Ernest Borgnine is a Golden elder

In youth-obsessed Hollywood -- quite literally no country for old men -- it was a delightful surprise to see 90-year-old Ernest Borgnine nominated for a Golden Globe for his turn as a retired song-and-dance man in the Hallmark Channel’s “A Grandpa for Christmas.�

“It’s pretty neat,� Borgnine said with palpable excitement. “A friend of mine called and said, ‘Guess what? You’ve been nominated.’ I said what for? And he said, ‘The Golden Globe.’ �

Borgnine’s nomination for best actor in a TV movie marks his first Golden Globe nod since he won the award for best actor in a dramatic motion picture for 1955’s “Marty.� (That role also earned him the Oscar.)

And if Borgnine wins the award, he will be the oldest performer to ever earn a Golden Globe. By contrast, Jessica Tandy was a spry 80 when she picked up her Golden Globe for 1989’s “Driving Miss Daisy.�

“I tell you, I’m so very glad this happened -- but not [just] for me,� he explains. “If you run into casting directors . . . tell them 90 isn’t that old. That is the thing. A lot of casting directors have forgotten that there are so many wonderful old actors out there that need help and want to work and can’t get a job because of the fact that everything is so youth-oriented and it’s a shame.�

And it’s acting, Borgnine said, that keeps him young.

“You die on the vine if you just sit down in a chair and just get old,� he added. “That is no way to do it. That idea is to get up out of the chair and go out there and hustle. The first thing you know -- bam -- an award! I tell you I have led a very lucky life.�

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