It is with a heavy heart that we bring you the sad news of the passing of Ernest Bourgnine. Earnest passed away due to renal failure at an LA Hospital surrounded by his family.

Ernest got his first big break in 1953 in the film From Here to Eternity, playing a sadistic Sgt. opposite Frank Sinatra. That role placed him into the memory of an adouring public and Ernest was for the majority of his career cast as a “tough guy.” It is in these roles in such memorable films as The Posseidon Adventure, The Wild Bunch, The Dirty Dozen and Ice Station Zebra that cemented his place in modern cinema. Lets also not forget that he won the Academy Award for his role in the 1955 film Marty.

Though younger audiences may not recognise these films, they will undoubtably recognize him as Dominic Santini in the classic action series Airwolf, which although nearly 30yrs old, is still shown on cable television today. Even junior audiences may recognize his voice as he not only provided a character voice in The Simpsons, he was also the voice of Mermaid Man in SpongeBob SquarePants.

We thank you Earnest Bourgnine for a long and illustrious career and our thoughts and best wishes are with his family.