
	An All Dogs Christmas Carol"	Carface Carruthers	Voice only
1999	'	Franklin Lyle
	Abilene	Hotis Brown
	'	Ben Quinn
2000	'	Godfather Mariano
	Castle Rock	Nate
	Hoover	J. Edgar Hoover	Also executive producer
2002	Whiplash	Judge DuPont
	11'09"01 September 11	Pensioner	Segment: "United States of America"
2003	Barn Red	Michael Bolini
	'	Narrator	Documentary
	'	Lucas Moat
2004	Blueberry	Rolling Star
	'	Faerie King
	'	Eugene
2005	That One Summer	Otis Garner
	3 Below	Grandpa
	Rail Kings	Steamtrain
2006	'	Jerry Warden
	Frozen Stupid	Frank Norgard
2007	Oliviero Rising	Bill
	'	Bert O'Riley	Nominated"?Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Mini-Series or a Motion Picture Made for Television
2008	Strange Wilderness	Milas
	I Am Somebody: No Chance in Hell	Judge Holliday
2009	Another Harvest Moon	Frank
2010	'	Carl Taylor
	Red	Henry/Recordskeeper
2011	Night Club	Albert	Accolade Competition for Leading Actor Frank Currier Actor's Award SINY Film Festival Award for Best Actor
	'	Slink
	Snatched	Big Frank Baum
	Love's Christmas Journey	Nicolas
2012	The Man Who Shook the Hand of Vicente Fernandez	Rex Page

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1961	'	Unknown	Episode: "The Blue Leaders"
1962"1966	McHale's Navy	Lieutenant Commander Quinton McHale
1974	Little House on the Prairie	Jonathan	Episode: "The Lord is my Shepherd"
1976"1977	Future Cop	Cleaver
1977	Jesus of Nazareth	The Roman Centurion
1979	All Quiet on the Western Front	Stanislaus Katczinsky	Nominated"?Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie
1982	Magnum, P.I.	Earl "Mr. White Death" Gianelli	Episode: "Mr. White Death"
1983	Blood Feud	J. Edgar Hoover
	Masquerade	Jerry
1984	'	Marcus
1984"1986	Airwolf	Dominic Santini
1985	'	Major General Worden
1987	Space Island	Billy Bones
	'	Major General Worden
1988	The Dirty Dozen: The Fatal Mission	Major General Worden
1989	Ocean	Pedro El Triste
1991	Home Improvement	Eddie Phillips	Episode: "Birds of a Feather Flock to Taylor"
1993	'	Himself	Voice and likeness Episode: "Boy-Scoutz n the Hood"
1995"1997	'	Doorman
1996"1999	All Dogs Go to Heaven: The Series	Carface Caruthers	Voice only
1998	JAG	Artemus Sullivan	Episode: "Yesterday's Heroes"
1999"2012	SpongeBob SquarePants	Mermaid Man	Voice only
2000	Walker, Texas Ranger	Eddie Ryan	Episode: "The Avenging Angel"
2002	Touched by an Angel	Max Blandish	Episode: "The Blue Angel"
	7th Heaven	Joe	Episode: "The Known Soldier"
2003	'	Uncle Mike Murphy	Episode: "Last Waltz"
2009	ER	Paul Manning	Episodes: "Old Times" and "And in the End..." Nominated"?Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series
	Aces 'N' Eights	Thurmond Prescott
2010	Saturday Night Live	Himself	Cameo in "What Up With That" sketch

Video games

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2001	SpongeBob SquarePants: SuperSponge	Mermaid Man	Voice only
2003	SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom	Mermaid Man	Voice only
2009	SpongeBob's Truth or Square	Mermaid Man
2010	SpongeBob's Boating Bash	Mermaid Man

Quotes

• Ernest: "Spencer Tracy was the first actor I've seen who could just look down into the dirt and command a scene. He played a set-up with Robert Ryan that way. He's looking down at the road and then he looks at Ryan at just the precise, right minute. I tell you, Rob could've stood on his head and zipped open his fly and the scene would've still been Mr. Tracy's."
• Ernest: "The trick is not to become somebody else. You become somebody else when you're in front of a camera or when you're on stage. There are some people who carry it all the time. That, to me, is not acting. What you've gotta do is find out what the writer wrote about and put it into your mind. This is acting. Not going out and researching what the writer has already written. This is crazy!"
• Ernest: "Everything I do has a moral to it. Yes, I've been in films that have had shootings. I made The Wild Bunch (1969), which was the beginning of the splattering of blood and everything else. But there was a moral behind it. The moral was that, by golly, bad guys got it. That was it. Yeah."
• Ernest: "Ever since they opened the floodgates with Clark Gable saying, 'Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn,' somebody's ears pricked up and said, 'Oh boy, here we go!'. Writers used to make such wonderful pictures without all that swearing, all that cursing. And now it seems that you can't say three words without cursing. And I don't think that's right."
• Ernest on drugs: "No, I've never done anything. At least, not to my knowledge. I once took a bunch of goofballs by accident. They looked like candy. They were in a little bowl at a party. I grabbed a handful and went to town. That was some New Year's Eve. I didn't have a coherent thought till February."
• Ernest on his marriage to Ethel Merman: "Biggest mistake of my life. I thought I was marrying Rosemary Clooney."
• Ernest on his $5,000 salary for playing the eponymous lead in Marty (1955), which won him a Best Actor Oscar: "...I would have done it for nothing."
• Ernest on Women's Rights: "They tried it the wrong way. You can't expect anyone to take you seriously if you burn your undies and tell me I'm a pig. That's why it failed. Too many ugly broads telling me that they don't want to sleep with me. Who wanted you anyway?"
• Ernest: "I'm 81 years old and I like to speak my mind. As a legacy, on the day I die, I'd like to have a newspaper publish all the things that I find wrong in the United States today. And my first would be to get rid of the politicians."