Ernie: The Autobiography [Hardcover]

Ernest Borgnine (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 29, 2008

We wept at his Oscar-winning role in Marty...we gasped when he took on Frank Sinatra in From Here to Eternity...we were riveted by his compelling performances in The Dirty Dozen, Bad Day at Black Rock, and Ice Station Zebra...and we laughed at his television sitcom McHale's Navy. We loved all of Ernest Borgnine's many portrayals, but what did we know about the man behind the famous roles? Now for the first time, he tells us in his own words the fascinating story of his life in this witty, candid, and revealing memoir.

For more than fifty years, Ernest--or "Ernie" as he's known to his friends--has been one of the most recognized, celebrated stars in Hollywood as well as a respected, talented actor, and a living legend. Stretching from his childhood as the son of Italian immigrants to a spectacular career that is still thriving in his 91st year, from the early days of live TV to the voiceovers for The Simpsons and SpongeBob SquarePants, Ernie tells of the trials and tribulations on his road to fame, the friendships he shared with some of the silver screen's biggest stars, and the glamorous leading ladies he loved.

Acclaimed for his ability to play sensitive and tough-guy roles equally well, he was also famous for squaring off against some of Hollywood's most formidable actresses--including Bette Davis in A Catered Affair and Joan Crawford in Johnny Guitar. Recalling his experiences starring in classic movies such as The Poseidon Adventure, The Wild Bunch, and Escape from New York, he reveals personal insights and irresistible stories about cinema's greatest icons--including Spencer Tracy, James Stewart, Kirk Douglas, Montgomery Clift, Gary Cooper, Janet Leigh, Raquel Welch, Gene Hackman, Rock Hudson, Sammy Davis, Jr., Tony Curtis, Alan Ladd, Glenn Ford, and Burt Lancaster. And with characteristic frankness, he also talks about his off-screen loves and passions.

A must for every film buff, Ernie: An Autobiography is a fascinating memoir--filled with secrets, well-remembered details, and never-before-told stories--of a star who has thrived in the changing world of Hollywood for more than half a century, and endeared himself to legions of fans everywhere.

Ernest Borgnine is an Academy Award winning actor whose film and TV career has spanned more than sixty years. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife, Tova.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Oscar-winner Borgnine reflects on a career spanning six decades and totaling more than 190 film and television roles. After a nomadic childhood (Connecticut to Chicago to Italy), Borgnine, born in 1917, returned to Connecticut for high school. Following 10 years in the navy, he studied drama at Hartford's Randall School and began acting at Virginia's Barter Theater, advancing to live TV and Broadway roles. His striking performance as the sadistic Fatso in From Here to Eternity (1953) catapulted his career, and two years later he won an Academy Award for his portrayal of the lonely Bronx butcher in Paddy Chayefsky's Marty. In the 1960s, he was reluctant to do a TV series until an encounter with a teen who recognized Borgnine but couldn't name any of his films prompted the actor to immediately do the TV series McHale's Navy. Summoning up on-set movie memories, Borgnine unleashes an arsenal of anecdotes, such as Joan Crawford's hatred of Mercedes McCambridge: Joan thought she was mocking her... and she let fly a fusillade of insults like I've never heard, not even in the Navy. With astute observations on the Hollywood hierarchy and tales about everyone from Lee Marvin and Steve McQueen to Bette Davis and Kim Novak, he writes with an unassuming, no-nonsense tone. His love of filmmaking and his respect for his fellow actors permeates the pages of this engaging and satisfying memoir. (Aug.)
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Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Citadel; 1 edition (July 29, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0806529415
• ISBN-13: 978-0806529417
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 5.9 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (39 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #99,077 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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30 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "I've had quite a run.", July 29, 2008

By 

E. Bukowsky "booklover10" (NY United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Ernie: The Autobiography (Hardcover)

"Ernie" is ninety-one year old Ernest Borgnine's lighthearted account of his more than five decades on the stage, in film, and on television. What has sustained this versatile character actor in a business that often grinds people down is the strong "old-fashioned work ethic" that he inherited from his Italian immigrant parents. Borgnine boasts that he has appeared in quite a few of the "100 Most Enjoyably Awful Movies of All Time" as listed in "The Official Razzie Movie Guide." Not all of his movies were classics, but he claims that "every one of them was a learning experience."

"Ernie" is a nostalgic autobiography in which Borgnine revels in his love of acting and especially of old-time moviemaking. He worked with many of the greats, including Helen Hayes, Clark Gable, Joan Crawford, Spencer Tracy, Gary Cooper, Montgomery Clift, Betty Davis, Jimmy Stewart, and Kirk Douglas. In addition, he appeared in a variety of genres, including comedies, westerns, war dramas, horror films, Biblical epics, and even a musical! He portrayed "good guys, cops, crooks, murderers, mob bosses, western villains, and an Amish farmer," and became Asian, Jewish, Irish, Swedish, or Mexican, when the part called for it. Much to his delight, his films were directed by such notables as Delbart Mann, Robert Mulligan, Fred Zinnemann ("From Here to Eternity"), and Michael Curtiz.

In an informal and conversational style, Borgnine emphasizes his critically acclaimed performances in "From Here to Eternity" and "Marty," but does not neglect to mention his less artistic films, such as "The Poseidon Adventure" and "Demetrius and the Gladiators." He also describes his stint in the popular "McHale's Navy," in which he played the Commander of a PT Boat in the South Pacific during World War II. Borgnine spends little time on his five marriages, only one of which endured. Ernie and Tova Borgnine have been together for thirty-five years.

Ernest Borgnine is a down-to-earth and affable tour guide who provides an entertaining overview of the last half century of show business. For those old enough to remember Borgnine in his heyday, this book will bring back fond memories of a bygone era. Although he is in no way a polished writer, the author's self-deprecating style, unabashed love for his craft, and colorful anecdotes make "Ernie" a treat for movie buffs.

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What a Gem, August 12, 2008

By 

Trish (South Carolina) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Ernie: The Autobiography (Hardcover)

I was familiar with Ernie Borgnine's work in "Airwolf" and "The Single Guy" and of course being the beloved hubby of my favorite perfume lady Tova. She wrote a great deal about him in her book so I picked up Ernie's book to hear his side of the story.... and what a story it is!
This book was a real treat! I felt like I was sitting with my favorite relative and they were telling me their life story.. filled with humor and such great detail! Ernie is 91 years young God bless him so he has a story to tell!! From his early days as a son of Italian immigrants to his Navy days that really was such a big part of his life and then his long career in acting. He tells everything with a big dose of humor and modesty and you really feel his love of people and of America ... he kept me entertained throughout the whole book! I would highly recommend this book!

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Emperor of Hollywood, August 8, 2008

By 

Kevin Killian (San Francisco, CA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Ernie: The Autobiography (Hardcover)

Character actor Enest Borgnine sums up his personal philosophy in the words of an old sign he saw dangling from a street vendor's hot chestnut cart in the teeming slum streets in New York, where he was born ninety-odd years ago. These words have stuck with him ever since: "I don't want to set the world on fire," the sign read. "I just want to keep my nuts warm." Now he is the oldest living person to have won an Oscar and he's still acting with his lovely makeup mogul wife, Tova, to give him support.

He was middle aged when he started to act, after a ten year stint in the Navy during WWII, and so he came to us fully grown. FROM HERE TO ETERNITY wasn't his first film role, but this A-list Fred Zinnemann production got him noticed by all the critics and put him in line for the roles to come. He was married to a nurse, Rhoda, whom he calls a "stout woman," and then he met and married two entertainers, Katy Jurado and Ethel Merman, before his disastrous late 60s marriage to the unfortunate Donna, who comes off like a hustling gold-digger here. Maybe all these wives were just rehearsals for the real thing, Tova, whose soap is so rich that, even in the harsh Arab countries in which Zeffirelli directed Ernest Borgnine in the prizewinning miniseries JESUS OF NAZARETH, Franco Z found he could work up lather even in the hard water of the native springs.

Ernie worked with many greats and usually has something secret to tell about each of them. He's old Hollywood, and knew Cagney, Tracy, Stewart, Cooper, Gable, etc. When Burt Lancaster was asked if he was endangering his heterosexual reputation by frequenting Rock Hudson's all-boy parties, he replied, "I go to the opera, too, Ernie--doesn't mean I sing." At the premiere of Convoy, star Kris Kristofferson turned to Ernie and confessed he didn't remember making the movie. Now that's rock and roll! Robert Aldrich scared Lee Marvin to get him to stop making racialized remarks about Jim Brown on the set of The Dirty Dozen. Then there were the roles Ernie almost got! He wanted to play The Godfather, but Coppola held out for Brando. Gene Wilder had the part in the Poseidon Adventure, but lost it when scheduling conflicts forced him to withdraw--lucky break for Red Buttons! Lee Marvin was offered the part of Quint in JAWS, but declined. Same with Mitchum and PATTON. George Lindsay (Goober) was supposed to play the part of Mr. Spock. In fact Borgnine seems obsessed with this sort of "what-if" alternative Hollywood history, I wonder why.

Ernie knew them all and got along fine even with legends with whom he did not work, telling John Wayne, for example, that they never worked together because "you're afraid to work with good actors, Duke." Wayne did a double take, then realized that Ernie was just joshing him.

Borgnine's career wasn't all four and five star movies, as he is the first to admit; he did whatever he was offered, and among them many of the all-time golden turkeys. But he always seems to land on his feet, despite his troubled upbringing as the son of a manic, paranoid mother and despite being used by gold-digging shrews who turned his children against him.