Actor.  Best remembered for his roles in the movies, “The Great Escape” (1963), “The Dirty Dozen” (1967), and the “Death Wish” series of movies.  Born Charles Buchinski in Ehrenfeld, Pennsylvania, to a family of Lithuanian immigrant coal miners, he followed his father and brothers into the coal mines after high school, until World War II, when he joined the Army Air Force, serving as a tail gunner on B-29 bombers in the Pacific.  He flew 25 missions, and was wounded in action, receiving the Purple Heart Medal.  When the war ended, he used the G.I. Bill to study art in Philadelphia, and while working as a set designer, he discovered he had a flair for acting, and began to study acting in Pasadena.  He obtained bit parts in many B movies, mostly playing tough guys and mobsters, and later, Indians, finally becoming noticed in “The Magnificent Seven” (1960).  His solid role of claustrophobic tunnel digger Danny Velinski in “The Great Escape” (1963), brought him better roles, such as “The Dirty Dozen” (1967), but in 1968, he headed for Europe where he became a star. Returning to the US, his popularity grew much slower than in Europe, but he finally hit big with “Death Wish” (1974), which was followed with four sequels. He continued to make movies, branching out into “made for television” movies, until 1999. He was married three times, first to Harriet Tendler (1949 to 1967), then to actress Jill Ireland from 1968 until her death in 1990, and lastly to actress Kim Weeks (1998 to his death in 2003). Late in his acting career, he showed that he could play more than tough-guy roles, acting in comedies or playing character roles. (bio by: Kit and Morgan Benson)  Family links:  Parents:  Walter P. Buchinsky (1883 – 1933)  Mary Valinski Buchinsky (1890 – 1968)  Spouse:  Jill Ireland (1936 – 1990)*  Siblings:  Anita Buchinsky Hurley (1908 – 1984)*  Roy Buchinsky (1911 – 1979)*  George Buchinsky (1912 – 1937)*  John Leonard Buchinsky (1916 – 1986)*  Anthony Buchinsky (1918 – 1932)*  Charles Bronson (1921 – 2003)  Walter P. Buchinsky (1924 – 1999)* *Calculated relationshipCause of death: Pneumonia