Bronson's mother, Mary (née Valinsky), whose parents were from Lithuania, was born in the coal mining town of Tamaqua, Pennsylvania. His father, Walter Bunchinski (who later adjusted his surname to Buchinsky to sound more 'American'), was an ethnic Lipka Tatar, and hailed from the town of Druskininkai. He was the 11th of 15 children born to a Lithuanian immigrant father and a Lithuanian-American mother. In 1965, he was featured as Major Wolenski in Battle of the Bulge.īronson was born Charles Dennis Buchinsky in Ehrenfeld in Cambria County in the coalregion of the Allegheny Mountains north of Johnstown, Pennsylvania.

He had long collaborations with film directors Michael Winner and J. He was often cast in the role of a police officer, gunfighter, or vigilantein revenge-oriented plot lines. He starred in films such as Once Upon a Time in the West, The Magnificent Seven, The Dirty Dozen, The Great Escape, Rider on the Rain, The Mechanic, and the Death Wish series. Members of the human family who've had the courage, faith and confidence to follow their heart and in doing so, have inspired others to do the sameĬharles Bronson (born Charles Dennis Buchinsky 1921 – 2003) was an American film and television actor.