10 reasons why Ernest Borgnine is the most important actor EVER.
1. He was better in that movie about Muhammad Ali than Muhammad Ali was, and Muhammad Ali played......HIMSELF!!
2. He sucked in McHale's Navy long before Tom Arnold sucked in McHale's Navy.
3. He taught us it's okay to be chubby, hairy, and gap-toothed, the exception being Louie Anderson...the chubby, hairy, gap-toothed buffoon.
4. He Killed Sinatra. HOORAY FOR HOLLYWOOD!!!!
5. Had the courage to do daring inter-racial love scene with Jim Brown in the Dirty Dozen. Sadly, the lovescene wasn't in the script and he suffered severe beating.
6. I think I saw his balls in The Poseidon Adventure...no..no ...sorry...I'm thinking of Shelly Winters...my fault.
7. Two words....Mermaid Man!
8. I've never been so strangely effected by someone choking on a hot dog.
9. FRIGGIN AIRWOLF BABY!!!!! YEAH!!
10. Married Ethel Merman but had the goodness not to reproduce with her! Although that's probably an easy thing to resist.
DJ
One more thing...tied with Abe Vigoda on the "Isn't he Dead" scale. Isn't he? I dunno.
DJ
Thanks for reminding us about the full values of this great actor,Deej.
You also forgot to mention that he was both the only actor to wife-beat Sybil Danning in "Crossed Swords"("The Prince and the Pauper"),and is married to the owner of a youth cream company(that was heavily advertisied in late 70s/early 80s tabloid back covers...think it was called Tova,or something).
And he guest starred in almost every hour drama in the '80s like Magnum, P.I. as a boxer or gangster.
Another one for his list of heroicities:
According to an interview I read, he agreed to appear on "Gatacca" despite not understanding anything from the script.
11. One of the best western villains from the '50's.
As proof: In "Johnny Guitar," he stuck a knife in the back of consumptive Royal
Dano, saying: "I hate consumptives."
In "Veracurz," when surrounded by the Mexican army, he was the one
chosen by Burt Lancaster to round up all the Mexican kids in town and
shoot them, if the Mexican army did not leave.
And in "A Bad Day at Black Rock," he was the one that picked a fight
with one-armed, army veteran Spencer Tracy.
And to paraphrase a line from the John Wayne flick, "I thought they were dead." But, no, as far as I can tell, both Ernest Borgnine and Abe Vigoda are both still
alive. Enjoy!