Actor Charles Bronson: biography, filmography, personal life and interesting facts. Charles Bronson is Britain's most famous criminal and just a very funny and controversial bro

“The Magnificent Seven”, “The Great Escape”, “Red Sun”, “Once Upon a Time in the West”, “The Rain Passenger” are the films that made Bronson Charles famous. On account talented actor over 120 roles in film and television projects. He left this world in August 2003, but his name will forever go down in the history of cinema. What is known about the actor?

Bronson Charles: family, childhood

Charles Dennis Buchinsky is the real name of the American film star. Charles Bronson is a pseudonym that the actor took at a time of heightened anti-communist sentiment in the United States. His real surname was too “Slavic”, so he changed it to Anglo-Saxon.

The actor was born in Pennsylvania in November 1921. Charles grew up in a family of Polish-Lithuanian emigrants, the eleventh child of his parents. His childhood can hardly be called cloudless. The boy was barely ten years old when he lost his father. The family lost their breadwinner, so Charles was forced to start working early.

Choosing a life path

Bronson Charles did not immediately come to the idea of ​​​​choosing an acting profession. In his youth, he happened to be a participant in the Second World War. The young man served as an air gunner in the Pacific Fleet. His courage and courage were awarded an honorary award; the future actor was awarded a Purple Star.

Returning from the front, Charles spent some time searching for himself. He managed to change several professions until he became a member of a theater troupe in Philadelphia. The audience warmly received the first productions with his participation, and Bronson decided on his choice of profession. He graduated from the Pasadena Playhouse and began looking for roles.

The beginning of a film career

Bronson Charles first appeared on film set in 1951. The actor made his debut in the military drama “You're in the Navy,” playing the role of a sailor. He then starred in the films “The Stagecoach Security Guard,” “Miss Sadie Thompson,” “Museum wax figures" Supporting roles did not help him become famous, but they gave him valuable experience.

Only at the end of the 50s. Bronson managed to attract public attention. He played in several famous films and TV series, for example, in the crime drama Machine Gun Kelly.

Star roles

“The Magnificent Seven” is a western that gave Charles Bronson a taste of real fame. The actor’s filmography was supplemented with this film in 1960. He coped brilliantly with the role of the shooter and received a fabulous fee for those times, which amounted to 50 thousand dollars. Surprisingly, this film gained the greatest fame in the Soviet Union. After the release of the film, Vladimir Vysotsky began to call Bronson his favorite actor.

Two years later, another successful film with the actor’s participation was released. It's about about the film “The Great Escape”, in which Charles brilliantly played a prisoner from Poland. He easily managed to embody the image of a person suffering from claustrophobia, since he himself faced a similar problem.

In the 60s, Charles Bronson was an extremely popular actor. Films with his participation were released one after another. “Once Upon a Time in the West” and “The Dirty Dozen” are the most famous films with him, presented to the audience during this period. The drama “The Dirty Dozen” won several Oscar awards, and the western “Once Upon a Time in the West” acquired the status of a cult film.

Movies from the 70s and 80s

In the 70s Bronson was still a favorite of directors and audiences. The most famous films with the actor released during this period are listed below.

• "The enemy is at the door."
• "Rain Passenger"
• "Red Sun".
• "Cold-blooded killer."
• "Death Wish."
• "Horses of Valdez."
• "Escape".
• "The Last Bullet"
• "White Buffalo"

In the eighties, the actor no longer appeared on the set so often. Main reason That's why there are health problems. However, several bright roles He also played at the end of his career; for example, one cannot fail to note the film “Ten Minutes to Midnight” with his participation.

Personal life

In 1962, Bronson Charles met the love of his life. His chosen one was his colleague Jill Ireland, whom he met through his work on the film “The Great Escape.” Jill was married, but the actor was not going to give up on the lady who managed to win his heart. Six years later, Ireland became his wife.

Charles lived with Jill for many happy years. The wife gave the actor two children. A huge misfortune for Bronson was the news that his wife had cancer. For several years he fought for her life, but the disease won. The death of the other half had a negative impact on the actor’s health.

Michael Gordon Peterson is a famous criminal whose favorite actor was Charles Bronson. The prisoner began to use the pseudonym of his idol, under which he managed to become famous. In total, this man served in prison for over 30 years and managed to change more than 120 correctional institutions. His most notorious act was the post office robbery committed in 1974.

Prisoner Charles Bronson (Michael Gordon Peterson) made history for many reasons. This man managed to attract attention to himself thanks to constant violation of prison rules, fights with guards and fellow inmates. However, he is also known as a poet and artist. Surprisingly, Bronson-Peterson even managed to sell his works, earning good money.

In 2013, the film “Bronson”, telling the story of Charles-Michael, was presented to the audience. The key role in this film was brilliantly played by actor Tom Hardy. It is known that in preparation for filming, he visited the prisoner in prison and formed a positive impression of him.

"Fitness in solitary confinement"

Writing is one of the areas in which the criminal Charles Bronson managed to prove himself. “Fitness in Solitary Confinement” is his most famous work. The prisoner, who spent most of his life in isolation, always managed to keep himself in excellent physical shape. Michael Gordon Peterson's strength is legendary.

The author invites readers to as soon as possible get a muscular body without spending money on buying exercise equipment. The book provides a clear daily training program, and a person with any level can do it with its help. physical training. “Fitness in Solitary Confinement” is a work that has gained enormous popularity.

On November 3, 1921, in the USA, in the mining village of Ehrenfeld (Pennsylvania), a boy was born into a family of emigrants from Lithuania, the Buchinskis, who was named Karolis. It would seem that the boy, who was the eleventh of fifteen children in this poor family, had no chance of making it into the world. But despite fate and circumstances, thanks to natural talent and perseverance, he became an actor known to millions of viewers as Charles Bronson.

Hungry childhood

Bronson's paternal ancestors were Lipkas - Polish-Lithuanian Tatars. This ethnic group formed from the Tatars who came to the Grand Duchy of Lithuania from the Golden Horde and entered the service of Lithuanian princes. From his ancestors, Bronson inherited a narrow Mongoloid eye shape and black hair. Because of such a characteristic appearance, at the beginning of his acting career he was often invited to play the roles of Indians in Westerns.

The actor’s father, Walter Buchinskis (later he “corrected” his surname in the American style - Buchinsky), moved to the USA from the Lithuanian city of Druskininkai. Bronson's mother, Mary (née Valinskis), was born in America, but her parents were also from Lithuania.

Little Carlos learned to speak English when he was already a teenager, and before that he spoke Lithuanian and Russian at home. At the same time, his name also transformed into the more familiar “Charles” to the American ear. His father worked in a mine and died when Bronson was 10 years old. The family lived extremely poorly. But it was Charles who was luckier than other children - he was the only one in the family who graduated from school. Although, according to the actor himself, there were times when he had to wear his sister’s dress due to the lack of other clothes.

But even after finishing school, Charles had no prospects, and he too was forced to earn a living by working in the mine. As the actor later admitted, he was then paid one dollar per ton of coal. Spending a lot of time underground, Charles began to suffer from a fear of enclosed spaces. He was never able to get rid of claustrophobia until the end of his days.

Participation in World War II

It's hard to say how it would have turned out later life Bronson, if the war had not started. In 1943 he was called up to military service V armed forces USA. Charles served in the Air Force as a gunner on the B-29 bomber. In 1945, he took part in combat operations against Japan as part of the 61st Bomber Squadron. In total, Bronson flew 25 combat missions, was wounded and awarded a Purple Heart.

At the end of the war, the United States adopted the GI Bill of Rights. This law provided returning military personnel free training in college, as well as low-cost home loans and business loans. Charles decided to take advantage of this opportunity and began to study fine arts in order to then get a job as an artist in the theater. And then he decided to become an actor himself and began studying at the Pasadena Playhouse acting studio.

Acting career

Bronsnon (then Buchinsky) began his acting career in a theater studio in Philadelphia. Later the actor moved to New York. The young actor did not have enough money to live on, and he shared an apartment with his young colleague Jack Klugman (whose parents, by the way, also came from the Russian Empire). Since 1950, the actor began to be invited to films. At first, due to his characteristic appearance, Charles was offered roles of Indians, which were considered unpromising. But gradually, the actor began to be trusted to play more and more interesting and significant characters.

In the first 12 films he starred under his own real name. But in 1954, during the active work of the House Un-American Activities Committee, the actor’s agent suggested that “out of harm’s way” he change his Slavic surname to an American one. It is said that the actor came up with his nickname while walking through the majestic gates of the Paramount Pictures studio, which is located at the intersection of the streets located at the corner of Melrose Avenue and Bronson Street.

Bronson's further career began to develop quite successfully. He acted a lot in films and television, and real fame came to him after his role in the western “The Magnificent Seven,” for which he received $50,000. This film was a great success all over the world, including in the USSR.

In addition to America, Bronson also filmed a lot in Europe. In 1968, he starred in the western Once Upon a Time in the West, directed by Sergio Leone, who called Bronson "the greatest actor I have ever worked with." Leone had previously wanted to invite Bronson to main role in the film “A Fistful of Dollars,” but the actor then refused and Clint Eastwood starred in the western.

At the age of 52, he starred in the action film Death Wish. This role became the actor's calling card. The film had several sequels starring Bronson.

Bronson has received many film awards. The guy who had only a few cents in his pocket in the 40s became one of the highest paid actors in Hollywood. In 1975, he took 4th place in terms of royalties, behind only Robert Redford, Barbra Streisand and Al Pacino.

Personal life

The actor's first wife was the young actress Harriet Tendler, whom he met in 1947 in Philadelphia at the dawn of his acting career. Harriet later admitted in her memoirs that she was an 18-year-old virgin when she met 26-year-old Charlie Buchinsky. And on the first date, Charles only had 4 cents in his pocket. Two years later, the couple married, although the bride's father, a successful Jewish dairy farmer, opposed the marriage. He did not consider a boy from a poor Catholic family as a groom. But he resigned himself and supported the young people financially. The couple had two children, but they divorced in 1965.

The reason for the divorce was actress Jill Ireland, whom Bronson met on the set of the film “The Great Escape.” It was love at first sight. Jill at this time was married to actor David McCallum, Bronson's partner in this film. But that didn't stop Charles. He told McCallum bluntly: “I will marry your wife.”

Six years later he fulfilled this promise. The couple got married on October 5, 1968 and did not separate until their deaths. It was one of the strongest and most exemplary marriages in Hollywood. Jill became the meaning of life for Bronson. They lived in a mansion in Los Angeles with seven children: two from his first marriage, three from Jill's first marriage (one of whom was adopted) and two of their own (one of whom was also adopted).

Bronson tried to spend as much time as possible with his wife. To do this, he even negotiated conditions with the producers so that in the films in which he was invited, there would be a role for Jill. In total, they starred in 14 joint films.

Bronson purchased a 260-acre (1.1 km2) farm in West Windsor, Vermont, where Jill bred horses and for the equestrian training of their daughter Zuleika, their only child.

Happy life this big family was devastated by the terrible news - Jill was diagnosed with breast cancer. May 18, 1990, aged 54, after long struggle with illness, Jill Ireland died at their home in Malibu.

In December 1998, Bronson married for the third time to Kim Weeks, a former Dove Audio studio employee. This marriage lasted only five years. IN recent years Bronson's health deteriorated markedly in recent years, and he died of pneumonia on August 30, 2003, at the age of 81.

Peterson, Michael Gordon

Michael Gordon Peterson(nicknames: “Charles Bronson”, “Charles Ali Ahmed”) (b. December 6, 1952, Luton, UK) - is the most famous criminal in Great Britain due to the cruel treatment of guards in the prisons in which he served his sentences.

Biography

His most famous crime is the post office robbery (1974). He was sentenced to 7 years, but due to regular violations of the regime he is still in prison (36 years, of which 32 years in solitary confinement). In prison he became famous for fights with guards. One day he thickly smeared his body with oil, and then attacked the prison guards naked. He inflicted several serious injuries on the guards before the special forces unit, alerted, was able to neutralize him.

He took his nickname after his promoter fist fight suggested changing the name to Charles Bronson.

During the time he was in prison, Peterson managed to become famous as an artist and poet. And he even received awards for his works (and part of the money from the sale of works is donated to charity.

There is a Bronson freedom movement in the UK. And they consider him, in general, a good person.

In 2009, a feature film was made about the life of Charles Bronson.

Links

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Our today's hero is a real professional criminal, whom many bros consider the most dangerous criminal in the world. At the same time, Michael Gordon Peterson (that’s the dude’s real name) never killed anyone or even beat anyone to death. On his account there are robberies, hostage-taking with a demand for a cup of tea as ransom, but not a single murder. But in his entire life, after embarking on a path of crime and chaos, this bald Joker was free for only 69 days between prison stints.

Bronson, by the way, despite his seemingly extremely destructive nature, comes from a very favorable middle-class family. You can't call him a lumpen! He committed his very first crime in 1974, when he carried out an armed raid on a post office. His loot was only a few pounds, and Michael was sentenced to seven years in prison.

In prison, Michael watched the film “Death Wish” with actor Charles Bronson and took on the corresponding pseudonym and mustache. At that time, it was simply impossible to imagine anyone cooler than Bronson among actors. And Michael himself was definitely very cool.

Apparently, the newly minted Bronson loved to promote himself with any of the possible ways. Of all the prisoners in Britain, no one has changed so many prisons or had as many fights with guards as our hero. Once Bronson even smeared himself with oil, captured a guard and fought with several dozen prison security officers.

Sometimes Charlie did leave prison, but every time he came back. He called the prison a “cozy hotel.” Once, when he ended up in a mental hospital, he even decided to kill one of the patients there in order to return to prison again. Fortunately, the guy survived, and Bronson went back to prison.

Charlie's help in fighting with the guards and at the same time surviving is simply amazing. physical fitness. This bro, by the way, can do 172 push-ups in a minute, 90 push-ups in 30 seconds, 1727 push-ups in an hour and 1790 abdominal curls in an hour. This helped Bronson brutally beat 19 prison guards naked.

Charlie wrote several books about his life in prison. One book, by the way, is devoted to how to quickly and effectively pump up in prison. And even in solitary confinement.

Also among Bronson's books you can find a guide to British prisons.

In 2009, a film was made about Michael.

Charlie is still imprisoned, but in total he has been imprisoned for about 40 years. He's probably in his cell right now, rocking or drawing something. Or writes another book. There is a movement in England to free Bronson. These guys think Charlie is not a bad person. What do you think, dude?