Actor Ernest Borgnine Dies At 95

 

JULY 9, 2012 - Actor Ernest Borgnine, who played bad guys in films like From Here to Eternity but won an Oscar for playing a sensitive loner in Marty, died yesterday at age 95, his publicist said.

The real-life U.S. Navy veteran who became a household name during the 1960s by starring as the maverick commander of a World War Two patrol boat in the popular TV comedy McHale's Navy, died at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, spokesman Harry Flynn said.

Borgnine, who continued to work until very recently, had been the oldest living recipient of an Academy Award for Best Actor, Flynn said.

A statement from the actor's family said he "had been in excellent health until a recent illness." Flynn said Borgnine recovered from unspecified surgery he underwent a month ago but his condition deteriorated rapidly after he visited the hospital on Tuesday for a medical checkup.

His last screen credit was the lead role of an aging nursing home patient in a film set for release later this year, The Man Who Shook the Hand of Vicente Fernandez. The performance earned Borgnine a Best Actor award at the Newport Beach Film Festival, where it debuted in April, Flynn said.

My fondest memories of him are from the TV series Airwolf where he co-starred with Jan-Michael Vincent  .