# In appreciation of Ernest Borgnine **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 18, 2011, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-appreciation-of-ernest-borgnine/596759 "2011-09-18T23:44:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![sparky\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/77aa72/32.png) [@sparky\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sparky_1)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2011, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-appreciation-of-ernest-borgnine/596759/1 "2011-09-18T23:44:34Z")
I love this guy, more for the memories than anything. I’m currently watching Emperor of the North on Netflix. As a kid, I remember being home from school sick (Maybe 6 or 7) and my Dad was sick too. We watched McHale’s Navy while sitting on the couch sharing a blanket. My Dad was Navy, as was most of my Uncles and family. Good times. I see now that he’s doing Sponge Bob Square Pants. What a cool dude. I think I ought to get my copy of The Wild Bunch out. Live long and prosper, Mr. Borgnine! ---
**Author:** ![PSXer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/48db29/32.png) [@PSXer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PSXer)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2011, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-appreciation-of-ernest-borgnine/596759/2 "2011-09-18T23:46:49Z")
he’s great as Cabbie in Escape From New York nobody gets to meet the Duke. You meet him once and then you’re dead ---
**Author:** ![The\_Hamster\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8edcca/32.png) [@The\_Hamster\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Hamster_King)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2011, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-appreciation-of-ernest-borgnine/596759/3 "2011-09-19T00:04:05Z")
If you haven’t yet, check him out in _The Vikings_ with Kirk Douglas. It’s a great performance and it’s amazing how much more handsome he is with a beard. ---
**Author:** ![brocks](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7feea3/32.png) [@brocks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brocks)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2011, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-appreciation-of-ernest-borgnine/596759/4 "2011-09-19T00:06:54Z")
> [@The\_Hamster\_King](#): > > If you haven’t yet, check him out in _The Vikings_ with Kirk Douglas. It’s a great performance and it’s amazing how much more handsome he is with a beard. ODIN!! ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2011, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-appreciation-of-ernest-borgnine/596759/5 "2011-09-19T00:09:53Z")
“Ma, sooner or later, there comes a point in a man’s life when he’s gotta face some facts. And one fact I gotta face is that… whatever it is women like, I ain’t got it.” He was absolutely, heartbreakingly perfect as Marty… a well-deserved Oscar. The fact that he was equally convincing as a shy, sad sack middle-aged butcher AND as a cutthroat in “The Wild Bunch” suggests he was a much more versatile actor than he gets credit for. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2011, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-appreciation-of-ernest-borgnine/596759/6 "2011-09-19T00:10:32Z")
I can still hum the theme song for _McHale’s Navy_. ---
**Author:** ![Rhiannon8404](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhiannon8404/32/17929_2.png) [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2011, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-appreciation-of-ernest-borgnine/596759/7 "2011-09-19T00:11:08Z")
He’s definitely one of my favorite actors. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2011, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-appreciation-of-ernest-borgnine/596759/8 "2011-09-19T03:25:07Z")
We just saw him in _Red_, made just a year or two ago. He was in his mid 90’s, looking and sounding VERY good for his age. ---
**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2011, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-appreciation-of-ernest-borgnine/596759/9 "2011-09-19T03:30:51Z")
> [@TreacherousCretin](#): > > We just saw him in _Red_, made just a year or two ago. He was in his mid 90’s, looking and sounding VERY good for his age. What accounts for his longevity, I wonder? ---
**Author:** ![Cabin\_Fever\_1](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cabin_fever_1/32/2908_2.png) [@Cabin\_Fever\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cabin_Fever_1)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2011, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-appreciation-of-ernest-borgnine/596759/10 "2011-09-19T03:35:51Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > “Ma, sooner or later, there comes a point in a man’s life when he’s gotta face some facts. And one fact I gotta face is that… whatever it is women like, I ain’t got it.” > > He was absolutely, heartbreakingly perfect as Marty… a well-deserved Oscar. > > The fact that he was equally convincing as a shy, sad sack middle-aged butcher AND as a cutthroat in “The Wild Bunch” suggests he was a much more versatile actor than he gets credit for. Got to agree with all of you, but he played the character of Marty to perfection. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2011, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-appreciation-of-ernest-borgnine/596759/11 "2011-09-19T03:38:45Z")
I saw the thread title, I thought he was dead. Just like Snake Plisskin. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2011, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-appreciation-of-ernest-borgnine/596759/12 "2011-09-19T04:12:30Z")
I read “Ernie: The Autobiography” this summer, kind of superficial, but interesting as show biz memoirs always are; he certainly had a long career. Funny how the older he gets, the better looking he gets. ---
**Author:** ![Jaledin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Jaledin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jaledin)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2011, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-appreciation-of-ernest-borgnine/596759/13 "2011-09-19T04:24:12Z")
Aw, come on, you all know “Airwolf” was his greatest series of scripts! I opened the thread and thought he died and did the Jesus-cross. He was spectacular in _Red_ – I had to convince a few people he was still alive after they saw that picture. Besides, when you can call a Whisky Presbyterian (bourbon/whiskey + [whaddya call it, that ginger soda?]) an “Ernest Borgnine” as shorthand, you know you’ve got it made. Great actor – the world would have been much smaller without him in it. ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2011, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-appreciation-of-ernest-borgnine/596759/14 "2011-09-19T05:20:56Z")
This thread about old character actors got me wondering about who’s older: Borgnine or Eli Wallach? ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2011, 6:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-appreciation-of-ernest-borgnine/596759/15 "2011-09-19T06:32:55Z")
> [@NDP](#): > > This thread about old character actors got me wondering about who’s older: Borgnine or Eli Wallach? Borgnine was born on January 24, 1917. Wallach was born on December 7, 1915. ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2011, 6:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-appreciation-of-ernest-borgnine/596759/16 "2011-09-19T06:52:11Z")
> [@Koxinga](#): > > What accounts for his longevity, I wonder? [Click, if you really want to know](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3I_PeLNzxNQ) ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2011, 6:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-appreciation-of-ernest-borgnine/596759/17 "2011-09-19T06:55:31Z")
> [@Koxinga](#): > > What accounts for his longevity, I wonder? I’d guess it’s some combination of lifestyle, luck, and especially genes. It’s amazing to me how extreme longevity can run in families. (Thinking of my wife’s paternal grandparents, uncle, and four aunts, all living well into their 90’s) The IMDB says Borgnine has worked in four films since _Red_. . . ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2011, 6:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-appreciation-of-ernest-borgnine/596759/18 "2011-09-19T06:58:48Z")
I mentioned in a recent thread that I saw him at Dragon\*Con (a huge sci-f/fantasy expo in Atlanta) over Labor Day weekend and he looks great. He’s 94 but was signing autographs, laughing with kids, and though he certainly looked old he looks like he has a few more miles on him, which was somehow reassuring. ---
**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2011, 7:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-appreciation-of-ernest-borgnine/596759/19 "2011-09-19T07:01:11Z")
> [@TreacherousCretin](#): > > I’d guess it’s some combination of lifestyle, luck, and especially genes. > . You left out a fourth factor . . . ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2011, 7:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-appreciation-of-ernest-borgnine/596759/20 "2011-09-19T07:34:16Z")
> [@Nobody](#): > > [Click, if you really want to know](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3I_PeLNzxNQ) Billions now living shall never die. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-appreciation-of-ernest-borgnine/596759.md?page=2)