Oscar-winning actor Ernest Borgnine turned 90 today. Yes, he's still alive, and he's still working. But he would like to be working more. He told the Associated Press this week that few people are interested in hiring him, mostly because they don't know he's still around. If you look at his listing on the IMDb, though, you'll see that the actor is far from unemployed. Sure, he hasn't done anything high profile in decades, but when prompted for his opinion of the movies of today, he acted as though nothing is currently worth his talent.

His attitude seems ballsy even for a player of tough guy roles in The Dirty Dozen, The Wild Bunch and From Here to Eternity. But maybe because I grew up associating Borgnine first with Super Fuzz and then with The Poseidon Adventure, I can't entirely believe that he's spent the past thirty years looking for substantial parts. There had to be an opportunity for a comeback in there somewhere. But if there hasn't been, there is still time for one great swansong. For 90, he seems healthy enough. Considering two of the four movies he liked in 2006 were directed by Clint Eastwood, I would just like to put it out there that Borgnine needs a significant role in Clint's next picture.

Because I'm relatively young, my best memories of Red Buttons come from the live-action/animation hybrid Pete's Dragon, in which he played Hoagy, assistant to the weaselly villain Dr. Terminus. Between that film and C.H.O.M.P.S., which is another kids' movie he appeared in around the same time, I became familiar with his face early on. Of course it took me a few years to get the name right -- I kept confusing him with Red Skelton -- but he had an easily recognizable and somewhat goofy appearance that could put a smile on my face at anytime. Yet Buttons, who was born Aaron Chwatt and got his stage name from his hair color and a button-filled uniform he used to wear as a bellhop, was working for decades before I ever set eyes on his cute little face.

He started as a stand-up comedian when he was only 16, became an accomplished singer and composer, and eventually broke into television and movies. In 1958 he won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar and a Golden Globe for Sayonara, which starred Marlon Brando. His best recognized role these days, however, has to be nice guy James Martin from the original The Poseidon Adventure. He also appeared in The Longest Day, Harlow (which brought another Golden Globe nomination), They Shoot Horses, Don't They? (and another), the TV-movie Leave 'em Laughing and, most recently, The Story of Us.

He died Thursday of vascular disease at the age of 87 and had been ill for some time.