Ernest Borgnine Never Forgave This One Co-star, Guess Who! | HO!!!!

Hollywood is a land of legends, but behind the scenes, the stories are often even wilder than what appears on the silver screen. Few actors have lived as many lives—and survived as many feuds—as Ernest Borgnine. From his humble beginnings as the son of Italian immigrants to his Oscar-winning performances and iconic TV roles, Borgnine’s journey was filled with drama, grit, and unforgettable encounters. But among all the personalities he clashed with, there was one co-star whose actions left scars that never healed. And the answer may shock you.

From Navy Sailor to Hollywood Star

Born Ermes Effron Borgnino in 1917 in Hamden, Connecticut, Borgnine’s path to stardom was anything but predictable. The son of Italian immigrants, his childhood was marked by upheaval—his parents separated when he was just two, and his mother took him to Italy for five years. When the family reunited in America, they changed their names to fit in: his father became Charles, and the family name was shortened to Borgnine.

Young Ernest wasn’t dreaming of Hollywood. He was more interested in sports and spent his days in New Haven, Connecticut, with no hint of the acting bug. But fate intervened when he enlisted in the U.S. Navy in 1935, serving on the USS Lamberton and later the USS Sylph during World War II. The discipline and camaraderie he learned at sea would later shape his most memorable roles.

After the war, Borgnine’s mother saw something in him that others missed—a forceful personality perfect for the stage. He took her advice and enrolled in drama school, eventually joining the Barter Theatre in Virginia. There, the pay was often vegetables instead of cash, and Borgnine did everything from chasing live chickens across the stage to scrubbing toilets. It was a far cry from the glitz of Hollywood, but it taught him resilience and improvisation.

Breaking into Broadway and Hollywood

Borgnine’s big break came with Tennessee Williams’ “The Glass Menagerie.” Audiences loved him, and soon he was on Broadway, sharing the stage with the likes of James Stewart in “Harvey.” He studied Stewart’s every move, keeping a notebook of observations that would serve him well in his film career.

In 1951, Borgnine made his TV debut in “Captain Video and His Video Rangers,” a low-budget sci-fi show. It wasn’t glamorous, but it got him noticed. Then came “From Here to Eternity” in 1953, where he played the sadistic Sergeant Fatso Judson. The role was so convincing that Frank Sinatra, his co-star, refused to speak to him off-camera for weeks. Borgnine’s intensity blurred the lines between actor and character, and audiences sent him death threats, unable to separate the two.

But Borgnine’s range was about to surprise everyone. In 1955, he starred in “Marty,” playing a gentle butcher looking for love. The film was a gamble, made on a shoestring budget, but Borgnine’s performance won him the Best Actor Oscar, beating out legends like James Dean and Spencer Tracy. His acceptance speech was simple: he thanked his mother, the woman who saw his potential when no one else did.

The Hollywood Chameleon

Borgnine never let himself be typecast. In “The Dirty Dozen” (1967), he played a tough general, insisting on doing his own stunts—even dangerous leaps from moving trains. In “The Wild Bunch” (1969), he was Dutch Engstrom, a ruthless outlaw whose madman laugh haunted viewers long after the credits rolled.

Television beckoned, and Borgnine became a household name as Lieutenant Commander Quinton McHale in “McHale’s Navy.” The role drew on his real-life naval experience, and his easy confidence made the show a hit. But it wasn’t all smooth sailing—a pyrotechnic accident on set left him with serious burns, pausing production for weeks.

Even as TV evolved, Borgnine kept up. In the 1980s, he played Dominic Santini in “Airwolf,” surviving a near-fatal helicopter crash on set thanks to his quick reflexes. And in his nineties, he became the voice of Mermaid Man in “SpongeBob SquarePants,” a role inspired by his grandson’s love for the show.

Love, Loss, and Legendary Feuds

Borgnine’s personal life was as dramatic as his career. He married five times, including a fiery union with Mexican actress Katy Jurado and a famously brief marriage to Broadway legend Ethel Merman. Their honeymoon in Japan was a disaster, ending in a spectacular fight and a diamond ring thrown into a koi pond. Merman later published an autobiography with a blank chapter titled “My Marriage to Ernest Borgnine”—a silent, stinging rebuke Borgnine never forgot.

But it was his time on the set of “Johnny Guitar” in 1954 that exposed him to Hollywood’s most explosive feud. Joan Crawford and Mercedes McCambridge were at war, and Borgnine found himself in the crossfire. Crawford, enraged by McCambridge’s past relationship with her husband, tormented her co-star relentlessly.

Borgnine watched as Crawford tossed McCambridge’s costumes onto the highway and threw hot coffee at a production assistant, leaving the young man with second-degree burns. The tension was so intense that Crawford and McCambridge refused to be in the same room, forcing the director to film their scenes separately.

Borgnine later called Crawford “a ticking time bomb,” recalling the terror of accidentally walking in on her screaming at a costume designer. On the last day of filming, Crawford handed out personalized bottles of Pepsi—her husband was the CEO—but even this gesture couldn’t erase the bitterness. Before leaving, she warned McCambridge that she’d ruin her career, a threat everyone heard.

The Co-star Borgnine Never Forgave

So, who was the one co-star Ernest Borgnine never forgave? While he weathered storms with Crawford, McCambridge, and even Sinatra, the answer is none other than Ethel Merman.

Their marriage was brief but catastrophic. Borgnine was swept up by Merman’s charisma, but their honeymoon quickly devolved into shouting matches and public humiliation. Merman’s silence in her autobiography—a blank page where their marriage should have been—was the ultimate insult. Borgnine later admitted, “That blank page said more to me than anything she could have written. It was a slap in the face I’ll never forget.” The pain lingered for years, a wound that never truly healed.

Battles on Set: Shelley Winters and Spencer Tracy

Borgnine also endured a rocky partnership with Shelley Winters during “The Poseidon Adventure.” Winters was demanding, rewriting scripts and pushing for perfection. A grueling underwater scene required 65 takes, and Borgnine called it “one of the hardest days of my career.” Despite the exhaustion, he admired Winters’s talent, describing her as “difficult, unpredictable, but undeniably gifted.”

Working with Spencer Tracy on “Bad Day at Black Rock” was another test of nerves. Tracy’s improvisational style kept Borgnine on edge, and a fight scene required 14 takes. Borgnine accidentally punched Tracy for real, but Tracy shrugged it off, earning Borgnine’s respect. Tracy later recommended Borgnine for “Marty,” changing his life forever.

Finding Peace and Lasting Love

After decades of turmoil, Borgnine finally found stability with Norwegian businesswoman Tova Traesnaes. Their marriage lasted nearly forty years, longer than all his previous unions combined. Borgnine credited Tova with giving him the strength to keep working into his nineties. In his final interview, he said, “I’m 95 years old and I’m still going strong. I think it’s because of the love I have for Tova.”

The Legacy of Ernest Borgnine

Ernest Borgnine’s career spanned more than six decades, from gritty war dramas to slapstick sitcoms, animated adventures, and everything in between. He survived feuds, heartbreak, and near-death experiences, always coming back stronger. Yet, for all his resilience, the sting of betrayal from Ethel Merman—the co-star he never forgave—remained with him until the end.

Borgnine passed away in 2012 at age 95, working until the very last weeks of his life. He left behind a legacy not just of unforgettable performances but of a life lived fully, fiercely, and without regret.

So next time you see Borgnine’s name in the credits, remember: behind every Hollywood legend is a story of triumph, tragedy, and the one co-star they could never forgive.