Book Signing with Oscar Winner & Navy Vet Ernest Borgnine September 12, 2008

Oscar winner and Navy veteran Ernest Borgnine will introduce and sign his newly published book, ERNIE: The Autobiography.

CONTACT: (202) 737-2300 or www.navymemorial.org

In August 2008, Citadel Press, an imprint of Kensington Publishing Corp., published ERNIE, Ernest Borgnine’s candid, no-holds-barred autobiography that includes details of his humble beginnings as the son of Italian immigrants and the ups and downs of his fifty-year career in television and film.

Borgnine’s film and television career has spanned more than half a century, including the sadistic Fatso in From Here to Eternity (1953) and a Golden Globe-nominated turn in A Grandpa for Christmas (2007).

According to a Kensington Publishing Corp. press release, Borgnine has died on screen almost thirty times; been shot, stabbed, kicked, punched through barroom doors by Spencer Tracy and Gary Cooper; pushed in front of moving subway trains, devoured by rats and a giant mutated fish; blown up in spaceships, melted down into a Technicolor puddle, jumped into a snake pit, and perished from thirst in the Sahara Desert. He bounced around a capsized ocean liner, beat Frank Sinatra to death, impaled Lee Marvin with a pitchfork, and had his way with Raquel Welch. According to Borgnine, “Any of these would’ve been worth the journey.”

Since 1999, Borgnine has provided voice talent on SpongeBob Square Pants as the elderly superhero Mermaid Man - where he is once again paired up with his McHale's Navy co-star, Tim Conway, who voices Mermaid Man's sidekick Barnacle Boy, and he 2008 saw the release of his most recent film Strange Wilderness where he appeared opposite Jeff Garlin and Steve Zahn.

Borgnine joined the United States Navy in 1935. He was discharged in 1941 but re-enlisted for World War II and served until 1945, having reached the rank of Gunner’s Mate 1st Class. In 2004, he received an honorary rank of Chief Petty Officer for his support of the Navy. In 2007, the United States Navy Memorial honored Borgnine with the Lone Sailor Award for his contributions to country and community.

Official Website: http://navymemorial.org