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Charles Bronson (November 3, 1921 – August 30, 2003) was an American actor of "tough guy" roles. In most of his roles he starred as a brutal police detective, a western gunfighter, vigilante, boxer or a Mafia hitman. He was blunt, physically powerful, and had a look of danger well suited to such roles.

Early Life
He was born as Charles Dennis Buchinsky in the notorious Ehrenfeld, Pennsylvania coal mining neighborhood of Scooptown, near Pittsburgh, one of 15 children born of Polish and Lithuanian imigrants.

His family was so poor that, at one time, he had reportedly been forced to wear his sister's dress to school because he had no other clothes (see [[1]]).

In 1943, Bronson was drafted into the United States Army Air Corps and served as a tail gunner onboard B29 bombers.

Although Bronson was of Slavic descent, many people thought he looked like a Chicano or Mexican-American who was Mestizo (mixture of Spanish and Indian ancestry). Thus, due to his looks Bronson sometimes played characters who were Mexican or who were part-Indian.

Acting Career
After the war, he decided to pursue acting, not from any love of the subject, but rather, because he was impressed with the amount of money that he could potentially make in the business. Bronson was roommates with Jack Klugman, another starving actor at the time. Klugman later said of Bronson that he was good at ironing clothes. During the McCarthy hearings he changed his last name to Bronson as Slavic names were suspect. One of his earliest screen appearances under his new name was as Vincent Price's henchman in 1953 horror classic House of Wax. In 1961 Bronson made an appearance with Elizabeth Montgomery in The Twilight Zone, in the episode "Two." From 1958-1960, Bronson starred in the ABC Television Network detective series "Man With A Camera". Bronson portrayed Mike Kovac, a former combat photographer, free-lancing in New York City. Frequently, Bronson's character was involved in assignments for the Police Department, which frequently put Bronson's character in danger. A number of the series episodes, which were all in Black and White, are now available on DVD. Although he began his career in the United States, Bronson first made a serious name for himself acting in European films. He became quite famous on that continent, and was known by two nicknames: The Italians called him "Il Brutto" ("The Ugly") and to the French he was known as "le monstre sacré," the "sacred monster." Even though he was not yet a headliner in America, his overseas fame earned him a 1971 Golden Globe as the "Most Popular Actor in the World". That same year, he wondered if he was "too masculine" to ever become a star in the US.

Bronson's most famous films include The Great Escape, (1963) in which he played Danny Velinski, a Polish prisoner of war nicknamed "The Tunnel King", and The Dirty Dozen, (1967) in which he played an Army death row convict conscripted into a World War II suicide mission. In the westerns The Magnificent Seven (1960) and the Sergio Leone epic Once Upon a Time in the West, (1968) he played heroic gunfighters, taking up the cause of the defenseless. Sergio Leone once called him "the greatest actor I ever worked with." In Hard Times (1975), he played a street fighter making his living in illegal boxing matches in Louisiana.

He is also remembered for Death Wish (1974) which spawned several sequels (also starring Bronson), In Death Wish he played a Paul Kersey, a prosperous liberal New York architect until his wife was murdered and daughter raped. He became a crime-fighting vigilante by night, a highly controversial role, as his executions were cheered by crime-weary audiences. After the famous 1984 case of Bernhard Goetz, the actor recommended that people not imitate his character.

Bronson was married to British actress Jill Ireland from 1968 until her death from breast cancer at age 54 in 1990. She was his second wife. He met her when she was still married to British actor David McCallum. At the time, Bronson (who shared the screen with McCallum in The Great Escape) bluntly told McCallum: "I'm going to marry your wife." Two years later, he made good on his boast and married Jill.

Bronson died of pneumonia while suffering from Alzheimer's disease at Cedars-Sinai hospital in Los Angeles, California aged 81.

At the time of his death, he was survived by his wife Kim, four children, two stepchildren and two grandchildren. A stepson, Jason McCallum Bronson, preceded him in death after succumbing to a drug overdose in 1985.

With his death, Robert Vaughn is the only surviving actor of the seven main stars of The Magnificent Seven.

He was frequently spoofed on The Simpsons, both by name and by character.

 

Family of Cops III: Under Suspicion (1999) (TV) .... Paul Fein
Breach of Faith: Family of Cops II (1997) (TV) .... Commissioner Paul Fein
Family of Cops (1995) (TV) .... Paul Fein
Death Wish V: The Face of Death (1994) .... Paul Kersey
Donato and Daughter (1993) (TV) .... Sgt. Mike Donato
The Sea Wolf (1993) (TV) .... Capt. Wolf Larsen
Yes Virginia, There Is a Santa Claus (1991) (TV) .... Francis Church
The Indian Runner (1991) .... Mr. Roberts
Kinjite: Forbidden Subjects (1989) .... Lt. Crowe
Messenger of Death (1988) .... Garret Smith
Death Wish 4: The Crackdown (1987) .... Paul Kersey
Assassination (1987) .... Jay Killion
Act of Vengeance (1986) (TV) .... Joseph 'Jock' Yablonski
Murphy's Law (1986) .... Jack Murphy
Death Wish 3 (1985) .... Paul Kersey
The Evil That Men Do (1984) .... Holland/Bart Smith
10 to Midnight (1983) .... Leo Kessler
Death Wish II (1982) .... Paul Kersey
Death Hunt (1981) .... Albert Johnson
Caboblanco (1980) .... Gifford Hoyt
Borderline (1980) .... Jeb Maynard
Love and Bullets (1979) .... Charlie Congers
Telefon (1977) .... Maj. Grigori Borzov
The White Buffalo (1977) .... Wild Bill Hickok (James Otis)
Raid on Entebbe (1977) (TV) .... Brig. Gen. Dan Shomron
From Noon Till Three (1976) .... Graham Dorsey
St. Ives (1976) .... Raymond St Ives
Breakheart Pass (1975) .... John Deakin (John Murray)
Hard Times (1975) .... Chaney
Breakout (1975) .... Nick Colton
Death Wish (1974) .... Paul Kersey
Mr. Majestyk (1974) .... Vince Majestyk
Valdez, il mezzosangue (1973) .... Chino Valdez
The Stone Killer (1973) .... Detective Lt. Lou Torrey
The Mechanic (1972) .... Arthur Bishop
Chato's Land (1972) .... Pardon Chato
The Valachi Papers (1972) .... Joe Valachi
Quelqu'un derrière la porte (1971) .... The Stranger
Soleil rouge (1971) .... Link Stuart
The Bull of the West (1971) (TV) .... Ben Justin
De la part des copains (1970) .... Joe Martin a.k.a. Joe Moran
Città violenta (1970) .... Jeff Heston
You Can't Win 'Em All (1970) .... Josh Corey
Passager de la pluie, Le (1969) .... Col. Harry Dobbs
Twinky (1969) .... Scott Wardman
C'era una volta il West (1968) .... Harmonica
Adieu l'ami (1968) .... Franz Propp
Villa Rides (1968) .... Rodolfo Fierro
Bataille de San Sebastian, La (1968) .... Teclo
The Dirty Dozen (1967) .... Joseph T. Wladislaw
The Meanest Men in the West (1967) (TV) .... Harge Talbot Jr.
This Property Is Condemned (1966) .... J.J. Nichols
Battle of the Bulge (1965) .... Maj. Wolenski
Luke and the Tenderfoot (1965) (TV) .... John Wesley Hardin
The Sandpiper (1965) .... Cos Erickson
Guns of Diablo (1964) (TV) .... Linc Murdock
"Empire" (1962) TV Series .... Paul Moreno (1963)
"The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters" (1963) TV Series .... Linc Murdock (1963-1964)
4 for Texas (1963) .... Matson
The Great Escape (1963) .... Flight. Lt. Danny 'The Tunnel King' Velinski
Kid Galahad (1962) .... Lew Nyack
This Rugged Land (1962) .... Paul Moreno
X-15 (1961) .... Lt. Col. Lee Brandon
A Thunder of Drums (1961) .... Trooper Hanna
Master of the World (1961) .... John Strock
The Magnificent Seven (1960) .... Fernardo O'Reilly

Never So Few (1959) .... Sgt. John Danforth
... aka Campaign Burma (USA: alternative title)
"Man with a Camera" (1958) TV Series .... Mike Kovac (1958-1960)
When Hell Broke Loose (1958) .... Steve Boland
Gang War (1958) .... Alan Avery
Machine-Gun Kelly (1958) .... George R. 'Machine Gun' Kelly
Ten North Frederick (1958) (uncredited) .... Bit Part
Showdown at Boot Hill (1958) .... Luke Welsh
... aka Shadow of Boot Hill
Run of the Arrow (1957) .... Blue Buffalo
... aka Hot Lead (USA: video title)
Jubal (1956) .... Reb Haislipp
Target Zero (1955) .... Vince Gaspari
Big House, U.S.A. (1955) .... Benny Kelly
Vera Cruz (1954) (as Charles Buchinsky) .... Pittsburgh
Drum Beat (1954/I) .... Kintpuash, aka Captain Jack
... aka Delmer Daves' Drum Beat (USA: complete title)
Apache (1954) (as Charles Buchinsky) .... Hondo
Riding Shotgun (1954) (as Charles Buchinsky) .... Pinto
Tennessee Champ (1954) (as Charles Buchinsky) .... Sixty Jubel aka The Biloxi Blockbuster
Crime Wave (1954) (as Charles Buchinsky) .... Ben Hastings
... aka The City Is Dark (UK)
Miss Sadie Thompson (1953) (as Charles Buchinsky) .... Pvt. Edwards
House of Wax (1953) (as Charles Buchinsky) .... Igor
Off Limits (1953) (uncredited) (as Charles Buchinsky) .... Russell
... aka Military Policemen (UK)
Torpedo Alley (1953) (uncredited) .... Submariner
... aka Down Periscope (USA)
The Clown (1953) (uncredited) .... Eddie, Dice Player
Bloodhounds of Broadway (1952) (uncredited) .... Phil Green, aka 'Pittsburgh Philo'
Battle Zone (1952) (uncredited) .... Private
Diplomatic Courier (1952) (uncredited) .... The Russian
Pat and Mike (1952) (as Charles Buchinski) .... Henry 'Hank' Tasling
My Six Convicts (1952) (as Charles Buchinsky) .... Jocko
The Marrying Kind (1952) (uncredited) .... Eddie
Red Skies of Montana (1952) (uncredited) .... Neff
... aka Smoke Jumpers
The Mob (1951) (uncredited) .... Jack, a longshoreman
... aka Remember That Face (UK)
The People Against O'Hara (1951) (uncredited) .... Angelo Korvac
You're in the Navy Now (1951) (as Charles Buchinski) .... Wascylewski
... aka U.S.S. Teakettle (USA)