Ernest Borgnine: Boy Scout

[AZMike]

I was glancing through a copy of Ernest Borgnine's autobiography {"Ernie") that was in a relative's house and saw this:

 

"One of the other activities that helped me become a man and reinforced the notion of teamwork was joining the Boy Scouts. I almost missed the boat on that one because - i kid you not - they couldn't find a shirt that fit me. I only had a shirt that looked like a Boy Scout shirt, something my mother found and dyed. So I put my insignias on that and they let me get by with it...I had thick fingers and I had a hard time making knots. Eventually, though, I got the hang of it. Score one for determination, another valuable life lesson.

 

"I did pretty well in scouting. I was just one merit badge short of becoming an Eagle Scout. More than anything in my formative years, scouting taught me how to be a man - self sufficient and observant. I used to pay very close attention to what the scout leaders told us about the stars, about nature, about survival. I learned how to make a fire by rubbing sticks together. I learned how to cook food in the wild and how to make a crude lean-to as a shelter. After a year or so I became the Assistant Scoutmaster of the troop at St. Anne's Church. It was wonderful. I'd take the new kids on twenty-mile hikes and share everything I'd been taught."

 

Borgnine credits the Scouts with getting him interested in acting, after he performed as a giant baby in a Scout Circus and got a lot of positive comments about his acting skills. Later, in the Navy, he credited the Scouts with teaching him the knot-tying skills that helped him do well. 

 

Sounds like the Boy Scouts were good for Ernie!

[jr56]

Great story, thanks for sharing.

[CalicoPenn]

My favorite Ernest Borgnine acting job has to be a voice-over job on the Simpsons as he tells the gathered "scouts" the tale of how he defeated a bear using just the toothpick of his swiss army knife. 

 

I think all we can really say is "Take that, Chuck Norris".

[SSScout]

Very nice.  I will pass it on. 

[packsaddle]

Wonder how many others like him are out there undiscovered. My favorite line was by Gruber when he was trying to sell some trinket. I'll try to get it right, "...and this isn't that cheap domestic stuff either...look! Made in Japan!"

Of course that was before Japan basically kicked our butts in electronics and cameras and cars and.......