Oscar Memories: Ernest Borgnine

With tonight being the annual gala of the Oscars, we’re unlikely to see many surprises. Rather than focusing on the current list of offerings, I thought we might take a moment and look back at one of the classic winners, Ernest Borgnine. He won the Best Actor award in 1956 for his title role in Marty. That year, he was up against some incredible competition, including Frank Sinatra and Spencer Tracy for Bad Day at Black Rock. (A film which Borgnine also appeared in.) It turned out to be the only Oscar that he ever won, but it was surely one of the most memorable, not only for the fine film itself but the incredible competition he was up against.

UPDATE: Hot Air is taking a poll. If Marty is one of the best films of all time, what do you think were some of the worst? Go put your own votes in, but I went with Mama Mia.

Borgnine is in his nineties now, but still working. He’s done roughly 200 films at this point and is still going strong. In case you’ve never had a chance to see that classic film, take a walk back in time and check out the opening scenes from Marty.