Ernest Borgnine Net Worth

Ernest Borgnine's Quotes

• 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 [in Bad Day at Black Rock (1955)]. 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.
• 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!
• 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.
• 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.
• [on Brokeback Mountain (2005)] I didn't see it and I don't care to see it . . . If John Wayne were alive, he'd be rolling over in his grave.

Interesting Facts about Ernest Borgnine

1. There is an instrumental techno track called "Theme from Ernest Borgnine" by the artist Squarepusher on the album "Feed Me Weird Things" (1996, Rephlex Records UK).
2. Involved in an air crash in 1996.
3. In 1999 he had both knees replaced.
4. Was the very first "center square" on The Hollywood Squares (Daytime) (1965) (during its premiere week in October 1966).
5. Auditioned for the lead role in Marty (1955) while shooting Bad Day at Black Rock (1955) in Lone Pine, CA.
6. Periodically performed as the "Grand Clown" for The Great Circus Parade in Milwaukee, WI, since the 1970s.
7. Inducted into the Hall of Great Western Performers of the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in 1996.
8. Was an active Freemason and had been the Honorary Chairman of the Scottish Rite RiteCare Program, which sponsors 175 Scottish Rite Childhood Language Disorders Clinics, Centers, and Programs nationwide.
9. Was a Master Mason and had been elevated to the 33rd Degree in Scottish Rite.
10. Had the distinction of appearing in more of the 100 Most Enjoyably Awful Movies of All Time as listed in Razzie Award-founder John Wilson's book "The Official Razzie Movie Guide", than any other actor--a total of four: The Adventurers (1970), The Legend of Lylah Clare (1968)The Oscar (1966), and The Poseidon Adventure (1972).
11. Was made an honorary US Navy Chief Petty Officer by Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy (MCPON) Terry Scott on October 15, 2004. Prior to acting, he served in the US Navy for ten years, from 1935-45, and left the service as a Gunner's Mate 1st Class.
12. While on location in Mexico filming Vera Cruz (1954), he and fellow cast member Charles Bronson found themselves with some extra time on their hands and decided to go to the nearest town to get some cigarettes. Still in full costume--including bandoliers and pistols--they mounted their horses and headed out. Along the way they were spotted by a truckful of Mexican "federales"--federal police--who mistook them for bandits and held them at gunpoint until their identities could be verified.
13. Referenced in 'Weird Al' Yankovic's song "Your Horoscope for Today".
14. His car licence plate is BORG9.
15. Former member of the Citizen's Stamp Advisory Committee (CSAC).
16. Twice-wed Borgnine married thrice-wed Broadway diva Ethel Merman in 1964. Their marriage was dissolved after 32 days. They had announced their impending nuptials at the legendary New York night spot P.J. Clarke's, but Borgnine, who was riding high as the star of McHale's Navy (1962) at the time, said the marriage began unraveling on their honeymoon when he received more fan attention than she did. The competitive Merman was left seething. "By the time we got home, it was hell on earth," he recalled in a 2001 interview. "And after 32 days I said to her, 'Madam, bye'." Borgnine went on to marry twice more - with his fifth marriage lasting over 39 years until his death - but Merman remained single after their divorce. In her 1978 autobiography, she devoted a chapter to the marriage - It consisted of one blank page.
17. Father of Sharon Borgnine (born August 5th 1965), Cris Borgnine (born August 9th 1969) and Diana Rancourt-Borgnine (born December 29th 1970) with Donna Rancourt. Daughter Nancee Borgnine (aka Gina Kemins-Borgnine) (born August 18th 1952) with Rhoda Kemins.
18. Made a special Academy Awards appearance in 1998, at the The 70th Annual Academy Awards (1998), and in 2005 at the The 75th Annual Academy Awards (2003) and participated in the Oscar Winners Tribute sequence along with other Academy Award winners.
19. On March 3, 2006, he was given a standing ovation when introduced at the National Italian-American Foundation's salute to the Academy Awards, which was celebrating 78 years of Italian-American Oscar winners and nominees. Former Motion Picture Producers Association of America chief Jack Valenti co-chaired the dinner, and Italian-Americans in attendance included Connie Stevens, Dom DeLuise, Robert Loggia and Al Martino as well as Italian actor Franco Nero.
20. On Feb. 6, 2007, he received California's highest civilian honor, the California Commendation Medal. It was presented to him on the set of A Grandpa for Christmas (2007) by Maj. Gen. William H. Wade II, Adjutant General and Commander of the California National Guard, for a lifetime of exceptionally meritorious service as well as recognizing his "heartfelt advocacy on behalf of military personnel and veterans on many fronts, including the California National Guard".