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How's this for an acting career? He started on Broadway in "Harvey" in 1949, played Sgt. Fatso Judson in "From Here to Eternity" and had his first TV role in 1951's "Captain Video and His Video Rangers." He won the best actor Oscar for "Marty" in 1956, over Spencer Tracy, Frank Sinatra, James Dean and James Cagney. Those early credits include "Johnny Guitar," "The Dirty Dozen" and "Ice Station Zebra," then from 1962-1966 he embedded his face forever in the memory banks of baby boomers as Lt. Commander Quinton McHale in the comedy series "McHale's Navy." Since 1999, he has been the voice of MermaidMan on "SpongeBob SquarePants." And in 2009, at the age of 92, he was nominated for an Emmy for his guest performance in the final season of "ER."
Raise a glass to Ernest Borgnine, who died about 1:30 this afternoon at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. He is survived by his wife, Tova.
In 2006, Borgnine was honored as a Treasure of Los Angeles by the Central City Association.
By the way:The cast of "McHale's Navy" included Tom Conway, Gavin MacLeod, Carl Ballantine, Joe Flynn and George Kennedy. Here's a blooper clip that kind of captures the mood.
