Timeline and Marriages of Ernest Borgnine

Ernest Borgnine's First Wife -- Rhoda Kemins (1949-1958)

Born:

Rhoda Kemins: Abt. 1925.

When Rhoda and Ernie Met:

Ernie and Rhoda met while serving in the Navy.

Ernie: "When I hit Penn Station, I wasn't alone. I had a wife. Her name was Rhoda Kemins and she was a Navy Wave and a hospital corpswoman. She made an impression on me in 1945 when I was in the naval hospital with a cyst on my backside. And I made an impression on her ... We carried on a long-distance romance for four years. Finally, when I decided to try my luck on Broadway, we tied the knot."
Source: Ernest Borgnine. Ernie: The Autobiography. 2009. pg. 61. [Paperback]

Wedding Date:

Ernie and Rhoda were married on September 2, 1949.

Children:

Nancee Allison Borgnine: Born in 1952. She is a producer and casting director.

Divorce:

Rhoda and Ernie were divorced on August 26, 1958.

"She [Rhoda] charged cruelty, and the Academy Award winner did not contest her suit."
Source: "Ernest Borgnine Divorce Costly." Fitchburg Sentinel. 8/27/1958. pg. 10.

Rhoda: "He didn't know a woman never forgets getting beat up -- lips swollen, eye blackened' ... These words from Mrs. Rhoda K. Borgnine came as a bombshell to film actor Ernest Borgnine, and his fiance, actress Katy Jurado, yesterday. They were included in an affidavit in which Mrs. Borgnine asked a superior court judge to set aside a divorce decree she had obtained last August on the grounds it was obtained by fraud."
Source: "Mrs. Ernest Borgnine Fights Divorce -- Levels Charges." The Lowell Sun. 6/13/1959.

Ernie: "As far as our marriage is concerned, we were not happy for a long time prior to our separation and divorce. Miss Jurado, despite Mrs. Borgnine's innuendoes, had nothing to do with our divorce."
Source: "Mrs. Ernest Borgnine Fights Divorce -- Levels Charges." The Lowell Sun. 6/13/1959.

Other Marriages:

Rhoda later married Charles Sonne in 1965.

Quotations About the Marriage of Rhoda and Ernie Borgnine:

Ernie: "My present wife (Tova) will tell you that I've never got married to get divorced. Ever. Because I've always figured that you come home, you've got your kids, you're home and, hey, you have your dinner, you play with the kids, you do everything, like an ordinary human being. That's all we are. But somehow or other, my first wife, before we were married, we were living from hand to mouth practically and everything was wonderful. But when I got the Academy Award, she was the one to put on the dark glasses. And it was all right, but after a while it got to the point where you could hardly live with it, you know. So that was it."
Source: April MacIntyre. "Ernest Borgnine guests on Turner Classic Movies Jan. 26." MonstersandCritics.com. 1/18/2009.
Ernie: "My mother said she was a fine girl, so I married her."
Source: Suzanne Adelson. "With His Fifth Marriage, Ernest Borgnine Finally Has a Face-Saver: Wife Tove." People.com. 8/17/1981.

Ernie: "I met her [Rhoda] when I was in the hospital during the war. She was a pharmacist's mate and she took such good care of me that I figured I'd better marry her. And she has taken good care of me ever since."
Source: Bob Thomas. "Oscar Winner Said Man of True Humility." San Mateo Times. 3/27/1956. pg. 19.

Ernest Borgnine's Marriages

Ernest Borgnine's Second Wife -- Katy Jurado (1959-1963)

Born:

Katy Jurado aka Maria Cristina Estella Marcella Jurado de Garcia: January 16, 1924 in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico.

Died:

Katy Jurado: At the age of 78, Katy died from a heart attack on July 5, 2002 in Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico.

When Ernie and Katy Met:

Katy and Ernie met in 1958 while working on the film The Badlanders.

"She [Katy] and Borgnine were soon lovers off screen too, and in 1959 they entered into a stormy marriage. After their divorce in 1964, Borgnine reported: 'Katy was beautiful. But a tiger.'"
ource: "Katy Jurado." Telegraph.co.uk. 7/09/2002.

Wedding Date and Info:

Katy and Ernie were married on December 31, 1959 in Cuernavaca, Mexico.

Divorce:

After several blow-ups, separations, and reconciliations, Ernie first filed for divorce in January 1961. Katy filed for separate maintenace in September 1962 and Ernie again filed for divorce in December 1962. Although they were telling reporters in March 1963 that they still loved one another, they finally divorced in June 1963.

"Their one-year marriage, enlivened by many a spat, fell apart yesterday when Borgnine sued for divorce, charging extreme cruelty."
Source: "Ernest Borgnine Sues for Divorce." The Albuquerque Tribune. 1/13/1961. pg. A-11.

Occupations:

Katy: Actress.
As husband and wife, Ernie and Katy worked together on the movie The Italian Brigands in 1961. She played his fiery wife.

Previous Marriages:

Katy's first marriage was to author Victor Velasquez.

"... the daughter of a former landowner stripped of his property during the revolution. The cinema soon attracted her, and she [Katy] made her first film at 16, after marrying the author Victor Velazquez, which enabled her to act in films without her parents' consent. The couple had two sons, but divorced in 1950." (Note: Other sources show 1943 as when they divorced.)
Source: "Katy Jurado." Telegraph.co.uk. 7/09/2002.

Quotes About the Marriage of Ernest Borgnine and Katy Jurado:

Katy: "Love is wonderful."
Source: "Ernest Borgnine Set to Wed Mexican Actress Katy Jurado." Racine Journal-Times. 9/15/1959. pg. 15.
Ernest Borgnine's Marriages

Ernest Borgnine's Third Wife -- Ethel Merman (1964-1964)

The marriage of Ernest Borgnine and Ethel Merman was one of Hollywood's shortest marriages. The third marriage for Ernie and the fourth marriage for Ethel ended on their honeymoon.

Born:

Ethel Merman aka Ethel Agnes Zimmermann: January 16, 1908 in Astoria, New York.

Died:

Ethel Merman: At the age of 76, Ethel died from brain cancer in New York City, New York on February 15, 1984.

How Ethel and Ernie Met:

Ernie and Ethel met in November 1963 at the home of friends, Temple Texas and Joseph Shribman.

Brian Kellow: "From the start, Borgnine courted Ethel with the fervor of a lovestruck teenager, and she succumbed. She paid no attention to friends' warnings of his marital past or to the nine-year age difference between them."
Source: Brian Kellow. Ethel Merman: A Life. 2007. pg. 201.

Ernie about his proposal: ""You know I'll be a free man on June 23. Nothing would make me happier than if you would become Mrs. Ernest Borgnine on June 24.' Even I was surprised I said it ... I was a two-time loser, and Ethel said she had been married three times and had given up all hope of ever getting married again. So had I."
Source: James Bacon. "Ethel, Ernie Convinced: It's Love at First Sight." The Salt Lake Tribune. 4/18/1964. pg. 18.

Wedding Date and Info:

Ethel and Ernie were married on June 27, 1964 in Ernie's backyard in Beverly Hills, California.

Ernie: "We had a big wedding in my backyard in Beverly Hills. It was quite beautiful and everybody had a great time. Lovebirds were released from cages and flew all over the place. Everyone was enthralled. Biggest mistake of my life. Maybe I thought I was marrying Rosemary Clooney, who knows?"
Source: Ernest Borgnine. Ernie: The Autobiography. 2009. pg. 143. [Paperback]

Brian Kellow: "On June 26, wearing a flowing chiffon dress in three shades of yellow, Ethel married Ernest Borgnine in the garden of his house. Five hundred friends were in attendance, including Jack Benny, Milton Berle, Bob Hope, Gypsy Rose Lee, Lucille Ball and Gary Morton, and Vivian Vance."
Source: Brian Kellow. Ethel Merman: A Life. 2007. pg. 202-203.

Divorce:

Ethel and Ernie were divorced on July 28, 1964.
Their planned honeymoon to Japan, Hong Kong, and Honolulu ended after a day or so in Tokyo. She moved out of their house on August 3rd and received an interlocutory divorce decree in Santa Monica Superior Court on November 18, 1965.

Brian Kellow: "When it was published in the spring of 1978, it [Merman: An Autobiography] received its biggest burst of attention from a chapter entitled "My Marriage to Ernest Borgnine" -- which was followed by a blank page. It had been Ethel's idea ..."
Source: Brian Kellow. Ethel Merman: A Life. 2007. pg. 248-249.

Ethel had three previous marriages.

William Smith: 1940-1941.
Robert Daniels Levitt: 1941-1952
Robert Six: 1953-1960

Quotes About the Marriage of Ernie Borgnine and Ethel Merman:

Ethel: "I've never been in love before," she said in 1964. When they split she explained, "I'm a lover, not a fighter." Source: Suzanne Adelson. "With His Fifth Marriage, Ernest Borgnine Finally Has a Face-Saver: Wife Tove." People.com. 8/17/1981.

More About Ethel Merman:

Ethel Merman Profile

Ernest Borgnine's Marriages

Born:

Donna Anna Rancourt: Abt. 1933.

Wedding Date and Info:

Donna and Ernie were married on June 30, 1965 in Juarez, Mexico.

Dorothy Kilgallen: "Ernest Borgnine and Donna Rancourt, who got married in Mexico, plan to go through another wedding ceremony in California when Ethel Merman's divorce becomes final in October."
Source: Dorothy Kilgallen. "Actress Reported Smitten." The Galveston News. 9/07/1965. pg. 4-B.

Children:

Sharon Borgnine: Born in 1965.
Christopher E. Borgnine: Born in 1966. Cris is an actor, cinematographer, and producer.

Divorce:

Donna and Ernie divorced in 1972.

Ernie: "I could have understood it if I had been playing around on location. Maybe then I'd have deserved it. But I haven't been a player. I turn into a celibate on location -- because I do respect my family and have felt such strong love for them."
Source: Marilyn Beck. "Down Filming in Mexico, Ernest Borgnine Receives Divorce Message." The Salt Lake Tribune. 5/19/1972. pg. C9.

Occupations:

Donna: Stand-in for Yvonne De Carlo, child actress.
Ernest Borgnine's Marriages

Born:

Tova Traesnaes aka Tove Traesnaes: November 17, 1941 in Oslo, Norway.

How Ernie and Tova Met:

Tova and Ernie were introduced to one another by his friend Marty Allen in 1972.

Suzanne Adelson: "After his last divorce, in 1972, Borgnine recalls, 'I was so depressed, the last thing I wanted to do was to meet another woman.' But his close friend comedian Marty Allen thought otherwise and arranged for Traesnaes, who then had a makeup boutique in Las Vegas, to be Borgnine's blind date at Allen's birthday party. Recalls Borgnine: 'We started talking. Next thing I knew, everyone was ready to go home —- and we were still talking.'"
Source: Suzanne Adelson. "With His Fifth Marriage, Ernest Borgnine Finally Has a Face-Saver: Wife Tove." People.com. 8/17/1981.

Wedding Date and Info:

After being engaged for 11 months, Tova and Ernie were married in Las Vegas, Nevada on February 24, 1973.

Residences:

Tova and Ernie had homes in Beverly Hills, California and in West Chester, Pennsylvania.

Occupations:

Tova: Businesswoman, cosmetics entrepreneur, author.
Being Married Happily Forever: 22 Secrets, 12 Strategies and 8 Compromises (1997)

Previous Marriage:

Tova was previously in a four-year marriage that ended in divorce. She has one son, David Johnson.

Quotes About the Marriage of Tova and Ernie Borgnine:

Ernie: "I never got married with the idea of getting divorced. I always wanted a happy home. Tove and I have trust and communication, two things I lacked before."
Source: Suzanne Adelson. "With His Fifth Marriage, Ernest Borgnine Finally Has a Face-Saver: Wife Tove." People.com. 8/17/1981.
Ernie: "...and she's made me a much happier man. She's made all the difference in the world."
Source: Marilyn Beck. "Down Filming in Mexico, Ernest Borgnine Receives Divorce Message." The Salt Lake Tribune.

5/19/1972. pg. C9.

Ernest Borgnine's Marriages