The Real Story Of Hollywood's Tough Guy 

I had to replace his Sonitrol alarm panel at one of his homes, around late 1990-early 1991. He had 2 homes we protected, 1 in Malibu, and this more modest, almost tract home on N. Beverly Blvd. in Beverly Hills. I remember his wife had passed away recently, and you could tell he was grieving. But he was alone, no maid or “people” around. It was my last service call of the day, and it only took a few minutes to replace the board, send signals, and change the keypads. All the while, he was asking questions. He asked me if you could bypass metallic window tape with a chewing gum wrapper, a la Eddie Murphy in B,H. Cop. Told him no, the gum wrapper isn’t real foil anymore. Sensing my curiosity about all the alarm questions, he said he’s reviewing a script he just got, (Death Wish 5), and he’s supposed to kill a bad guy with a remote controlled soccer ball. He asked me if it could be done. I said Sure! it’s the movies! He then asked me if I wanted a beer. I said I can’t, I have to drive home to Huntington Beach. He then said in that voice: “You mean to say you won’t have a beer with me?” 😳 I think I had 2, and we discussed the soccer ball gag. A bomb? I asked. Yeah… I said I guess it’d work realistically if the reciver and explosive somehow didn’t make the ball too heavy, or lopsided. About halfway through saying this I realized he was winding me up, & I started laughing, and he laughed, too. He said something like: Aw hell, who cares if it’s remotely believeable?…😆 So he might’ve been mean on movie sets when things go bad, or hate interviews, but he was a gracious host to me. Tried to tip me $100, and I said the last few hours were priceless, and I was on O.T. anyway because it was nearly 7 pm! I had a quicker drive home, and I think he had a 8pm dinner reservation, so he got to arm his new panel and we both left his place. And yes, he shook my hand twice: When I met him at the door, and when we parted. So no OCD around me. A very nice, very intelligent guy!

Kurt Russell told the story of working with Bronson in the 1965 Guns of Diablo. Hearing it was Bronson's birthday the 14 year old Russell bought Bronson an RC airplane. Bronson said nothing and went to his trailer leaving Russell feeling like he'd done something wrong. Bronson later explained that he'd never received a present before. After Bronson's death 39 years later Russell received a package. The RC aircraft in its original box.

Bronson had that rarest of qualities so many modern actors are missing: charisma.

The famously tough Jim Brown once said Bronson was the kind of person he would least like to fight, because "I could knock him down all day, but he would keep getting up!"

I appreciate this 15 minute video about Bronson. Some people would have dragged this out into an hour, repeating everything over and over and getting a lot of things wrong. Thank you.

Mr Majestyk was regularly on the tv in the UK in the late 70s early 80s. As a kid with no father around back then it showed me to stand up to bullies which I eventually did. Wasn't his biggest film by any means but his presence still fills the screen.

Ugly? He definitely wasn't ugly, rugged and very manly yes, but not ugly. RIP Charles 🙏

He and Clint Walker were two actors that realized the importance of physical fitness in the days when doing pull ups or sit up was considered a weird, vain activity.

Charles Bronson said when his father died it was confusing for him at a young age other people expressed condolences for his loss, but he did not feel anything and didn't know what to feel, he didn't know if he hated or loved his father because to him his father was just some mean guy that lived with him

Charles Bronson was one of my dad's favorite actors. I loved his movies, too. I thought he was fantastic in The Dirty Dozen. Nobody can play a badass like Charles Bronson did!!!

Death Wish classic line “Do you believe in Jesus? You’re gonna meet him” 😆

Bronson didn't need height to be great. He was a force of nature.

Charles was an actor who could set the standard of a man as stoic and willing to do what he must. To me, he will always be Harmonica from "Once Upon a Time in the West," a true masterpiece.

I visited his grave site a few years back . A small cemetery in Vermont. His grave overlooks the mountains. A beautiful resting spot. Well done video !!

Always liked Charles Bronson. He was a movie star way before Death Wish, though. Never knew he grew up speaking Lithuanian. Helps to explain why his accent was so good in The Great Escape. Tough early life. Seemed to work for him later. RIP.

Bronson’s fear of fire probably came from his combat in the Pacific, on B29’s.

B movie that we loved was The Mechanic with Jan Michael Vincent co starring. They both fit the roles perfectly

When my great grandfather died in the coal mines, my grandfather at age 13 had to go into the mines. That was the way it was. Always liked Charles Bronson.

Bonanza, The Big Valley, Gunsmoke, Have Gun, Will Travel and The Fugitive. Charles always pretty much played the tough guy in movies and covered a lot of guest appearances on T.V. series. R.I.P.

I remember reading a story by some of the Actors and Extras that were in the movie 'Mr. Majestyk'. Al Lettieri, who played a mobster in the movie, discovered how tough Charles Bronson really was. Apparently, Lettieri tried to prove himself tough by either saying or doing something annoying to Bronson. Bronson gave his patented steely-eyed glare at Lettieri and challenged Lettieri to meet him in an actual real free-for-all fight after one of the scenes was over. Lettieri was nervous and sweating and wanted nothing to do with fighting Bronson, and avoided pissing off Bronson thereafter. Charles Bronson was a true Bad-ss!

Charles was one Hollywood actor that didn’t have to act tough! He was one tough SOB and he looked it up

Ill never forget his and Jill Ireland*s fantastic movie "From Noon to Three."😊

Never a “pretty boy”, he was attractive to many women because of his overt masculinity. (With his childhood it’s understandable that’s what was encouraged in his personality. His fear of being trapped by fire is likely from working in the coal mines too.) Thanks for highlighting his sensitive side, which few people knew of.

The Great White Buffalo. I remember seeing at the movies when i was 6. My first swear word was Holy shit! When the Buffalo was crashing through the woods.

Why no mention of being a B-29 gunner in WWII?

I grew up without a dad so I would study Bronson hoping to emulate him. My favorites are Hard Times, Breakheart Pass, The Mechanic and Mr Majesty. But my all time favorite is St. Ives. Bronson said he always wanted to play someone who holds a pipe and stands by a fireplace. And the movie has plenty of action too. Him and McQueen were SUPERstars.

My hb is a huge fan of Bronson, but it sounds like he didn't have a happy life personal or professional, except when he was with Jill.

The red scare was no joke, the russian version of the freedom of information act proved that 90% of the names on the list belonged there.

He grew up around and knew my family. He often stopped by the restaurant my great grandfather played music at and lived next door to my 2nd great grandfather’s cousins as a child

It's not complicated, Bronson is just fun to watch...

He was also a decorated war hero from WW 2.

Phenomenal video. Most of his work was before me being born in 77 but when my dad introduced me to his films he quickly became a favorite. Great work on this, no filler BS, everything we needed, nothing we didn’t!

14 siblings in destitution, losing his breadwinner father, busting his back in a cole mine, then drafted into WWII - try sharing this upbringing with today’s sad, sorry, sensitive, bottle-fed youth to give them some perspective. It’ll probably fall on deaf ears, but it’s worth a try.

Thank you so much for this bio of Mr. Bronson. I was probably 11 years old when I saw the second bill of a double feature and it was "Mr Majestyk" . After that movie, I then read two of his paperback biographies. You really nailed his early life. I remember a lot of the details to this day and you caught that perfectly. I was amazed at all the stuff that you had that I had never heard of. I want to thank you for giving us another look into this great man's acting career. He'll always be my idea of macho

One of his earliest roles was in the original Twilight Zone, the Season 3 opener "Two." VERY little dialogue in that episode, but it's absolutely chilling and magnificent.

The full story of his name change: Paramount screen tested him and offered him a contract if he would change his name. He was conflicted and as he sat at the bus stop across from the studio. He looked up at the street sign. He was at the corner of Melrose Blvd and Bronson Avenue. Bingo. This is a true story. If you ever take the studio tour ( best of all of them) you can tand on the spot.

Charles bronson was one of my favorites growing up! And I grew up in the 90s not 70s lol. But I adored bronson, he was like a hero to me, Mr majestyk and the death wish series loved em!!

Thank for the great narration of Charles Bronsons life story.

Just goes to show you the dude that's tough as nails still has a beating heart and a soul.

Death Wish was, at least not entirely pro-vigilantism as it shows how the violence changes Bronson's character and how sickened he is when he commits his first act of violence.

The Magnificent seven and the Great Escape,were box office failures in the States??🤔🤔 I find this extremely hard to believe.

I am a fan of Charles Bronson from way back. I didn’t realize that he was 53 when he got his break. There was something about his stoic strength and the look in his eyes that drew you in. He was believable. Although I liked all his work, my favorite character was in the movie, The Mechanic. He was a veteran of WWII and I respect him for his service. I’m glad they laid him to rest beside his beloved Jill. May they both rest in eternal peace. ❤❤❤

My grandpa (born in 1919) said Charles Bronson was huge in Thailand. My favorite line is when he buys the car in Death Wish 3 "CASH".

The detailed research is self-evident. Good job!

Mr. Bronson’s fight scenes in “Hard Times” were awesome. It’s amazing how well he kept in shape.

Good sir, you honor the legacy of Mr Bronson. Well done! I loved Charles Bronson, I could not bear watching the vigilante movies as for the level of violence against women fried my 10 year old brain. Those movies made me hate injustice and to honor the chaste and sanctity of females and human beings in general. Thank you in retrospective Mr Bronson for the burning expression of all the evil that men do!

Copied from Wikipedia about your comment of being a box office failure: The Great Escape grossed $11.7 million at the box office after a budget of $4 million. It became one of the highest-grossing films of 1963.

I consider “Once Upon a Time in the West” classic cinema (so does Quentin Tarantino fwiw). Bronson’s great in it. Highly recommended to anyone who enjoys “spaghetti westerns” and frontier epics from that period.

My Father looked almost exactly like Charles Bronson. When I was growing up my Dad, my Brother and I would watch Bronsons movies almost on a weekly basis. Good times.

This was great! I love watching Charles Bronson. I've seen his acting sometimes criticised for not being expressive enough, But watching him, he always gives that impression that his characters have a lot going on under the hood.

I commented before finishing watching, so was very pleased that you gave a satisfying description of The Indian Runner, rather than simply saying it was Bronson's final role. Thank you.

I LOVE CB!!!! My oldest memory is seeing Hard Times with James Colburn in the mid 70's, OMG LOVE IT SO MUCH!!

I think you are miscalculating his rise to stardom. You do not suddenly become the actor who commands the largest payroll in the world. According to Wikipedia: "Eventually, he returned to the United States to make more films, working with director Michael Winner. Their first collaborations included Chato's Land (1972), The Mechanic (1972) and The Stone Killer (1973). At this point, he became the world's number-one box office star, commanding $1 million per film."

Not mentioned is the fact that Charles Bronson starred in a late 1950’s TV show, MAN WITH A CAMERA. About a news reporter getting caught up in adventures filming for new stories. My Mother NEVER missed an episode ❤❤😂

This man had one of the best physiques in Hollywood ever and I never saw him do a single pushup. He was never asked about his fitness routine and never spoke of it but I would love to know how he did it!

Jill's favorite place, as she was battling cancer, was their farm in West Windsor, Vt. Named Zuleika, it was a 400-acre property where they raised horses and escaped the glitz and glamor of Hollywood. Their final resting place is the Brownsville Cemetery in West Windsor. Jill's ashes are purportedly in a cane buried along side Charles.

Great history, thanks! I love Bronson films. Kurt Russell has a childhood story about him and Charles on youtube, very touching.

Concise and not overlong. Definitely didn't need the thumbnail title about Mr Majestyk.

Used to live in Hollywood from the late 50's through 80s, just off of Bronson Ave, which evidently was the genesis for his surname change.

Red Sun was my favorite movie by him .

A terrific mini doc, thanks so much, very enjoyable. Mr. Bronson owned an RV park in Carlsbad, California called Lake Shore Gardens which was just walking distance to the ocean. He was known to visit the property, walk around to collect rents and say hello to his tenants. Surely, no one would choose to not pay the rent when it's Charles Bronson knocking on the door!

It had to be very tough for him when Jill died! Marrying her friend must have been hard alsoo.

I liked Bronson's quip In "The Magnificent Seven"; when Yul Brynner sees that he's chopping wood in order to eat & that he's heard that Bronson is broke, Bronson replies..."No, I'm doing this 'cos I'm an eccentric millionaire". Like Charles Bronson, Greta Garbo's films were only marginal successes in the USA but were big earners abroad. WW2 closed down many of those markets & she made her last film in 1941.

He was a stud in The Wax Museum, big dude.

I was never a fan of Bronson's "tough guy" persona. Thank you for showing who he really was as a person. Although it stinks what he and Jill did to McCallum, Bronson and Ireland were a lovely couple.♥

Bronson is awesome. Thank you for doing this!

A gunner with 25 missions in the Pacific Theater in a B-29 . Got several medals including The Purple Heart. Hero. And the real deal.

I love Charles Bronson. Magnificent Seven, The Great Escape and Dirty Dozen were some of my favorite movies growing up. After hearing his story I grew to respect him so much more.

I agree thank you for this well thought out and well presented piece. My Majestyk one of his best.

Bronson was a star to me before America recognized him and I live in America.

Im still love how that .32 caliber pistol in Death Wish launched them like a 50 caliber 😂

Loved his acting, such an under acclaimed talent that created unforgettable characters. One of my all-time favorite actors.

He was such a hunk. He was fortunate that he looked so good, & was in such good shape 4 his age.

I love Stanley Baker, nice to see him in here!?!?

Proud to be Lithuanian 🇱🇹

Hope includes the story of Kurt Russell giving him a model plane on his birthday. Messed with Bronsons head.

I think that Charles Bronson was one of the most underrated actors of that time. I liked everything he did as well as I did Clint Eastwood. I liked Charles Bronson because he was a no BS actor.

If "The Great Escape" and the "Magnificent Seven" were flops in the USA, that would be news to Americans. Both were among the highest grossing films of the year. This, back when overseas box-office was negligible. I cannot think of any movies better known in the States while I was growing up. Multiple, if not yearly, runs on TV. The movies that launched Steve McQueen's career. Those "Death Wish" movies probably were profitable by reason that they were made on the cheap. Still, most strange to say that Bronson's legacy was in B movies.

Without Doubt One of The Best Biographical presentations on YT. Thank You

I had a crush on him since I was a teenager. I always thought he was the hottest, manliest hunk that ever lived. The way he walked, his great body and those squinty eyes! GRRRRR!!!!

i liked Charles Bronson Great Actor ty

Where are the real, stoic men of America? Charles Bronson: All gone with me.

I own a 2010 Frontier and it's been faithful since I bought it. I'll buy another one if I can afford it!

Hard Times is the best fight movie made in my opinion. Bronson number one for realistic choreography and hardman persona.

A most enjoyable and informative video, so well presented. Many thanks.

I was in the Marines with a guy from Vermont. In high school, he worked at a motorcycle shop. He said Bronson was probably the strongest person he ever met. He came to pick up a dirt bike they had done some work on, and he picked it up and set it in the bed of the truck like it was nothing.

Absolutely loved Charles Bronson...I put him on the same pedestal as Clint Eastwood....different actors different personalities both great

Click bait ! Where’s the terrifying occurrences in Mr Majestyk ?!?

What a life.

The original tough guy was afraid of "germs"!! Hilarious 🤣🤣

This guy was a great actor good movies

One of my favorite Charles Bronson movies is “Death Hunt”, in which he plays Albert Johnson, a fugitive from the Mounties and local hunters in northern Canada. He’s suspected of being “The Mad Trapper”, a real life killer from the early 1900s, and the movie recounts his flight, gunfights with his pursuers, and discovery of the actual Mad Trapper who is butchering his human prey. It also stars Lee Marvin as the senior Mountie and Carl Weathers as one of the hunting party. It’s really violent and gruesome, but I saw it as a kid in the early 1980s and it really stuck with me, and I’ve seen it several times as an adult. I assume that it didn’t do well at the box office, because I never hear it mentioned and I’ve never found it on any of the streaming services I use. It’s a shame, because it’s a really enjoyable action movie, and Bronson, Marvin, Weathers, and the rest do a great job in it. If you ever get the chance, it’s definitely worth watching.

RIP Mr. Bronson & Ms. Ireland.

Many, many years ago, my wife and I as your people in our 20s were driving through a remote part of NH on our way to a regional airport and we got lost. I saw two people working on a stone wall in a remote part of the drive. I stopped and ask the younger person how to get to the airport and he turned to the other person who looked up and answered the question. That was Charles Bronson. He was observant and focused, as if he was unsure what the outcome of this small exchange would be. I thanked him for the directions and for the endless hours that both myself and my wife spent watching his films. He paused, looked back to me and smiled with a wave of his hand. We drove off in silence....how lucky were we......

Though the introducing sentence proved to be only clickbait, and wasn’t near as sensational as expected in its whole; the complete video was a fair resumee of Bronson’s life and career. Even if there is steel place for improvements to achieve a better coordination of the cutscenes with the commentaries, the video was worth a thumbs up.

Very well done on this, great video and very informative and well illustrated. I loved anything he did, to me he was the ultimate quiet but tough guy and his films will be valued for ever by so many who want a good story with action!

I remember watching death wish 3 and seeing Charles Bronson running down the street doing his own stunts in his 60s. He looked 40, and live like a man of 35.

FYI Y'all? Working as a man, as a boy, is a GREAT PRIVILEGE and an Honor, only real Men Recieve! Giving Men an Edge on the competition and confidence for the rest of their days! Thanks! Dad! RIP GREATEST! " I miss" Y'all, YA"ALL!!

Thank you for the post! 👍🏻✌🏼😊

They don't make 'em like this anymore.