Charles Bronson born Charles Dennis Buchinsky November 3 1921 August 30 2003 was an American actor Known for his granite features and brawny physique2 he gained international fame for his starring roles in action western and war films initially as a supporting player and later a leading man A quintessential cinematic tough guy Bronson was cast in various roles where the plot line hinged on the authenticity of the characters toughness and brawn3 At the height of his fame in the early 1970s he was the worlds No 1 box office attraction commanding 1 million per film4 Born to a LithuanianAmerican coal mining family in rural Pennsylvania Bronson served in the United States Army Air Forces as a bomber tail gunner during World War II He worked several odd jobs before entering the film industry in the early 1950s playing bit and supporting roles as henchmen thugs and other heavies After playing a villain in the Western film Drum Beat he was cast in his first leading role by Bmovie auteur Roger Corman playing the title character in the gangster picture MachineGun Kelly 1958 The role brought him to the attention of mainstream critics and led to sizable colead parts as an IrishMexican gunslinger in The Magnificent Seven 1960 a claustrophobic tunneling expert in The Great Escape 1963 a smalltown Southern louche in This Property Is Condemned 1966 and a prisonerturnedcommando in The Dirty Dozen 1967 Description above from the Wikipedia article Charles Bronson licensed under CCBYSA full list of contributors on Wikipedia
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