Charles Bronson
Acting
Born November 3, 1921, Ehrenfeld, Pennsylvania, USA
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Charles Bronson (born Charles Dennis Buchinsky; November 3, 1921 – August 30, 2003) was an American actor. He was known for his roles in action films and his "granite features and brawny physique". Bronson was born into extreme poverty in Ehrenfeld, Pennsylvania, a coal mining town in the Allegheny Mountains. Bronson's father, a miner, died when Bronson was young. Bronson himself worked in the mines as well until joining the United States Army Air Forces in 1943 to fight in World War II. Bronson had sizeable co-starring roles in The Magnificent Seven (1960), The Great Escape (1963), This Property Is Condemned (1966), and The Dirty Dozen (1967). Bronson also performed in many major television shows, and was nominated for an Emmy Award for his supporting role in an episode of General Electric Theater. Actor Alain Delon (who was a fan of Bronson) hired him to co-star with him in the French film Adieu l'ami (1968). That year, he also played one of the leads in the Italian spaghetti Western, Once Upon a Time in the West (1968). Bronson continued playing leads in various action, Western, and war films made in Europe, including Rider on the Rain (1970), which won a Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film. During this time Bronson was the most popular American actor in Europe. Early life and war service Bronson was born November 3, 1921, in Ehrenfeld, Pennsylvania, a coal mining region in the Allegheny Mountains, north of Johnstown. He was the 11th of 15 children born into a Roman Catholic family of Lithuanian descent. The very large family slept in shifts in their cold-water shack. The coal car tracks that ran out of the mine's mouth passed just a few yards away. His father, Walter Buchinsky (né Vladislavas Valteris Paulius Bučinskas/Bučinskis), was a Lipka Tatar from Druskininkai in southern Lithuania. Bronson's mother, Mary (née Valinsky), whose parents were from Lithuania, was born in Tamaqua, Pennsylvania, in the Anthracite Coal Region. Bronson said English was not spoken at home during his childhood, like many other first-generation American children he grew up with. He once recounted that even as a soldier, his accent was strong enough to make his comrades think he was a foreigner. Besides English, he could speak Lithuanian and Russian. Marriages His first marriage was to Harriet Tendler, whom he met when both were fledgling actors in Philadelphia. They had two children, Suzanne and Tony, before divorcing in 1965. Bronson died at age 81 on August 30, 2003, at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. Bronson was married to English actress Jill Ireland from October 5, 1968, until her death in 1990. Death Bronson died at age 81 on August 30, 2003, at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. Although pneumonia and Alzheimer's disease have been cited as his cause of death, neither appears on his death certificate, which cites "respiratory failure", "metastatic lung cancer", with, secondarily, "chronic obstructive pulmonary disease" and "congestive cardiomyopathy" as the causes of death. He was interred at Brownsville Cemetery in West Windsor, Vermont. CLR
Filmography
- 1999Family of Cops III: Under Suspicion — Paul Fein
- 1997Breach of Faith: A Family of Cops II — Commissioner Paul Fein
- 1995Family of Cops — Paul Fein
- 1994Death Wish V: The Face of Death — Paul Kersey
- 1993Donato and Daughter — Sgt. Mike Donato
- 1993La Classe américaine — The Indian (archive footage)
- 1993The Sea Wolf — Capt. Wolf Larsen
- 1991The Indian Runner — Mr. Roberts
- 1991Yes Virginia, There Is a Santa Claus — Francis Church
- 1989Kinjite: Forbidden Subjects — Lieutenant Crowe
- 1988Messenger of Death — Garret Smith
- 1987Assassination — Jay Killion
- 1987Death Wish 4: The Crackdown — Paul Kersey
- 1986Act of Vengeance — Joseph 'Jock' Yablonski
- 1986Murphy's Law — Jack Murphy
- 1985Death Wish 3 — Paul Kersey
- 1984The Evil That Men Do — Holland
- 198310 to Midnight — Leo Kessler
- 1982Death Wish II — Paul Kersey
- 1981Death Hunt — Albert Johnson
- 1980Borderline — Jeb Maynard
- 1980Caboblanco — Gifford Hoyt
- 1979Love and Bullets — Charlie Congers
- 1978The Meanest Men in the West — Harge Talbot Jr.
- 1977Telefon — Major Grigori Borzov
- 1977The White Buffalo — Wild Bill Hickok/James Otis
- 1976From Noon Till Three — Graham Dorsey
- 1976Raid on Entebbe — Brig. Gen. Dan Shomron
- 1976St. Ives — Raymond St. Ives
- 1975Breakheart Pass — John Deakin
- 1975Breakout — Nick Colton
- 1975Hard Times — Chaney
- 1974Death Wish — Paul Kersey
- 1974Mr. Majestyk — Vince Majestyk
- 1973The Stone Killer — Lou Torrey
- 1973The Valdez Horses — Chino Valdez
- 1972Chato's Land — Pardon Chato
- 1972The Bull of the West — Ben Justin
- 1972The Mechanic — Arthur Bishop
- 1972The Valachi Papers — Joe Valachi
- 1971Mean Justice — Moreno
- 1971Red Sun — Link
- 1971Someone Behind the Door — The Stranger
- 1970Cold Sweat — Joe Martin
- 1970Rider on the Rain — Col. Harry Dobbs
- 1970Twinky — Scott Wardman
- 1970Violent City — Jeff Heston
- 1970You Can't Win 'Em All — Josh Corey
- 1968Farewell, Friend — Franz Propp
- 1968Once Upon a Time in the West — 'Harmonica'
- 1968Villa Rides — Rodolfo Fierro
- 1967Guns for San Sebastian — Teclo
- 1967The Dirty Dozen — Joseph Wladislaw
- 1966This Property Is Condemned — J.J. Nichols
- 1965Battle of the Bulge — Maj. Wolenski
- The Big Valley — Tate
- The F.B.I. — Earl Clayton
- The Legend of Jesse James — Cheyney
- 1965The Sandpiper — Cos Erickson
- 1964Guns of Diablo — Linc Murdock
- 19634 for Texas — Matson
- The Fugitive — Ralph Schuyler
- 1963The Great Escape — Danny 'Tunnel King'
- The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters — Linc Murdock
- Vacation Playhouse — John Wesley Hardin
- Combat! — Velasquez
- Empire — Paul Moreno
- 1962Kid Galahad — Lew Nyack
- The Virginian — Ben Justin, Harge Talbot
- 1961A Thunder of Drums — Trooper Hanna
- Cain's Hundred — Hank Conrad
- Dr. Kildare — Harry Gregg
- 1961Master of the World — John Strock
- The New Breed — Jerry Bergason
- 1961X-15 — Lt. Col. Lee Brandon
- The Aquanauts — Hector Morrison
- The Islanders — Dutch Malkin
- 1960The Magnificent Seven — Bernardo O'Reilly
- Adventures in Paradise — Dan Morton
- Bonanza — Harry Starr
- 1959Never So Few — Sgt. John Danforth
- One Step Beyond — Yank Dawson
- Rawhide — Del Lingman
- Riverboat — Crowley
- The Twilight Zone — Man
- 1958Gang War — Alan Avery
- 1958Machine-Gun Kelly — George R. 'Machine Gun' Kelly
- Man with a Camera — Mike Kovac
- 1958No Time at All — Wolf Hagan
- 1958Showdown at Boot Hill — Luke Welsh
- U.S. Marshall — Zenogalache a.k.a. Apache Kid
- 1958When Hell Broke Loose — Steve Boland
- Yancy Derringer — Rogue Donovan
- Colt .45 — Danny Gordon
- Have Gun, Will Travel — Manfred Holt
- M Squad — Eddie Loder
- Richard Diamond, Private Detective — Dan Rocco
- 1957Run of the Arrow — Blue Buffolo
- Sugarfoot — Sandy Randall, Cliff Raven
- Suspicion — Cal
- Tales of Wells Fargo — Butch Cassidy
- The Walter Winchell File — Eggers
- Hey, Jeannie! — Rocky Harman
- 1956Jubal — Reb
- Playhouse 90 — Wolf Hagan, Andy Kovaric, Sgt Meras
- Telephone Time — Guest
- Wire Service — Sam Adams
- Alfred Hitchcock Presents — Det. Krovitch, Frank Bramwell, Ray Bardon
- 1955Big House, U.S.A — Benny Kelly
- Crusader — Mike Brod
- Gunsmoke — Crego, Ben Tiple
- 1955Target Zero — Sgt. Vince Gaspari
- The Millionaire — Jerry Bell
- Those Whiting Girls — Martin Carroll
- 1954Apache — Hondo
- 1954Drum Beat — Kintpuash
- Medic — Dr. John Bircher
- 1954Riding Shotgun — Pinto
- Studio 57 — Dawson
- 1954Tennessee Champ — Sixty Jubel
- The Joe Palooka Story — Eddie Crane
- 1954Vera Cruz — Pittsburgh
- 1953Crime Wave — Ben Hastings
- General Electric Theater — Pike, Henry, Soldier Conlon
- 1953House of Wax — Igor
- Letter to Loretta — Eugene Walters
- 1953Miss Sadie Thompson — Pvt. Edwards
- 1953The Clown — Gambler (uncredited)
- The Pepsi-Cola Playhouse — Joe Krossen
- 1953Torpedo Alley — Submariner (uncredited)
- 1952Battle Zone — Marine Private (uncredited)
- Biff Baker U.S.A. — Czech spy, Wilhelm
- 1952Bloodhounds of Broadway — Phil Green, aka 'Pittsburgh Philo' (uncredited)
- Cavalcade of America — John Stanizewski
- Chevron Theatre
- 1952Diplomatic Courier — Russian Agent (uncredited)
- Four Star Playhouse — Frank Dana
- 1952My Six Convicts — Jocko
- 1952Off Limits — Russell (Uncredited)
- 1952Pat and Mike — Henry 'Hank' Tasling
- 1952Red Skies of Montana — Neff (uncredited)
- The Doctor — Joe Langan
- 1952The Marrying Kind — Eddie
- Schlitz Playhouse of Stars — Sgt. Roy Smith
- 1951The Mob — Jack (uncredited)
- 1951The People Against O'Hara — Angelo Korvac (uncredited)
- 1951You're in the Navy Now — Wascylewski
- Lux Video Theatre — Sergeant Borth
- Treasury Men in Action — Frankie Ames
- Studio One — Cal
- After Death — Paul Kersey
- Stage 7 — Jerry Donn, Murray Forman
Appearances as themselves (19)
- 2025Breakdown: 1975 — Self - Actor in Death Wish (archive footage)
- 2022Rat Pack — Self (archive footage)
- 2020Charles Bronson: The Spirit of Masculinity — Self (archive footage)
- 2015Spanish Western — Self (archive footage)
- 2014Electric Boogaloo: The Wild, Untold Story of Cannon Films — Self - Actor (archive footage)
- 2006Operation Dirty Dozen — Self
- 1995Sinatra: 80 Years My Way — Self - Audience Member (uncredited)
- 1987Happy 100th Birthday, Hollywood — Self
- 1986All Star Party for Clint Eastwood — Self (uncredited)
- 1985Night of 100 Stars II — Self
- 1983All-Star Party for Frank Sinatra — Self
- 1980Catastrophe: No Safe Place — Self - Host
- The American Film Institute Salute to ... — Self
- 1972Valachi: The Violent Era — Self
- Film '72 — Self
- V.I.P. Schaukel — Self
- The Dick Cavett Show — Self - Guest
- 1965The Big Sur — Self (uncredited)
- Golden Globe Awards — Self - Presenter