Charles Bronson (1921-2003)
Charles Bronson, the Pennsylvania coal miner who drifted into films as a villain and became a hard-faced action star, notably in the popular Death Wish vengeance movies, has died. He was 81.
Hospitalized for weeks, Bronson died Saturday of pneumonia at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center with his wife at his bedside.
During the height of his career, Bronson was hugely popular in Europe; the French knew him as "le sacre monstre" (the sacred monster), the Italians as "Il Brutto" (the ugly man). In 1971 he was presented a Golden Globe as "the most popular actor in the world."
Like Clint Eastwood, whose spaghetti Westerns won him stardom, Bronson had to make European films to prove his worth as a star. He left a featured-role career in Hollywood to play leads in films made in France, Italy, and Spain. His blunt manner, powerful build, and air of danger made him the most popular actor in those countries. At age 50, he returned to Hollywood a star.
He was born Charles Bunchinsky on Nov. 3, 1921, in Ehrenfeld, Pa. He was the 11th of 15 children born to a coal miner and his wife, both Lithuanian immigrants.
Young Charles learned the art of survival in the tough district of Scooptown, "where you had nothing to lose because you lost it already," he had said. The Bunchinskys lived crowded in a shack, the children wearing hand-me-downs from older siblings. At the age of 6, Charles was embarrassed to attend school in his sister's dress.
Charles' father died when Charles was 10, and at 16 Charles followed his brothers into the mines. He was paid $1 per ton of coal and volunteered for perilous jobs because the pay was better. Like other toughs in Scooptown, he raised some hell and landed in jail for assault and robbery. He might have stayed in the mines for the rest of his life except for World War II. Drafted in 1943, he served with the Air Force in the Pacific, reportedly as a tail gunner on a B29.
He was attracted to acting, not because of any artistic urge but because he was impressed by the money movie stars could earn. He joined the Philadelphia Play and Players Troupe, painting scenery and acting a few minor roles.
At the Pasadena Playhouse school, Bronson improved his diction, supporting himself by selling cards and toys on street corners. Studio scouts saw him at the Playhouse, and he was cast as a gob in the 1951 service comedy You're in the Navy Now, starring Gary Cooper.
As Charles Buchinsky or Buchinski, he played supporting roles in Red Skies of Montana, The Marrying Kind, Pat and Mike (in which he fell victim to Katharine Hepburn's judo), The House of Wax, Jubal and other films. In 1954 he changed his last name, fearing reaction in the McCarthy era to Russian-sounding names.
Bronson's first starring role came in 1958 with an eight-day exploitation film, Machine Gun Kelly. He also appeared in two brief TV series, Man with a Camera (1958) and The Travels of Jamie McPheeters (1963).
His status grew with impressive performances in The Magnificent Seven, The Great Escape, The Battle of the Bulge, The Sandpiper and The Dirty Dozen. Alain Delon, like many French, had admired Machine Gun Kelly, and he invited Bronson to co-star with him in a British-French film, Adieu, L'Ami (Farewell, Friend). It made Bronson a European favorite.
Among his films abroad was a hit spaghetti western, Once Upon a Time in the West. Finally Hollywood took notice.
Among his starring films: The Valachi Papers, Chato's Land, The Mechanic, Valdez, The Stone Killer, Mr. Majestyk, Breakout, Hard Times, Breakout Pass, White Buffalo, Telefon, Love and Bullets, Death Hunt, Assassination, and Messenger of Death.
Bronson is survived by his wife, Kim; six children, and two grandchildren. Funeral services will be private.
—Associated Press