CHARLES BRONSON BIOGRAPHY & FILMOGRAPHY:

Charles Bronson born Charles Buchinski on November 3rd, 1921 in Ehrenfeld, Pennsylvania was one of fifteen children.  He was also the only one of all his siblings to complete high school.  Along with his brothers, he worked on the coal mines to help financially support his family.  Both his parents were Lithuanian immigrants.  It was expected by his family that he should follow into the line of work of his father, however when World War II arrived, Bronson was drafted.

During World War II, Bronson served as a tail gunner and upon completion of his service he used his GI bill to study art in Philadelphia.  He began working part time back stage at a theater company in Philadelphia and realized his admiration for the art of acting.  He was very interested in pursuing an acting career and therefore, enrolled himself to study at the California Pasadena Playhouse.

One of the drama coaches at the school introduced Bronson to director, Henry Hathaway.  This introduction resulted in Bronson receiving a debut role in, "You're in the Navy Now" (1951) starring alongside Gary Cooper, Jane Greer, Lee Marvin, Jack Warden, Millard Mitchell, Eddie Albert, John McIntire, Ray Collins, Richard Erdman, Ed Begley, Harry Von Zell, Harvey Lembeck and Jack Webb.  During the McCarthy hearings he changed his last name to Bronson as Russian-sounding names were suspect.

In 1953 he worked on the horror classic, "House of Wax" with Vincent Price, Frank Lovejoy, Carolyn Jones and Phyllis Kirk, Roy Roberts, Paul Picerni and Dabbs Greer, however he really made a name for himself in Europe even though he was an American born actor.  His career officially took off in America with a role on, "The Magnificent Seven" (1960) co-starring Yul Brynner, Steve McQueen, James Coburn, Robert Vaughn, Brad Dexter, Horst Buchholz, Robert J. Wilke, Whit Bissell and Eli Wallach, followed by " Kid Galahad " (1962) starring Elvis Presley, Gig Young, Lola Albright, Red West, Joan Blackman, Ned Glass, Robert Emhardt, Liam Redmond, Edward Asner and Judson Pratt, "The Great Escape" (1963) starring Steve McQueen, James Garner, Donald Pleasence, James Coburn, James Donald, David McCallum and Richard Attenborough and "The Dirty Dozen" (1967) starring Lee Marvin, Ernest Borgnine, Richard Jaeckel, Jim Brown, John Cassavetes, Telly Savalas, George Kennedy, Donald Sutherland, Ralph Meeker, Clint Walker, Robert Ryan, Trini Lopez and Robert Webber. 

He then went to Europe to film, "Once Upon a Time In the West" (1968) starring with Henry Fonda, Claudia Cardinale, Woody Strode, Keenan Wynn, Jack Elam, Lionel Stander and Jason Robards and his oversees fame earned him a 1971 Golden Globe as, "The Most Popular Actor in the World".  He then came back to America to continue his film career with a roll on, "The Mechanic" (1972) also starring Jan-Michael Vincent, Jill Ireland, Keenan Wynn and Frank DeKova, "Death Wish" (1974), a highly controversial role starring with Vincent Gardenia, Hope Lange, Steven Keats, Stuart Margolin, Jeff Goldblum, Olympia Dukakis and William Redfield, followed by two roles on various action thrillers such as, "Breakout" (1975) with Jill Ireland, Robert Duvall, John Huston, Sheree North and Randy Quaid, "Love and Bullets" (1979) co-starring Jill Ireland, Henry Silva, Val Avery, Bradford Dillman, Strother Martin, Albert Salmi and Rod Steiger, "Ten to Midnight" (1983) also starring Lisa Eilbacher, Andrew Stevens, Gene Davis, Geoffrey Lewis and Wilford Brimley and "The Evil That Men Do" (1984) co-starring Theresa Saldana, John Glover, Joseph Maher, Rene Enriquez and Raymond St. Jacques.      

Bronson did not limit himself to film alone, he also had a variety of television movies such as, "Raid on Entebbe" (1977) starring alongside Peter Finch, Yaphet Kotto, Robert Loggia, Jack Warden, Horst Buchholz, Sylvia Sidney, Tige Andrews, Martin Balsam, David Opatoshu, John Saxon, Stephen Macht, Harvey Lembeck and James Woods, "Act of Vengeance" (1986) with Ellen Burstyn, Wilford Brimley and Hoyt Axton, "Assassination" (1987) with Jill Ireland, Stephen Elliott, Chris Alcaide and Michael Ansara, "The Sea Wolf" (1993) with Christopher Reeve, Catherine Mary Stewart, Marc Singer and Len Cariou and "The Indian Runner" (1991) starring with Viggo Mortensen, David Morse, Valeria Golino, Sandy Dennis, Benicio Del Toro, Dennis Hopper and Patricia Arquette.

Early in his career Bronson appeared in several television shows such as "Biff Baker, U.S.A.", "Gunsmoke", "Sheriff of Cochise", "The Fugitive", "Bonanza", "Have Gun - Will Travel", "The Red Skelton Show", "Alfred Hitchcock Presents", "Treasury Men in Action", "Empire", "The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters" and "The Twilight Zone".

Bronson had two children with his first wife, Harriet Tendler.  He then got divorced and married his second wife, actress Jill Ireland from 1968 until her death in 1990.  In many of his films from the 70's, his wife Jill and him appeared together.  They had one daughter together named Zuleika. He married for a third time in 1998 to Kim Weeks.
 
Charles Bronson died of pneumonia while suffering from Alzheimer's disease at Cedars-Sinai hospital in Los Angeles, California on August 30th, 2003.

Filmography

1999    Family of Cops III
1997    Breach of Faith: Family of Cops II
1995    Family of Cops
1994    Death Wish V: The Face of Death
1993    The Sea Wolf
1993    Dead to Rights
1991    The Indian Runner
1989    Kinjite: Forbidden Subjects
1988    Messenger of Death
1987    Assassination
1987    Death Wish 4: The Crackdown
1986    Murphy's Law
1986    Act of Vengeance
1985    Death Wish 3
1984    Evil That Men Do
1983    10 to Midnight
1982    Death Wish II
1981    Death Hunt
1980    Borderline
1980    Caboblanco
1979    Love and Bullets
1977    Telefon
1977    The White Buffalo
1976    St. Ives
1976    From Noon Till Three
1975    Breakout
1975    Breakheart Pass
1974    Death Wish
1974    Hard Times
1974    Mr. Majestyk
1974    Cold Sweat
1974    Chino
1973    The Stone Killer
1972    The Mechanic
1972    The Valachi Papers
1971    Chato's Land
1971    Red Sun
1971    Someone Behind the Door
1970    The Family
1970    Rider on the Rain
1970    You Can't Win 'Em All
1969    Once Upon a Time in the West
1969    Lola
1968    Villa Rides
1968    Honor Among Thieves
1968    Guns for San Sebastian
1967    The Dirty Dozen
1967    The Fugitive
1967    The Meanest Men in the West
1966    This Property Is Condemned
1965-1966  The Legend of Jesse James
1965    Battle of the Bulge
1965    The Sandpiper 
1963-1964  The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters
1964    Guns of Diablo
1959-1964  Bonanza
1963    The Great Escape
1963    Empire
1963    4 for Texas
1957-1963  Have Gun - Will Travel
1962    Kid Galahad
1961    The Twilight Zone
1961    Master Of The World
1961    X-15
1961    Hey, Jeannie!
1961    Thunder of Drums
1960    Magnificent Seven
1960    Twilight Zone
1958-1960  Man with a Camera
1959    Never So Few
1958    When Hell Broke Loose
1958    Machine Gun Kelly
1958    Showdown at Boot Hill
1958    Gang War
1958    Sheriff of Cochise
1957    Run of the Arrow
1956    Gunsmoke
1956    Jubal
1956    Alfred Hitchcock Presents
1955    Big House, U.S.A.
1955    Target Zero
1950-1955  Treasury Men in Action
1954    Apache
1954    Riding Shotgun
1954    Drum Beat
1954    Vera Cruz
1954    Tennessee Champ
1954    Crime Wave
1953    Off Limits
1953    The Clown
1953    Miss Sadie Thompson
1952    Red Skies of Montana
1952    Biff Baker, U.S.A.
1952    Diplomatic Courier
1952    Battle Zone
1952    My Six Convicts
1952    The Marrying Kind
1952    Bloodhounds of Broadway
1952    The Red Skelton Show
1952    Pat and Mike
1951    You're in the Navy Now 
1951    The Mob
1951    The People Against O'Hara