Ermes Effron Borgnino was born on 24 January 1917, in Hamden, Connecticut USA, of Italian descent. Ernest was an actor, known from appearing in films and television series for over six decades during his career. He had award winning performances in “Marty”, “McHale’s Navy” and “Airwolf”; all his efforts helped put his net worth to where it was prior to his passing in 2012.
How rich was Ernest Borgnine? As of mid-2016, sources estimate a net worth that was at $15 million, mostly earned through a successful career in acting. Aside from film and television, Borgnine was also known to perform on stage and did voice work; previously he served in the US Navy. All of these ensured the position of his wealth.
Ernest Borgnine Net Worth $15 Million Dollars
When he was two years old, Ernest’s parents separated and he lived with his mother in Italy for a few years. Eventually the family reconciled and settled in New Haven, where he would attend James Hillhouse High School. Around this time, he had no intention of pursuing a career in acting, and mostly played sports. After high school, he enlisted and served aboard the destroyer USS Lamberton until 1941, but then in 1942 after the attack on Pearl Harbor, he re-enlisted, and served on an anti-submarine warship and was eventually honourably discharged in 1945. He received numerous awards during his time with the Navy and achieved the rank of gunner’s mate 1st class.
After he got home, he tried working at a factory but it didn’t suit him. His mother suggested he tried acting on stage which he did, studying at Barter Theatre and eventually landing his first role in a production of “State of the Union”. He started to gain recognition, and appeared in “The Glass Menagerie”, before travelling to New York for the play “Harvey”. Borgnine was then cast in the film “The Whistle at Eaton Falls”, but in the same year deciding to move to Los Angeles, subsequently appearing in the film “From Here to Eternity” alongside Frank Sinatra. His net worth was now well established.
Ernest played a lot of villains in various films such as “Vera Cruz” and “Johnny Guitar”. In 1955, he starred in the film “Marty”, which won him an Academy Award. He would gain a significant amount of popularity, and his net worth also started to increase significantly. He then continued by appearing in films such as “The Flight of the Phoenix”, “The Dirty Dozen”, “Convoy”, and “Escape from New York”.
His first television role was in “Captain Video and His Video Rangers” in 1951. Since then, he would be cast for various shows such as “Laramie”, “Magnum, P.I.”, “Murder, She Wrote”, “Walker, Texas Ranger” and “Home Improvement”. He also appeared in the final two episodes of “ER” at the age of 92, earning him an Emmy nomination.
Probably the most successful TV show that Borgnine became a part of was entitled “McHale’s Navy” from 1962-66. One of the reasons for the success of the show is due to the fact that he served in the Navy during his youth. He received an Emmy nomination for the show in 1963 and the show would continue until its eventual cancellation due to low viewership.
In 1996, Ernest toured the United States and made a documentary “Ernest Borgnine on the Bus”. He then tried his hand at voice acting, becoming the elderly superhero Mermaid Man for the cartoon “SpongeBob SquarePants”. He also appeared in an episode of “The Simpsons”, along with several commercials.
Borgnine’s career spanned appearances in almost 150 films, and over 30 TV productions – he was always in demand, partly because of his versatility in playing varying roles.
For his personal life,Ernest married five times – his first wife was Rhoda Kemins from 1949 to 1958 and they had a daughter. He was married to actress Katy Jurado from 1959 to 1963 and was also married to singer Ethel Merman for just 32 days in 1964. He then married Donna Rancourt in 1965, which lasted until 1972, and they had three children. His fifth marriage was to Tova Traesnaes 1973, which lasted until his death. In 2012, Borgnine passed away at the age of 95 due to kidney failure.
