Person of the Week: Ernest Borgnine

When I think of Ernest Borgnine (which is, actually, something I probably do more often than most other people my age), I think of four things:


1. The Catered Affair

2. He was married to Ethel Merman for (what?) a month.

3. Bunny O’Hare

4. Mystery Science Theater 3000

Yes, of course, there are the other Borgnin-inian things—Marty, The Glass Menagerie, From Here to Eternity, Johnny Guitar, etc. But, the above are what first come to mind.

Ernest Borgnine worked with all the greats: Bette Davis, Joan Crawford, Montgomery Clift, Sinatra, Spencer Tracy. He also created some of the most interesting performances captured on film. He was brilliant in pictures like Marty (his breakthrough role) and The Catered Affair.

In The Catered Affair, he played opposite Bette Davis, as the working-class parents of a bride-to-be (Debbie Reynolds) who wants to have a fast, inexpensive wedding while her parents want her to have the grand affair they never could. He’s really very good in the part. I would say that it was one of his best performances. His other offing with Bette Davis--Bunny O'Hare (shudder)--was one of his worse—and one of her worst. In this 1971 “comedy,” Davis and Borgnine play senior citizens disguised as hippies who ride a motorcycle across the country on a wild crime spree. Shudder!

Nevertheless, whether it was From Here to Eternity or McHale’s Navy, Borgnine brought a strong work ethic, a remarkable humility and a sense of humor to each project. Or, I should say, he still does. At 94, he’s still working, and, just won the SAG Lifetime Achievement Award last night. That’s pretty good for a former Navy man (good training for McHale’s Navy, don’t you think) who never originally planned on being in show business.

Here’s wishing all the best to Ernest Borgnine, and many congratulations. As a personal message, thanks for the hideous joy that is Merlin’s Shop of Mystical Wonders.