TCM Salutes Ernest Borgnine

Veteran Oscar-winning actor died Sunday at age 95

By John Eggerton -- Broadcasting & Cable, 7/9/2012 1:14:29 PM

TCM has slated a July 26 tribute to Ernest Borgnine, the veteran Oscar-winning actor who died Sunday, July 8, at age 95.

"Ernest Borgnine was a great friend of ours here at TCM, an actor we all greatly admired because of his talent and ability to play everything from nasty tough guys to likeable fathers to comical sailors," said on-screen host Robert Osborne in a statement.

Borgnine had appeared at TCM-sponsored film festivals and on its fan-centric film cruise, as well as gracing the small screen in a bunch of films in the TCM library.

Among the films in the 24-hour marathon will be Marty, for which Borgnine won his Oscar in the title role; From Here to Eternity, the role that essentially launched his career; The Dirty Dozen, and Bad Day at Black Rock.

Borgnine was also a small-screen boomer favorite in McHale's Navy (Captain Quinton McHale) in the mid-1960s, and for a whole new generation as voice actor as Mermaid Man in SpongeBob SquarePants.