One of the most prolific and talented character actors in American film, Academy Award winner Ernest Borgnine appeared in every genre of motion picture for over 50 years, continuing to act even as he entered his ninth decade. Though hipster cineastes often dismissed Borgnine for his occasionally broad performances and roles in camp movies, fans of classic Hollywood product know him as a versatile performer who was as adept at playing sympathetic and all-too-human heroes as he was hissable villains.

Born Ermes Effron Borgnine on Jan. 24, 1918 in Hamden, CT, he was the only child of immigrant