Hollywood legend Ernest Borgnine died Sunday at age 95 of renal failure, his rep told the Associated Press.
The actor passed away at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center surrounded by family.
Familiar to all for his gap-toothed smile, the brusquely built star frequently played the villain in movies like From Here to Eternity and Bad Day at Black Rock. But he won a Best Actor Academy Award in 1955 for playing against type as a lovelorn butcher in Marty.
The son of Italian immigrants, Borgnine served in the U.S. Navy during World War II. After the war was over--following his mother's advice---he turned to the dramatic arts, performing first on stage, then television and finally film.
"I just want to thank my mother for giving me the idea to get into this wonderful profession," Borgnine said during his Oscar acceptance speech.
He put his naval experience to good use as Lieutenant Commander Quentin McHale in the beloved TV show McHale's Navy.
Other memorable films in which he starred included The Dirty Dozen, The Wild Bunch, and The Poseiden Adventure; more recently, he voiced Mermaid Man in Spongebob Squarepants and had an Emmy-nominated turn on ER.
Borgnine won a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Screen Actor's Guild in 2010.
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