An Ode To Uncle Ernest

With a career spanning fifty seven years and one hundred ninety four credits - and counting! - it is impossible to be any sort of film fan without being aware of Ernest Borgnine. Borgnine is arguably one of the finest - and certainly one of the most prolific - character actors in the history of film, a man who seldom, if ever, takes the lead but remains in incredibly high demand because he's just so damn likeable, never seems to take himself too seriously and consistently turns out solid work. He's also someone who I've developed a bit of a weakness for over the years, someone who has turned up at a number of key moments in a number of key roles. Sure, Borgnine's always Borgnine, there's not a huge amount of range, but he's someone who's been with me since childhood and his presence anywhere has become a sort film equivalent to a childhood security blanket. If Ernest's in it, it's going to be okay.

And so here are five key moments in the career of Ernest Borgnine, as chosen by me. They're not necessarily his biggest roles. They're not necessarily his best roles. Heck, I'm not nearly old enough to have come to Borgnine's key work - The Wild Bunch, anyone? - while still in my formative years. What you've got here are five key bits, in roughly chronological order, documenting how and when Uncle Ernest has popped up throughout my life.

The Black Hole
The Disney sci fi picture was a huge favorite of mine as a child, one I saw first on the big screen, then later on multiple television airings and as one of the early favorites of the home video explosion. Space ships, robots, adventure ... what else could any geeky kid ask for? This thing was perfect and though I had no clue at all who he was at the time, there was Borgnine providing a firm, guiding hand throughout.

Airwolf
In the aftermath of Knight Rider's success there was an explosion of super-vehicle fare on both television and the big screen and for my money the best of the lot was, by far, helicopter show Airwolf. Yeah, I watched Knight Rider faithfully, too, and was also a fan of motorbike show Street Hawk but Airwolf was my favorite of them. And, again, though I was still only beginning to recognize Borgnine from some of his older work, there he was, providing a guiding hand throughout.

Escape From New York
Post apocalyptic cabbie. What else needs to be said? It's a classic film and a truly iconic part that has stood the test of time.

Gattaca
His part in this one is smaller and the film was largely ignored when it was released but Gattaca has proven to be one of those films that just refuses to go away, a film that people appreciate more and more as the get a bit of distance from it. And putting Borgnine - far from a prime physical specimen, even at his youthful peak - in this perfection-obsessed fable was a genius bit of casting, providing just that right note of realism.

Spongebob Square Pants
Yeah, I'm a parent now and Ernest is still hanging around, still with a remarkable nose for the good stuff. My boy hit his Spongebob phase early and hard, the end result being that I can quote large swathes of the first two seasons - the seasons I own on DVD - with no effort whatsoever. Lucky for me that I like it as much as the boy does thanks to some deceptively sophisticated writing and a sterling voice cast that includes long time favorite Clancy Brown as Mr Krabs. And through the entire run of Sponge Bob the episodes that I look forward to the most, the ones that guarantee the biggest laughs and warmest feelings, are the ones featuring geriatric superheroes Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy. The voice of Mermaid Man? You guessed it, Ernest Borgnine.