McHale’s Navy /Helicopter

[phil65]

Ernest was born and raised in my Hometown of Hamden, CT. He's the local guy who "made it big time"!
One of my favorite roles of his is in "Emperor of the North Pole" with Lee Marvin. He plays a very sadistic frieght train conductor named "Shack" during the depression and Lee pays the king of the Hobo's "A #1". It was directed by Robert Aldrich and even if you only like the steam locomotives, it's still a great film.
Jerry

I remember seeing that movie as a kid,the best fight scenes I have ever seen."A#1"

[T J Johansen]

I have in front of me, waiting, a DVD with Ice Station Zebra, featuring one Ernest Borgnine.

Just to spoil the end for you, the butler did it...

I just checked out his CV on IMDB, and it is most impressive. I've always liked how at ease he is at playing both psychopathic killers as well as your favourite grandfather. http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000308/

I found this bit of trivia about him, kinda cool!

While on location in Mexico filming Vera Cruz (1954), he and fellow cast member Charles Bronson found themselves with some extra time on their hands and decided to go to the nearest town to get some cigarettes. Still in full costume - including bandoliers and pistols - they mounted their horses and headed out. Along the way they were spotted by a truckful of Mexican "federales" - federal police - who mistook them for bandits and held them at gunpoint until their identities could be verified.

T J

[JBoyle]

Back in college a friend's dad was a lifelong Navy guy. He said that back during the the McHale's Navy years Borgnine was invited to a Navy base and he went and was by all accounts a great guy. That's nice to hear.

Buy the way, he wasn't the mechanic on Airwolf, he was Hawke's civilian boss and served as Airwolf weapon's officer. Anybody remember the episode wher he flew a turbine S-55?

[tom d. friedman]

tonight 10/ 19 / 06 there is a show on the military channel regarding hollywood celebrities in ww 2 service. among the preview commercials is borgnine, lee marvin, johnny carson, & eddie albert. it's on at 8pm eastern time. i'm gonna watch.... i've banished my wife from the lifetime channel for 1 precious hour of tranquility for me!!

[tom d. friedman]

watched the show. some amazing ww 2 hollywood movie star trivia........ henry fonda's ship was hit by a kamikaze, he & some fellow shipmates dove into the ocean & retrieved maps etc from the japanese wreckage. eddie albert saved over 150 lives in the pacific, johnny carson was detailed for body recovery aboard the uss pennsylvania after it took a kamikaze hit. charles durning survived the malmedy massacre & testified against the german murderers. these tidbits were not known by me. i was rather surprised that no mention was made of clark gable's air combat missions, as he was a stand out like ja ja ja jimmy stewart, whom we all know about his stellar military record!!! i didn't know though that stewart flew a combat mission in vietnam!!!!

[RickH]

Stewart also lost a son in Viet Nam. Stewart NEVER allowed his wartime service be used for publicity purposes.

[bdk]

tonight 10/ 19 / 06 there is a show on the military channel regarding hollywood celebrities in ww 2 service. among the preview commercials is borgnine, lee marvin, johnny carson, & eddie albert. it's on at 8pm eastern time. i'm gonna watch....

It's on right now in SoCal (Military Channel 287). Shows again at midnight.

[tom d. friedman]

wow!!! how was jimmy stewart's son killed?? what rank, branch of service & job did he hold??

[JBoyle]

wow!!! how was jimmy stewart's son killed?? what rank, branch of service & job did he hold??

It was Stewart's stepson...his only biological children were two daughters. His wife had (I believe) two sons from her first marriage.
I believe he was an enlisted Marine.

Stewart flew on at least one B-52 mission in Vietnam in his capacity as a BG in the USAFR. I don't believe he was aircrew on it.

BTW: as late as the mid-70s he had a Piper Super Cub based at Van Nuys.