Charles Bronson is an American original. He is one of the earliest and most popular tough guys. His lengthy career and dozens of film credits make him a critical figure in the development of the action-adventure film. His steely-eyed stare and his signature moustache are themselves cultural icons. Although Bronson's career began on the stage and he once had his own television series, Bronson is probably best known for his role as Paul Kersey in the Death Wish series of films.

Born into grinding poverty as Charles Buchinski, the eleventh of fourteen children, Bronson spent many of his formative years in the coal mining town of Ehrenfield, Pennsylvania. After working to help support his family in the mines and after serving his country as a tail gunner on a B-9 bomber in World War II, Bronson moved to Atlantic City. It was on the...