Bronson, Charles, 1921-2003

Charles Bronson (born Charles Dennis Buchinsky; November 3, 1921 – August 30, 2003) was an American actor who was often cast in roles of police officers, gunfighters, or vigilantes in revenge-oriented plot lines. He had long-term collaborations with film directors Michael Winner and J. Lee Thompson and appeared in 15 films with his second wife, Jill Ireland. At the height of his fame in the early 1970s, he was the world's No. 1 box office attraction, commanding $1 million per film.

<p>Charles Bronson, a muscular coal miner from Pennsylvania who became an international film star and archetypal American tough guy, died Saturday at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. He was 81 and lived in Los Angeles.</p>

<p>The cause was pneumonia, said his publicist, Lori Jonas.</p>

<p>Mr. Bronson was acclaimed in Italy as Il Brutto (The Ugly One) and in France he was one of the monstres sacrés of the cinema. His acceptance in the United States was delayed and muted, with critics sour on the violence that stalked the scripts of his films and not so sure that someone so totally typecast could really act.</p>

<p>But the release of a French-made thriller called ''Rider on the Rain'' in 1969 convinced many naysayers that Mr. Bronson had a great deal of artistic skill that Hollywood's casting directors had squandered. Judith Crist, writing in New York magazine, said the movie convinced her that he was ''a forceful actor'' who was ''wonderfully menacing and tough.''</p>

<p>Six years later he impressed critics with his portrayal of an itinerant prizefighter in ''Hard Times,'' and he won praise again in 1976 as the lead in ''From Noon Till Three,'' a satirical western.</p>

<p>Charles Bronson, a muscular coal miner from Pennsylvania who became an international film star and archetypal American tough guy, died Saturday at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. He was 81 and lived in Los Angeles.</p>

<p>The cause was pneumonia, said his publicist, Lori Jonas.</p>

<p>Mr. Bronson was acclaimed in Italy as Il Brutto (The Ugly One) and in France he was one of the monstres sacrés of the cinema. His acceptance in the United States was delayed and muted, with critics sour on the violence that stalked the scripts of his films and not so sure that someone so totally typecast could really act.</p>

<p>But the release of a French-made thriller called ''Rider on the Rain'' in 1969 convinced many naysayers that Mr. Bronson had a great deal of artistic skill that Hollywood's casting directors had squandered. Judith Crist, writing in New York magazine, said the movie convinced her that he was ''a forceful actor'' who was ''wonderfully menacing and tough.''</p>

<p>Six years later he impressed critics with his portrayal of an itinerant prizefighter in ''Hard Times,'' and he won praise again in 1976 as the lead in ''From Noon Till Three,'' a satirical western.</p>

Charles Bronson (born Charles Dennis Buchinsky; November 3, 1921 – August 30, 2003) was an American actor who was often cast in roles of police officers, gunfighters, or vigilantes in revenge-oriented plot lines. He had long-term collaborations with film directors Michael Winner and J. Lee Thompson and appeared in 15 films with his second wife, Jill Ireland. At the height of his fame in the early 1970s, he was the world's No. 1 box office attraction, commanding $1 million per film.