In Memory of Ernest Borgnine – My childhood would not have been full of top secret…

#ernestborgnine   #airwolf  

http://youtu.be/ezDIPDVH-IE

RIP: Dominic Santini

Airwolf is an American television series that ran from 1984 until 1987. The program centers on a high-tech military helicopter, code named Airwolf, and its crew as they undertake various missions, many involving espionage, with a Cold War theme.

Dominic Santini is a fictional character on the U.S. television series Airwolf, which ran from 1984 to 1987. Veteran actor Ernest Borgnine portrayed the character during the series' first three seasons.

Santini is of Italian-American descent, and was born and raised on the fictional Caribbean Island nation of San Remo. His wife Lila, from whom Santini had been long estranged, was murdered by San Remo's criminal element during the Season Two Airwolf episode "Sins of the Past." Dominic and Lila had a daughter, Sally Ann, but Sally Ann died of a drug overdose shortly before the beginning of the same episode. Santini's other known relatives include his younger brother Tony Santini and Tony's daughter (Dominic's niece) Jo Santini, who becomes an important supporting character on the series during its fourth and final season. Dominic also has another niece, Holly Mathews, who suffers from a delusional emotional illness and nearly causes a disaster for her uncle and his friends during the episode "The Truth About Holly."

Santini is a veteran of World War II and the Korean War, serving as a combat aviator for the U.S. Army in both conflicts. During his wartime experiences, Santini becomes a good friend of fellow American military aviator Alan B. Hawke. After Hawke and his wife are killed in a boating accident, Santini takes it upon himself to raise the Hawkes' two young sons, Saint John Hawke and Stringfellow Hawke, to manhood. A gruff, but loving father figure, Santini teaches both Hawke brothers the art of flying, and both grow up to become excellent aviators under his tutelage.