Hollywood Exclusive by Marilyn Beck & Stacy Jenel Smith

Ernest Borgnine just wrapped his starring role in the feature "The Man Who Shook the Hand of Vicente Fernandez," and he has a four-hour television movie event coming up Saturday night (Nov. 5) with the Hallmark Channel's "Love's Christmas Journey." Not bad for 94 years old.

"I feel great. I'm going to be 95 in January," he lets us know. As for special birthday plans? "The family hasn't figured it out yet. All I know is, it'll probably cost me money," quips the Oscar winner, laughing.

Borgnine had to mine his talent for writer-director Elia Petridis' "Vicente Fernandez" dramedy, which has Borgnine as an old man bitterly disappointed that he never became famous — and who suddenly finds himself the center of attention among the Latino workers in his nursing home after they learn of an incident in his past.

"I doubted very much if I could pull off something like this," he admits. "Carrying a picture is a whole lot different than just being in a picture. You have to think ahead to where things are going at all times.

"But this young man was so enthusiastic and confident," Borgnine says of Petridis. "It made me feel confident. He said, 'No one else in the world can do this. You're brilliant.' He was just a dream to work with. I learned so much. I can't say enough."

Meanwhile, there's "Love's Christmas Journey," the latest in the Hallmark Channel's popular "Love Comes Softly" movie series of 1800s prairie family romance tales. With JoBeth Williams, Charles Shaughnessy and Sean Astin also in the cast, the story has Borgnine as a mystery man named Nicholas who gets the town talking.

"I had a ball with it," Borgnine says of the role. "It turned out to be just fun. When they said, 'There's going to be four hours,' I said, 'Are you going to show it all at once?' They said, 'All at once.' So you'd better get a lot of popcorn and settle in."

Borgnine is also fronting a Turner Classic Movies cruise coming up Dec. 2 — and he's hoping "Vicente Fernandez" will be ready to show. Where does he get all his energy? What's his secret at almost 95?

"My secret is: Keep laughing," Borgnine replies. "That's the idea. If you can keep laughing and keep smiling, one way or another, by golly, you're bound to find other people around you laughing, too. I've had my times when I just felt terrible, just awful, you know? But hey, there's always something that comes along that makes you feel good.

"That's what matters, really — it's how you approach life.

You can be like the people who go around with a cloud over their heads for the rest of your days, and it's terrible. Or you can wake up in the morning and say, 'Hey, man! I'm alive, and God has had a good look at me and blessed me.'"

FROM THE INSIDE LOOKING OUT: "Last Comic Standing" Season 6 winner Iliza Shlesinger is just wrapping up shooting of 130 episodes of "Excused," her syndicated dating show — her main focus for the last seven months. She doesn't mind admitting she's looking forward to getting back to her old life as "a successful standup comedian who toured constantly. Standup comedy is the passion of my life," she says.

"Excused," which joins the VH1 lineup Nov. 14, has met with criticism for just about everything from its not-so-bright contestants to its high raunch-factor and its mansion location, which has been likened to a porn movie set. But Shlesinger herself has remained relatively unscathed — in fact, she's been called the best thing about the show. No wonder they increased her on-camera time.

"I've been lucky to be given the chance to be on a show where I get to be funny," she stresses. As for those contestants, "Thank God it's different every day, that we don't have a cast that is constant. Some of these people are mind-bashingly stupid. But, for every idiot we get, we also get a colorful character who is a lot of fun."

And some are even bright, Iliza contends. "Sometimes we get people on the show who'll say, 'I'm a lawyer,' or 'I'm currently getting a Ph.D.,' and I'll think, 'Why?! Why are you here?' I really am surprised by the diversity on the show. We get all walks of life."

Shlesinger's comedy has bite, but she usually manages not to alienate her audience. "You can't be mean to women," she claims. "Women won't like you, and if women don't like you, they won't let guys watch it. I'm not the hottest chick in the world, and I would never want to make a girl feel bad about the way she looks. Guys — you kind of can because they have a thicker skin."

It's OK, however, to point out to a female when she's been behaving badly. "Like the ones who'll say they never would kiss on a first date, and then make out with four guys."

GETTING IN THE SPIRIT: Thanks to the readers who've already sent in their votes for Beck/Smith Hollywood's 2011 Tacky Taste Awards. The voting goes all the way through to Nov. 18, so it's still anyone's game. There could even be an 11th-hour upset. We can tell you the early voting already has one celebrity far out in front. Hint: He speaks with a foreign accent and was seen sporting an "I Survived Maria" shirt this year.

Agree? Send those votes to Stacy@BeckSmithHollywood.com, and be sure to tell us how you really feel.

To find out more about Marilyn Beck and Stacy Jenel Smith and read their past columns, visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com.

COPYRIGHT 2011 MARILYN BECK AND STACY JENEL SMITH

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