Ernest Borgnine

Ernest Borgnine in From Here to Eternity

Ernest Borgnine (1917 - 2012)

Film Deaths

• From Here to Eternity (1953) [Staff Sergeant James R. 'Fatso' Judson]: Stabbed in the stomach with a switchblade knife at the end of a fight with Montgomery Clift. (Thanks to Stephen)

• The Stranger Wore a Gun (1953) [Bull Slager]: Shot to death in a shoot out with Randolph Scott. (Thanks to Gordon)

• Johnny Guitar (1954) [Bart Lonergan]: Shot in the chest at the end of a fight with Sterling Hayden, (as Ernest is about to pull the trigger on his gun).

• Vera Cruz (1954) [Donnegan]: Shot in the back by a peasant soldier during the final battle. (Thanks to Brian)

• The Last Command (1955) [Mike 'The Bull' Radin]: Killed in battle with the Mexican forces at the Alamo. (Thanks to William)

• Run for Cover (Colorado) (1955) [Morgan]: Shot to death by John Derek, when the wounded Ernest is about to shoot James Cagney. (Thanks to Gordon)

• Jubal (1956) [Shep Horgan]: Shot to death by Glenn Ford after Charles Bronson throws a gun to Glenn while Ernest was threatening Glenn with a rifle. (Thanks to Brian)

• The Vikings (1958) [Ragnar]: Devoured by hungry dogs after being forced to jump into their pit by Frank Thring. (Historical note: Ragnar Lothbrok was more the stuff of legend rather than historical fact, but most surviving accounts say he was thrown into a pit of venomous snakes by King Aella of Northumbria) (Thanks to Jim)

• Pay or Die (1960) [Lt. Giuseppe 'Joe' Petrosino]: Murdered (off-screen) by gangsters. The scene fades out as the killers surround him. (See also Adolfo Celi in Joe Petrosino and Lionel Stander in The Black Hand.)

• The Flight of the Phoenix (1965) [Trucker Cobb]: Dies of heat exhaustion in the desert and swarmed by buzzards sometime later as James Stewart discovers Ernest's body. (Thanks to Jim)

• Chuka (1967) [Sergeant Otto Hahnsbach]: Shot to death by Arapaho warriors while Ernest is firing on them from the ramparts of the fort. (Thanks to Robert and Brian)

• Ice Station Zebra (1968) [Boris Vaslov]: Strangled by Patrick McGoohan during a stuggle on the ice. (Thanks to Mac)

• The Split (1968) [Bert Clinger]: Shot to death by Jim Brown and Gene Hackman in a shoot out on the boat. (Thanks to Michael)

• The Wild Bunch (1969) [Dutch Engstrom]: Shot to death, along with William Holden, Ben Johnson, and Warren Oates, in the final shoot-out with Mexican soldiers. (Thanks to Mac and Michael)

• Hannie Caulder (1971) [Emmett Clemens]: Shot to death by Raquel Welch. (Thanks to Indrico)

• Willard (1971) [Al Martin]: Attacked by an army of rats under the control of Bruce Davison; a screaming Ernest proceeds to uncontrollably run over to a window, where he falls to his death. (See also R. Lee Ermey's death in the 2003 version)

• The Devil's Rain (1975) [Jonathan Corbis]: Apparently destroyed after the Devil's Rain is unleashed and he assumes his true demonic appearance; however, the final scene reveals that his spirit has possessed Joan Prather's body. (Thanks to PortsGuy)
• Crossed Swords (The Prince and the Pauper) (1977) [John Canty]: Dies after being slammed into numerous stones, killing him instantly. 

• The Black Hole (1979) [Harry Booth]: Killed when he crashes his spaceship into another ship. (Thanks to Michael)

• Poliziotto superpiù (1980) [Sgt. Willy Dunlop] Frozen to death in the cold room of a ship after being locked-in by the villains. He is later brought back to life by Terence Hill with his superpowers.

• Escape from New York (1981) [Cabbie]: Killed in an explosion when Kurt Russell drives Ernest's cab over a land mine on the bridge; we see Ernest's body afterwards as Kurt climbs out of the wreckage and checks on him.

• Any Man's Death (1990) [Herr Gantz]: Shot repeatedly by John Savage as Ernest is about to get on a plane and escape.

• The Last Match (L'Ultima partita; Opponent) (1990) [Coach]: Dies of a heart attack on the airplane after he and his team have completed a rescue mission (Thanks to Johan)

• BASEketball (1998) [Ted Denslow]: Chokes to death on a hot dog (played for comic effect); Ernest later appears in a prerecorded video will to an audience of mourners.

• Small Soldiers (1998) [Kip Killigan]: Providing the voice of an action figure; the various copies of his figure are destroyed when Gregory Smith destroys a power line, causing an electromagnetic wave shutting them down.

• Hoover (2000) [J. Edgar Hoover]: Died (off-screen) of a heart attack.

• Aces 'n' Eights (2008) [Thumond Prescott]: Shot to death by one of Jeff Kober's men as Enest enters the general store. (Thanks to Brian)

TV Deaths

• Fire! (1977 TV) [Sam Brisbane]: Blown up in an explosion when his truck catches on fire and flips over a hill. Ernest is later remembered by Vera Miles in a flashback sequence depicting many of his earlier scenes.

• All Quiet on the Western Front (1979 TV) [Stanislaus Katczinsky]: Presumably hit by shrapnel while Richard Thomas carries him back to camp. (See Louis Wolheim's death in the 1930 version.) (Thanks to Mac)

• Airwolf: Blackjack (1987) [Dominic Santini]: Killed in an explosion when his helicopter blows up. (Ernest didn't actually appear in this episode, but his character was said to be in the helicopter that's shown exploding.) (Thanks to PortsGuy)

• The Simpsons: Boy Scoutz 'n the Hood (1993; animated) [Ernest Borgnine]: Mauled to death by an unidentified animal when it attacks him at the campfire. We only hear Ernie scream as the animal closes in on him as the credits roll.(Thanks to Mathew)
• SpongeBob SquarePants: Back to the Past (2010; animated) [Mermaid Man / Future Mermaid Man]: Presumably killed alongside Barnacle Boy (Tim Conway) by Man Ray (Bob Joles) as a result of SpongeBob (Tom Kenny) and Patrick (Bill Fagerbakke) accidentally creating a timeline in which Man Ray managed defeat Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy. Future Mermaid Man survives.

Notable Connections

• Ex-husband of Ethel Merman.

• Ex-husband of Katy Jurado.

• Husband of Tova Borgnine.