Eventually all the really cool actors from your childhood die: That’s just the way it is. Ernest Borgnine passed away yesterday, taking Lt. Cmdr Quinton McHale with him. Borgnine had some serious acting chops (Academy Award winner for “Marty” in 1955) and a filmography of unusual depth, including From Here to Eternity, Bad Day At Black Rock, Flight Of The Phoenix, The Wild Bunch, The Dirty Dozen, Ice Station Zebra and even The Poseidon Adventure.
He was a working character actor, in the very best meaning of the term, on film and television, even as the voice of Mermaid Man on SpongeBob SquarePants, paired up again with Tim Conway, delighting another generation with his chops. However it was McHale’s Navy that most folks my vintage remember. Some of the folks with Borgnine on McHale were Tim Conway, Joe Flynn and Gavin McLeod, stellar character actors to a person. The screwball comedy never set foot in the Pacific: It was all shot backlot at Universal, with the exception of a few underway master shots. You get bonus points if you remember the number of the PT boat without looking it up.
The funny thing is Ernest Borgnine actually was in the US Navy, and reupped in 1941, as a gunner on the USS Lamberton, in the Pacific theatre, before he took to acting.
He was very much one of those few actors where you never saw the mechanism working. Borgnine managed to inhabit the characters he played. And he will be missed. PT-73 has sailed.
RoadDave 
How about the gruff old general, who supported the group in the eponymous “The Dirty Dozen”? And how could ANY of us aviation/sci-fi nutcases ever forget “Airwolf” and the beloved old Dominic “Dom” Santini? A man of many faces, but always the same behind the mask – a great human being and delightful person. I knew a few actors who worked with him, and had nothing but praise. Not unexpected, but still a tragedy – another great talent gone.
So whether by sea, land, or air, I wish ol’ Ernie a smooth road, fair winds, and following seas.