Charles Bronson
Known for
Tough, stone-faced and impassive, Charles Bronson embodied like few others the silent hero of action cinema. Born into the poverty of a Pennsylvania mining town, the son of Lithuanian immigrants, he worked in the mines before carving out a career through memorable supporting roles in 'The Magnificent Seven', 'The Great Escape' and 'The Dirty Dozen'. His breakthrough came in Europe, where Sergio Leone gave him one of the leads of 'Once Upon a Time in the West' (1968) and where he became the most popular American actor on the continent. Back in Hollywood, his vigilante image jelled in the 'Death Wish' saga. His style, of minimal expression and maximum physical presence, defined an entire lineage of antiheroes. He died in 2003.
Charles Bronson
82 Movies
44 Series
Tough, stone-faced and impassive, Charles Bronson embodied like few others the silent hero of action cinema. Born into the poverty of a Pennsylvania mining town, the son of Lithuanian immigrants, he worked in the mines before carving out a career through memorable supporting roles in 'The Magnificent Seven', 'The Great Escape' and 'The Dirty Dozen'. His breakthrough came in Europe, where Sergio Leone gave him one of the leads of 'Once Upon a Time in the West' (1968) and where he became the most popular American actor on the continent. Back in Hollywood, his vigilante image jelled in the 'Death Wish' saga. His style, of minimal expression and maximum physical presence, defined an entire lineage of antiheroes. He died in 2003.
Movies
Plays 'Harmonica'
Once Upon a Time in the West
1968
Plays Bernardo O'Reilly
The Magnificent Seven
1960
Plays Danny 'Tunnel King'
The Great Escape
1963
Plays Joseph Wladislaw
The Dirty Dozen
1967
Plays Link
Red Sun
1971
Plays Paul Kersey
Death Wish
1974
Plays Igor
House of Wax
1953
Plays Paul Kersey
Death Wish 3
1985
Plays Arthur Bishop
The Mechanic
1972
Plays Paul Kersey
Death Wish II
1982
Plays Chaney
Hard Times
1975
Plays Pardon Chato
Chato's Land
1972
Plays Paul Kersey
Death Wish 4: The Crackdown
1987
Plays Joe Martin
Cold Sweat
1970
Plays Albert Johnson
Death Hunt
1981
Plays Pittsburgh
Vera Cruz
1954
Plays Sgt. John Danforth
Never So Few
1959
Plays Leo Kessler
10 to Midnight
1983
Plays Jack Murphy
Murphy's Law
1986
Plays Maj. Wolenski
Battle of the Bulge
1965
Plays Paul Kersey
Death Wish V: The Face of Death
1994
Plays John Deakin
Breakheart Pass
1975
Plays Vince Majestyk
Mr. Majestyk
1974
Plays Wild Bill Hickok/James Otis
The White Buffalo
1977
Plays Reb
Jubal
1956
Plays Franz Propp
Farewell, Friend
1968
Plays Nick Colton
Breakout
1975
Plays Lieutenant Crowe
Kinjite: Forbidden Subjects
1989
Plays Hondo
Apache
1954
Plays Rodolfo Fierro
Villa Rides
1968
Plays Matson
4 for Texas
1963
Plays Jeb Maynard
Borderline
1980
Plays Joe Valachi
The Valachi Papers
1972
Plays Cos Erickson
The Sandpiper
1965
Plays Col. Harry Dobbs
Rider on the Rain
1970
Plays Lou Torrey
The Stone Killer
1973
Plays J.J. Nichols
This Property Is Condemned
1966
Plays Holland
The Evil That Men Do
1984
Plays Kintpuash
Drum Beat
1954
Plays Teclo
Guns for San Sebastian
1967
Plays Raymond St. Ives
St. Ives
1976
Plays Jeff Heston
Violent City
1970
Plays Linc Murdock
Guns of Diablo
1964
Plays Chino Valdez
The Valdez Horses
1973
Plays Major Grigori Borzov
Telefon
1977
Plays Josh Corey
You Can't Win 'Em All
1970
Plays Ben Hastings
Crime Wave
1953
Plays Mr. Roberts
The Indian Runner
1991
Plays Graham Dorsey
From Noon Till Three
1976
Plays Jay Killion
Assassination
1987
TV Shows
Plays Mike Kovac
Man with a Camera
1958
Plays Linc Murdock
The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters
1963
Plays Wilhelm
Biff Baker U.S.A.
1952
Plays Manfred Holt
Have Gun, Will Travel
1957
Plays Zenogalache a.k.a. Apache Kid
U.S. Marshall
1956
Plays Cal
Studio One
1948
Plays Hank Conrad
Cain's Hundred
1961
Plays Earl Clayton
The F.B.I.
1965
Plays Crego
Gunsmoke
1955
Plays Velasquez
Combat!
1962
Plays Pike
General Electric Theater
1953
Plays Dutch Malkin
The Islanders
1960
Plays Man
The Twilight Zone
1959
Plays Det. Krovitch
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
1955
Plays Ralph Schuyler
The Fugitive
1963
Plays Jerry Bell
The Millionaire
1955
Plays Ben Justin
The Virginian
1962
Plays Rogue Donovan
Yancy Derringer
1958
Plays Hector Morrison
The Aquanauts
1960
Plays Sgt. Roy Smith
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
1951
Plays Dan Rocco
Richard Diamond, Private Detective
1957
Plays Yank Dawson
One Step Beyond
1959
Plays Tate
The Big Valley
1965
Plays Eddie Loder
M Squad
1957
Plays Dan Morton
Adventures in Paradise
1959
Plays Dr. John Bircher
Medic
1954
Plays Sandy Randall
Sugarfoot
1957
Plays Crowley
Riverboat
1959
Plays Sam Adams
Wire Service
1956
Plays Jerry Bergason
The New Breed
1961
Latest Trailers
Watch Trailer
Family of Cops III: Under Suspicion
Full Filmography
Death Wish V: The Face of Death
Paul Kersey
1994
Film
The Indian Runner
Mr. Roberts
1991
Film
Kinjite: Forbidden Subjects
Lieutenant Crowe
1989
Film
Messenger of Death
Garret Smith
1988
Film
Death Wish 4: The Crackdown
Paul Kersey
1987
Film
Assassination
Jay Killion
1987
Film
Murphy's Law
Jack Murphy
1986
Film
Death Wish 3
Paul Kersey
1985
Film
The Evil That Men Do
Holland
1984
Film
Photos
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Charles Bronson still alive?
Charles Bronson passed away on August 30, 2003 at age 81.
What are the most famous roles of Charles Bronson?
Charles Bronson is best known for roles in Once Upon a Time in the West, The Great Escape, The Magnificent Seven.
How many movies has Charles Bronson been in?
Over a 52-year career (since 1951), Charles Bronson has appeared in 82 movies and 44 TV shows.
What was Charles Bronson's first movie?
The career of Charles Bronson began with You're in the Navy Now (1951).
What is Charles Bronson's most recent movie or series?
Charles Bronson's most recent release is Operation Dirty Dozen, which premiered on January 1, 2006.
What TV shows has Charles Bronson appeared in?
On television, Charles Bronson has appeared in The Twilight Zone, Bonanza, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Combat!.
Charles Bronson
1921-11-03 · Ehrenfeld, Pennsylvania, USA
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