Portrait of Ernest Borgnine

Birthday profile

Ernest Borgnine

American actor (1917–2012)

Born
January 24, 1917
Died
July 8, 2012
Zodiac sign
Aquarius
Birth year
1917

About Ernest Borgnine

Ernest Borgnine ( BORG-nyne; born Ermes Effron Borgnino; January 24, 1917 – July 8, 2012) was an American actor whose career spanned over six decades. He was noted for his gruff but relaxed voice and gap-toothed Cheshire Cat grin. A popular performer, he appeared as a guest on numerous talk shows and as a panelist on several game shows. Borgnine's film career began in 1951 and included supporting roles in China Corsair (1951), From Here to Eternity (1953), Vera Cruz (1954), Bad Day at Black Rock (1955), and The Wild Bunch (1969). He played the unconventional lead in many films, winning the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in Marty (1955), which won the Academy Award for Best Picture. Borgnine starred as the title character in the sitcom McHale's Navy (1962–1966) and co-starred as Dominic Santini in the action series Airwolf (1984–1986). Borgnine earned his third Primetime Emmy Award nomination at age 92 for his work on the 2009 series finale of ER. He was the voice of Mermaid Man on SpongeBob SquarePants from 1999 until his death in 2012. == Early life and education == Borgnine was born Ermes Effron Borgnino (Italian: [borˈɲiːno]) on January 24, 1917, in Hamden, Connecticut, the son of Italian immigrants. His mother, Anna (née Boselli, 1894–1947) hailed from Carpi, near Modena, and his father Camillo Borgnino (1891–1975) was a native of Ottiglio near Alessandria. Borgnine's parents separated when he was two years old, and he lived with his mother in Italy for about four and a half years.

Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.

Career and life highlights

Ernest Borgnine timeline

  1. By 1923, his parents had reconciled, the family name was changed from Borgnino to Borgnine, and his father changed his first name to Charles.
  2. In 1947, Borgnine landed his first stage role in State of the Union.
  3. He played the unconventional lead in many films, winning the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in Marty (1955), which won the Academy Award for Best Picture.

The world when Ernest Borgnine was born

Ernest Borgnine was born in 1917. The year snapshot below places that birthday in its cultural and historical setting: the music and films people were following, the headlines shaping public life, and the everyday prices families encountered.

Culture in 1917

  • Best-selling book"Mr. Britling Sees It Through" – H.G. Wells

Headlines and milestones

  • Major sports momentProfessional sports curtailed as America enters World War I
  • Top headlineUS enters World War I
  • Technology milestoneFirst practical military use of sonar
  • World population~1.77B

United States snapshot

  • U.S. leaderWoodrow Wilson
  • U.S. population100.8M

1917 versus 2026

These figures put everyday life in Ernest Borgnine's birth year beside the site's latest United States snapshot.

Measure19172026
Gas$0.25$3.45/gal
Population100.8M341 million

Sources and editorial standards

This profile combines a biographical source with structured birthday and historical context. Sources recorded for this profile: Wikipedia, IMDb. See our editorial policy for sourcing, corrections, and review standards.

Read the source biography on Wikipedia. Wikipedia text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.