Charles Bronson.
Charles Bronson, born November 3, 1921. Shuffling this mortal coil on August 30, 2003. Charles Bronson's birth name was Karolis Buchinskis (Charles Dennis Buchinsky), being one of 15 children to a Lithuanian immigrant father of Lipka Tatar ancestry and Lithuanian-American mother. The Buchinkys' lived in the notorious Ehrenfeld, a Pennsylvania coal-mining neighborhood of Scooptown, in the Pittsburgh Tri-State area. His father died when he was only 10, so he worked with his older brothers in the coal mines earning a mere $1 per ton of coal mined in support of his family and a matter of survival. In fact his family was so poor that, he had reportedly been forced to wear his sister's dress to school on one occasion, as he had no other clothes to wear. This story has been repeated in a book by Ed Lucaire, titled, Celebrity Setbacks: 800 Stars who Overcame the Odds and again in an edition of Ripley's Believe It or Not!. Bronson joined the United States Army Air Forces in 1943 serving as a B-29 Superfortress tail-gunner in the Pacific theater. He was Assigned to the 61st Bomb Squadron of the 39th Bomb Group of the Twentieth Air Force and flew bombing missions to Japan from North Field, Guam. Bronson's passing was caused by the onset of pneumonia while suffering Alzheimer's disease at DHMC Leb NH. He had been in poor health since undergoing hip replacement surgery in August 1998, laying to rest in Brownsville, Vermont, near his home of thirty years in West Windsor.
Charles Bronson...The Actor...
From early on in his life. This man with heart and charisma has shown the world what it takes to become the quintessential tough guy. With rugged good looks that pulled in the ladies and fighting skills that Bruce Lee respected. Whether cast as a Mafia hit man, a gunslinging outlaw, detective or vigilante, Bronson was able to bring to the silver screen a sincerity that has been hard pressed to match today.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 a roommate with Jack Klugman, another struggling actor at the time. Klugman later said of Bronson that he was good at ironing clothes. His first screen appearance, which was uncredited, was as a sailor in You're in the Navy Now in 1951.
During the McCarthy hearings he changed his surname to Bronson as Slavic-sounding names were suspect. He took his inspiration from the Bronson Gate at Paramount Studios, situated on the corner of Melrose Ave. and Bronson St. One of his earliest screen appearances was as Vincent Price's henchman in the 1953 horror classic House of Wax.
Bronson made several appearances on television in the 1950s and 1960s, including three leading roles on Alfred Hitchcock Presents in the episodes "And So Died Riabouchinska" (1956), "There Was an Old Woman" (1956), and "The Woman Who Wanted to Live" (1962); he also starred alongside Elizabeth Montgomery in The Twilight Zone episode "Two" (1961).
From 1958 to 1960, Bronson starred in the ABC detective series Man With A Camera. Bronson portrayed 'Mike Kovac', a former combat photographer free-lancing in New York City. Frequently, Kovac was involved in assignments for the Police Department, which commonly put him in danger. Also on ABC, Bronson gained attention in 1963 in the role of Linc, the stubborn wagonmaster in the TV western The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters, which also starred twelve-year-old Kurt Russell.
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 One") and to the French he was known as "le sacré monstre" ("holy monster"). Even though he was not yet a headliner in America, this 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 United States.
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." Leone had wanted Bronson for all three of what became known as the "Man with No Name" trilogy, but Bronson turned him down each time. 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 (in which he also starred). In the Death Wish series he played Paul Kersey, a successful New York architect, a liberal until his wife (played by Hope Lange) was murdered and his daughter raped. Kersey 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, Bronson recommended that people not imitate his character.
During the 1980s, he made numerous films with smaller production companies, most notably Cannon Films. Ultra-violent films such as The Evil That Men Do and 10 To Midnight were blasted by critics but provided him with good-paying work throughout the 80s. Bronson's last starring role in a theatrically released film was 1994's Death Wish V: The Face of Death.
Bronson was married to British actress Jill Ireland from 1968 until her death from breast cancer at age 54 in 1990. 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) reportedly told him, "I'm going to marry your wife." Two years later, Bronson did marry her. She was his second wife.
* Source Wikipedia
Charles Bronson...The Legend...
FILMOGRAPHY. Family of Cops III, 1999
. Breach of Faith: Family of Cops II, 1997
. Family of Cops, 1995
. Death Wish V: The Face of Death, 1994
. Sea Wolf, The, 1993
. Dead to Rights, 1993
. Indian Runner, The, 1991
. Kinjite: Forbidden Subjects, 1989
. Messenger of Death, 1988
. Assassination, 1987
. Death Wish 4: The Crackdown, 1987
. Murphy's Law, 1986
. Act of Vengeance, 1986
. Death Wish 3, 1985
. Evil That Men Do, 1984
. 10 to Midnight, 1983
. Death Wish II, 1982
. Death Hunt, 1981
. Borderline, 1980
. Caboblanco, 1980
. Love and Bullets, 1979
. Telefon, 1977
. White Buffalo, The, 1977
. St. Ives, 1976
. From Noon Till Three, 1976
. Breakout, 1975
. Breakheart Pass, 1975
. Death Wish, 1974
. Hard Times, 1974
. Mr. Majestyk, 1974
. Cold Sweat, 1974
. Chino, 1974
. Stone Killer, The, 1973
. Mechanic, The, 1972
. Valachi Papers, The, 1972
. Chato's Land, 1971
. Red Sun, 1971
. Someone Behind the Door, 1971
. Family, The, 1970
. Rider on the Rain, 1970
. You Can't Win 'Em All, 1970
. Once Upon a Time in the West, 1969
. Lola, 1969
. Villa Rides, 1968
. Honor Among Thieves, 1968
. Guns for San Sebastian, 1968
. Dirty Dozen, 1967
. Meanest Men in the West, The, 1967
. This Property Is Condemned, 1966
. Battle of the Bulge, 1965
. Sandpiper, The, 1965
. Guns of Diablo, 1964
. Great Escape, 1963
. 4 for Texas, 1963
. Kid Galahad, 1962
. Vincent Price Gift Set 3 Pk., 1961-1971
. Master Of The World, 1961
. X-15, 1961
. Thunder of Drums, A, 1961
. Magnificent Seven, 1960
. Twilight Zone, The: Vol. 4, 1960
. When Hell Broke Loose, 1958
. Machine Gun Kelly, 1958
. Showdown at Boot Hill, 1958
. Gang War, 1958
. Run of the Arrow, 1957
. Jubal, 1956
. Big House, U.S.A., 1955
. Target Zero, 1955
. Apache, 1954
. Riding Shotgun, 1954
. Vera Cruz, 1954
. Tennessee Champ, 1954
. Crime Wave, 1954
. Miss Sadie Thompson, 1953
. Red Skies of Montana, 1952
. Bloodhounds of Broadway, 1952
. You're in the Navy Now, 1951
If my count is right I make that 77 films.
Quotes By Charles Bronson... The Gentleman...
These Gems Give Us A Great Insight Into The Heart And Mind Of One Of The 20th Century's Finest Action Superstars.
. "Audiences like to see the bad guys get their comeuppance."
. "I don't look like someone who leans on a mantelpiece with a cocktail in my hand, you know."
. "I guess I look like a rock quarry that someone has dynamited."
. "I look like the kind of guy who has a bottle of beer in my hand."
. "Maybe I'm too masculine. Casting directors cast in their own, or an idealized image. Maybe I don't look like anybody's ideal."
. "We found that specialists did not know as much as we thought. So, you think maybe there are other answers. There are not but if you believe something will help you: it probably will. It will help, not cure."
. "The fear really hits you. That's what you feel first. And then it's the anger and frustration. Part of the problem is how little we understand about the ultimate betrayal of the body when it rebels against itself."
. "What kind of man would I have been if I had not been there to help her? I felt along with her - not the physical pain, of course, but all her mental anguish. You can't be detached. She needed to have someone who understood what was happening in her mind."
. "When you love someone you feel their pain. It's why some husbands go through morning sickness when their wives are pregnant. But to ever talk about it is difficult. I wouldn't tell Jill how I felt. I behaved in such a way that was opposite to how I felt. I must have seemed strong to her. I didn't want to bring her down."
* All of the above quotes are by Charles Bronson and are accurate to the best of my knowledge.
. "I don't look like someone who leans on a mantelpiece with a cocktail in my hand, you know."
. "I guess I look like a rock quarry that someone has dynamited."
. "I look like the kind of guy who has a bottle of beer in my hand."
. "Maybe I'm too masculine. Casting directors cast in their own, or an idealized image. Maybe I don't look like anybody's ideal."
. "We found that specialists did not know as much as we thought. So, you think maybe there are other answers. There are not but if you believe something will help you: it probably will. It will help, not cure."
. "The fear really hits you. That's what you feel first. And then it's the anger and frustration. Part of the problem is how little we understand about the ultimate betrayal of the body when it rebels against itself."
. "What kind of man would I have been if I had not been there to help her? I felt along with her - not the physical pain, of course, but all her mental anguish. You can't be detached. She needed to have someone who understood what was happening in her mind."
. "When you love someone you feel their pain. It's why some husbands go through morning sickness when their wives are pregnant. But to ever talk about it is difficult. I wouldn't tell Jill how I felt. I behaved in such a way that was opposite to how I felt. I must have seemed strong to her. I didn't want to bring her down."
* All of the above quotes are by Charles Bronson and are accurate to the best of my knowledge.
The Charles Bronson Information Center.
- Charles "Chuck" Bronson
- His Bio, Career, his life with some very very cool info and pics.
- Charles Bronson .info website
- A fan and filmography website with a dedicated forum.
Hollywood.com Recent News RSS Feed
The Hollywood Resource And Industry News Center.
Fetching RSS feed... please stand byClassic Bronson Movies on Amazon
My Top Ten Bronson Movies
Grab a copy of one of these Classic Bronson titles for your very own. Click on any one of the links to go directly to the Amazon Store.
Loading poll. Please Wait...
Charles Bronson deserves the Oscar for Life Time Achievement.
Loading poll. Please Wait...
The Dirty Dozen.
Less well known Charles Bronson films.
Give the ones you've seen your vote.
Battle of the Bulge
The German offensive in December 1944 became the b more...0 points
Raid on Entebbe
Product Description It was in June 1976 that an Ai more...0 points
Breakheart Pass
Charles Bronson (The Magnificent Seven, Death Wish more...0 points
The Indian Runner
An intensely sad film about two brothers who canno more...0 points
Honor Among Thieves
In this stylish, riveting French thriller, film ic more...0 points
Rider On The Rain
A beautiful young woman in the South of France is more...0 points
ET Online - Breaking News.
Fetching RSS feed... please stand byThe Bronson Holster...
Your stories, sightings, thoughts, raves and favorite scenes.
Lensmaster
nedzad wrote
i watch his movie in bosnia hi wos tough person i give maximum for his job
Posted January 26, 2009
Explore related pages
Autograph Collecting - Old Hollywood- It's odd to think as a 12-year-old that many of my favorite actors and actresses...
The Best Alfred Hitchcock Movies Ever- Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock KBE (August 13, 1899 - April 29, 1980) is one of my...
Charles Bronson Video Showcase- Charles Bronson Born Charles Dennis Buchinsky, Lithuanian name Karolis Bucinskis...
Claudia Cardinale- Claudia Cardinale (born April 15, 1938) is a Tunisian-Italian actress born in Tu...
Raiders Of A Lost Art- With each feature article, one of the GritFX freelance writers lends their thoug...
Irene Lentz- Born in Baker, Montana, Lentz started out as an actress under her birth name, ap...
