Charles Bronson: Death Wish Action Star Dies at 81

Charles Bronson was an American actor, a major star of action and crime films. Born Charles Dennis Buchinsky on November 3, 1921, in Ehrenfeld, Pennsylvania, he was the 11th of 15 children of a coal-mining family.

Bronson flew 25 missions as a B-29 gunner in World War II. He broke through in The Magnificent Seven (1960), The Great Escape (1963) and The Dirty Dozen (1967), and became a huge star in Europe with Once Upon a Time in the West (1968). Death Wish (1974) made him a top box office draw.

He won a Golden Globe in 1972 as World Film Favorite. He married actress Jill Ireland in 1968; she died in 1990. He retired after hip surgery in 1998 and died in Los Angeles on August 30, 2003, at age 81, of respiratory failure and lung cancer.

Achievements: The Great Escape (1963), Once Upon a Time in the West (1968), Death Wish series (1974-1994).

Birth: November 3, 1921 - Ehrenfeld, Pennsylvania.

Profession: Actor.

Interesting Facts: He worked in coal mines as a boy after his father died.