Tough guy movie star Bronson dies at 81

DEATH Wish star Charles Bronson has died at the age of 81.

The tough guy actor died on Saturday of pneumonia at Cedars-Sinai Medical Centre with his wife at his bedside, publicist Lori Jonas said. He had been in the hospital for weeks, Ms Jonas said.

Like Clint Eastwood, whose spaghetti westerns won him stardom, Mr Bronson had to make European films to prove his worth as a star.

In 1971, he was presented with a Golden Globe as "the most popular actor in the world".

He was born Charles Bunchinsky on November 3, 1921 not 1922, as studio biographies claimed in Ehrenfeld, Pennsylvania. He was the 11th of 15 children of a coal miner and his wife, both Lithuanian immigrants.

Mr Bronson's father died when he was 10, and at 16 Charles followed his brothers into the mines.

He spent time in jail for assault and robbery.

Drafted in 1943, he served with the US Army Air Corps in the Pacific, reportedly as a tail gunner on a B-29.

He was attracted to acting not, he claimed, because of any artistic urge he was impressed by the money movie stars could earn.

Originally billed as Charles Buchinsky or Buchinski, he changed his last name in 1954, fearing communist-wary American audiences would shun his movies because of his Russian-sounding name.

His first starring role came in 1958 with an eight-day exploitation film, Machine Gun Kelly and his status grew with impressive performances in The Magnificent Seven, The Great Escape, The Battle Of The Bulge, The Sandpiper and The Dirty Dozen.

His most controversial film came in 1974 with Death Wish, directed by Michael Winner.

He played an affluent, liberal architect who embarks on a quest for revenge when young thugs murder his wife and rape his daughter. The character's vigilantism brought widespread criticism, but Death Wish became one of the biggest box office draws of the year.

In 1968, Mr Bronson married actress Jill Ireland, who co-starred in several of his films. She died in 1990. Mr Bronson is survived by his third wife Kim, six children and two grandchildren.