Good on them!

I seem to have heard Ernest Borgnine talking on the radio a lot this week. I have to confess I have a certain affection this actor. I don't seem to have heard much about him since he appeared in the television series "Airwolf" in the 1980s. Indeed I'd assumed he'd died as he was 70ish then. But no, he's alive & kicking. At 92, he's just brought out an autobiography, has appeared in the final episodes of "ER" on TV, & is now preparing to make a new film.

What impresses me about the man? It has to admitted he is not the typical good looking leading man. He started out playing tough guys & people assumed that's all he could do until he auditioned for the lead role in the film "Marty" in 1954. Since then he has played so many sympathetic characters.

I suppose it's that ability to play warmth, humour, pathos, to show his humanity that draws me in. As he said himself, he always believes in playing his roles with his heart. That comes over, & what a big heart.

As for the energy & enthusiasm for continuing to work, in life itself, in his 90s, I can only envy him. So many people are burnt out long before then. It seems a common complaint among our contemporaries. Or alternatively ill-health has struck preventing them doing things. This enthusiasm I admire, too, in my Aunt Ivy, now around 87, but still ready to go to help her neighbours, cook them meals if they're ill. I've not been up to doing that for a long time & I'm still only in my mid-fifties! Good on them!