16. The Gap-Toothed Gunner’s Mate
One of Hollywood’s most beloved character actors, Ernest Borgnine had an endearing gap-toothed smile that earned him a place in the hearts of millions. He had notable supporting roles in movies such as From Here to Eternity, China Corsair, and The Wild Bunch, and won a Best Actor Oscar for his lead in 1955’s Marty. He also had TV success in the 1980s’ series Airwolf, and the 1960s’ McHale’s Navy. His success playing US Navy Commander McHale in the TV series was owed in no small part to the fact that, in real life, Borgnine had actually spent a decade in the Navy.
After graduating high school in 1935, Borgnine was selling vegetables on the street when he saw a Navy recruitment poster, and decided that being a sailor beat his current occupation. He enlisted and ended up aboard the destroyer/ minesweeper USS Lamberton, until his honorable discharge in October of 1941. A few months later, the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, and Borgnine reenlisted soon thereafter. He spent the war patrolling the Atlantic coast aboard the USS Sylph, on antisubmarine duty, until his discharge in 1945 as a Gunner’s Mate, 1st Class.
