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Borgnine played a sensitive role opposite Bette Davis in another film based on a Chayefsky TV drama, "The Catered Affair," a film that was a personal favorite. It concerned a New York taxi driver and his wife who argued over the expense of their daughter's wedding. Among Borgnine's other films were "Three Bad Men," "The Vikings," "Torpedo Run" and "Barabbas," "Ice Station Zebra," "The Adventurers," "Willard" and "The Greatest" (as Muhammad Ali's manager). More recently, Borgnine had a recurring role as the apartment house doorman-cum-chef in the NBC sitcom "The Single Guy." He had a small role in the unsuccessful 1997 movie version of "McHale's Navy." And he was the voice of Mermaid Man on "SpongeBob SquarePants" and Carface in "All Dogs Go to Heaven 2." "I don't care whether a role is 10 minutes long or two hours," he said in 1973. "And I don't care whether my name is up there on top, either. Matter of fact, I'd rather have someone else get top billing; then if the picture bombs, he gets the blame, not me." In 2007, Borgnine became the oldest Golden Globe nominee ever, at 90, for the TV movie "A Grandpa for Christmas." It came 52 years after his only other Globe nomination, for "Marty," which he won. He didn't win that second time, but Borgnine was as gracious as could be about it. "Hey, I already got one," Borgnine said. "I was nominated and I think that's wonderful. You don't have to win them all." Ermes Efron Borgnino was born in Hamden, Conn., on Jan. 24, 1917, the son of Italian immigrant parents. The family lived in Milan when the boy was 2 to 7, then returned to Connecticut, where he attended school in New Haven. When Borgnine joined the Navy, he weighed 135 pounds; when he left 10 years later, he weighed 100 pounds more. "I wouldn't trade those 10 years for anything," he said in 1956. "The Navy taught me a lot of things. It molded me as a man, and I made a lot of wonderful friends." For a time he contemplated taking a job with an air-conditioning company. But his mother persuaded him to enroll at the Randall School of Dramatic Arts in Hartford. He stayed four months, the only formal training he received. He appeared in repertory at the Barter Theater in Virginia, toured as a hospital attendant in "Harvey" and played a villain on TV's "Captain Video." After earning $2,300 in 1951, Borgnine almost accepted a position with an electrical company. But the job fell through, and he returned to acting, moving into a modest house in Los Angeles' San Fernando Valley. His first marriage was to Rhoda Kenins, whom he met when she was a Navy pharmacist's mate and he was a patient. They had a daughter, but the marriage ended in divorce after his "Marty" stardom. Borgnine married Mexican actress Katy Jurado in 1959, and their marriage resulted in headlined squabbles from Hollywood to Rome before it ended in 1964. In 1963, he and Merman startled the show business world by announcing, after a month's acquaintance, that they would marry when his divorce from Jurado became final. The Broadway singing star and the movie tough guy seemed to have nothing in common, and their marriage ended in 38 days after a fierce battle. "If you blinked, you missed it," Merman once cracked. Next came one-time child actress Donna Rancourt, with whom Borgnine had a daughter, and finally his happy union with Tova. On Jan. 24, 2007, Borgnine celebrated his 90th birthday with a party for friends and family at a West Hollywood bistro. Still boisterous, Borgnine made a rare concession to age at 88 when he gave up driving the bus he would take around the country, stopping to talk with local folks along the way. During an interview at the time, Borgnine complained that he wanted to continue acting, but roles were tough to find at his age. "I just want to do more work," he said. "Every time I step in front of a camera I feel young again. I really do. It keeps your mind active and it keeps you going."
[Associated
Press;
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