Topic: Ernest Borgnine

Ernest Borgnine (born Ermes Effron Borgnino; January 24, 1917) is an American actor of television and film. His career has spanned more than six decades. He was an unconventional lead in many films of the 1950s, including his Academy Award-winning turn in the 1955 film Marty. On television, he is best known for playing Quinton McHale in the 1962-66 series McHale's Navy, costarring in the mid-1980s action series Airwolf, and voicing the character Mermaid Man in the animated series SpongeBob SquarePants. Borgnine earned an Emmy nomination at age 92 for his work on the series ER. In August 2009 he earned the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Rhode Island International Film Festival.

Borgnine was born in Hamden, Connecticut, the son of Anna (née Boselli), who immigrated to the US from Carpi (Modena, Italy), and Camillo Borgnino, who immigrated to the US from Ottiglio (Province of Alessandria, Italy).

His parents separated when he was two years old, and he and his mother went to live in Italy. By 1923, his parents had reconciled, and the family name was changed from Borgnino to Borgnine. The family had settled in North Haven, Connecticut, where he attended public schools. His mother also had the passion to develop her own dance. Anna gave her son a lot of moral support and he stood closely by her at all times.