Ernest Borgnine had a hell of a run, with over 200 credits in his filmography (between movies and TV). My friend Eric Vespe has done a fantastic job eulogizing him over at Ain't It Cool.
Among other titles, people remember him most vividly from Sam Peckinpah's death-of-the-west epic The Wild Bunch, the men-on-a-mission classic The Dirty Dozen, and his heartbreaking performance in the title role of Marty. He was a leading actor, a character actor, a fun cameo appearance, and everything in-between. The guy started working and never stopped. His work ethic is admirable, but the result of it is why people are sad he's gone. He played the big roles with as much energy as the guest appearances alongside characters like Thomas Magnum and Walker (Texas Ranger). He came from a generation of actors that really busted their asses like it was a job, not slacking through the day on the way to their next tabloid photo op.
In recent years, he also came out in favor of a particular recreational activity, and became one of its strongest advocates. The Internet thought this was hilarious.
I'll get together some sort of playlist or "gap-filling" guide tomorrow, since I only just read about this and need to hit the sack. Here's a quick rundown of the best bang for your buck if you want to check one of these three out. Whenever a guy like Borgnine goes, I like to revisit their stuff, but not get ripped off paying for something that looks/sounds like crap.
Unfortunately, the DVD and instant streaming transfers for Marty are terrible. Waste your money at your own peril, but you can rent it in SD on Amazon for $3 (you can rent in HD on an XBox 360, PS3, Roku, or any other Amazon Instant Video-capable box...but not a computer). It may look like garbage, but the performance is wonderful no matter how you slice it. I first watched it on VHS, so the worse thing would be to not have seen what I consider Borgnine's best performance.
The Dirty Dozen Blu-ray is only $8, but the transfer is 2007 vintage (the early days of Blu), and could use work. It isn't terrible by any means, but it's a bit overdue for a revisit. The extras, which include the sequel and a pile of documentaries, make it worth if you're into that sort of thing. If you just want to spin up the movie, it's a $4 HD rental from iTunes.
Of the three, The Wild Bunch fares best on Blu-ray, with a solid video & audio transfer and a pile of extras. It's $8 for the Blu, which I'd spring for rather than the $4 to rent it in HD from iTunes for a single view of just the movie.
There's a fancy new Blu-ray of the Joan Crawford-headlined, Nicholas Ray-directed western Johnny Guitar coming out in August (the pre-order is a steep $25 at Amazon). I've been waiting for that one a long while.
We'll be waiting longer yet for an actor to have the kind of lengthy and varied career that Borgnine did. Check out Eric's obit above for some great clips.