By Den Ardinger

The famous actor and Freemason, Ernest Borgnine, was born January 24, 1917, in Hamden, Connecticut.  His name at birth was Ermes Effron Borgnino.  He was the son of Camillo Borgnino and his wife, Anna Boselli.

In his early days he enjoyed boxing and other sports. After graduating from high school in 1935 in New Haven, Connecticut he enlisted in the U. S. Navy.  He served his first term from 1935 to 1941 on the destroyer/minesweeper USS Lamberton.  He then re-enlisted in 1942 when World War II began and served in antisubmarine duty on the East Coast. In his second term he served as a Gunner’s Mate First Class on the USS Sylph until the end of the war in 1945. 

It was in 1949 that his acting career took off after four years of odd jobs and studying theater.  His break came on Broadway where he played a male nurse in “Harvey”. 

In 1951, he moved to Los Angeles to begin his illustrious acting career.  His career took off after playing a major role in the Academy Award-winning film, “From Here to Eternity” in 1953.  In 1956 he won the Academy Award for Best Actor in the movie, “Marty.”  In the years that followed he played many different roles before switching to television in 1962.  Here he won an Emmy for his lead in the award-winning comedy series “McHale’s Navy” that ran until 1966. 

Borgnine married five times.  In 1949, Ernest married Rhonda Kemins who he had met while serving in the Navy.  They had one child and divorced in 1958.  He married Katy Jurado in 1959 but they divorced in 1963.  In 1964 he married, then immediately divorced, Ethel Merman.  In 1965 he married Donna Granucci.  They had two children before divorcing in 1972.  In 1973 he married Tova Traesnaes who remained with him until his death in 2012.

His acting career spanned sixty-one years from 1951 until 2012.  During that time, he was in over 200 films, plays, and television series.  He also did voice-overs for animated films such as “All Dogs Go to Heaven 2” in 1996.

Although he lived in Los Angeles, he travelled widely and made numerous personal appearances including supporting many Masonic charities.  For his unceasing efforts supporting benefits and veteran’s affairs, he was awarded many honors including several honorary doctorate degrees and numerous Lifetime Achievement Awards.

His activity as a Freemason spanned more than 60 years.  In 1950, following in the footsteps of his father who had also been a Master Mason, he became an Entered Apprentice in Abingdon Lodge #48 in Abingdon, Virginia where he was working.  He was passed to Fellowcraft and raised a Master Mason shortly afterwards and remained a member of Abingdon Lodge #48 all his life.  Years later, he joined the Scottish Rite, Valley of Los Angeles (Southern Jurisdiction) in 1964.  He became a Knight Commander of the Court of Honor (KCCH) in 1979 and was Coronated a 33rd Degree Honorary in 1983. In 1991 he was awarded the Grand Cross of the Court of Honor.  He was also a Noble of the Mystic Shrine (a Shriner).

He was vigorous and active right up until his death in 2012 at the age of 95.  He passed away on July 8th at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, California.  He is buried in Forest Lawn Memorial Park.

Ernest Borgnine, more than a man, a Mason.