Ernest Borgnine 1917-2012

Ermes Efron Borgnino was born in Hamden, Conn., on Jan. 24, 1917, the son of Italian immigrant parents. He joined the Navy in 1935 and served on a destroyer during World War II. After the war his mother persuaded him to enroll at the Randall School of Dramatic Arts in Hartford. He stayed four months, the only formal training he received.

Borgnine first attracted notice in the early 1950s in villain roles, notably as the vicious Fatso Judson, who beat Frank Sinatra to death in "From Here to Eternity."

Left: Borgnine, Burt Lancaster and Sinatra in "From Here to Eternity."

Credit: Columbia Pictures