Charles Bronson
Charles Bronson c. 1969, photo by Prphotos
Birth Name: Charles Dennis Buchinsky
Date of Birth: November 3, 1921
Place of Birth: Ehrenfeld, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Date of Death: August 30, 2003
Place of Death: Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Ethnicity: Lithuanian and/or Polish, possibly other Eastern European
Charles Bronson was an American actor, also credited as under his birth name, Charles Buchinsky. He was legendary for playing tough guy roles.
Charles’s father, Walter Buchinski, was an Eastern European emigrant, evidently from Druskininkai (now in Lithuania). Charles’s mother, Mary (Valinski/Valinsky), was born in Pennsylvania, to Eastern European parents.
Charles’ paternal grandfather was named Frank Buchinsky/Buchinski.
Charles’ paternal grandmother was named Elizabeth.
Charles’ maternal grandfather was named Thomas Valinski (the son of Jes Valinski).
Charles’ maternal grandmother was named Mary Ann/Annie Butsavage.
In a 1974 interview, Charles stated:
In Ehrenfeld, we were all jammed together. All the fathers were foreign-born. Welsh, Irish, Polish, Sicilian. I was Lithuanian and Russian. We were so jammed together we picked up each other’s accents. And we spoke some broken English. When I got into the service, people used to think I was from a foreign country.
In 1973, he stated:
People in this country think I’m an Indian, but I’m Slavic. I don’t care where I came from-it doesn’t matter. But I’d like to go to Lithuania some day, just to see it. And Russia, see what it’s like….
Charles’ parents’ surnames were not distinctly Lithuanian, although it is possible that they were changed from more Lithuanian-sounding names. It appears that the family spoke Lithuanian. It was uncommon for working-class Eastern European Catholic immigrants of the time to have ethnic Russian ancestry, so it is not clear if Charles’ statement that he had Russian ancestry was accurate.
Charles had also stated that he had Mongolian ancestry.
Some internet sources write that Charles had Tatar ancestry on his father’s side. It is not clear what the source of this claim is, or whether Charles himself stated so. Charles’s father, mother, and Charles himself, are listed as “White” on the 1920 U.S. Census, and Charles’s paternal and maternal grandparents are all listed as having been born in Lithuania.
Charles was married to Kim Weeks, until his death. He had two children with his former wife Harriet Tendler, and two children with his former wife, English actress and singer Jill Ireland.
Charles is listed as having been Jewish on several web sites. He was not Jewish. However, his first wife Harriett is Jewish.
Sources: Charles Bronson on the 1930 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org
Marriage record of Charles’ parents – https://familysearch.org
Genealogies of Charles Bronson – https://www.geni.com
https://www.findagrave.com
Was he Tatar?
Bronson said on the Dick Cavett show dated October 1972 that his family had Mongolian roots. The Tatars are descended from Mongolians.
Tatars are not descended from Mongols. Tatars are Turkic, Mongols aren’t.
I’m not sure if this is accurate or not, but I thought there’s some ancient ties between Mongols and Turks, or is that just hearsay?
Man with a phenotype like this, I’d be hard pressed to deny the Turk’s Mongolian roots.
https://www.reddit.com/r/23andme/comments/z9w69t/turkish_y%C3%B6r%C3%BCk_nomadic_gedmatch_results_from/
Lithuanian lipka Tatar decent probably
Bablah?
Don’t look at me. I’m just as confused.
It’s all a bit confusing. It’s not completelly impossible for a Lithuanian to have a Polish last name, but both parents, hmm.
Given that his parents spoke Lithuanian, he must’ve had Lithuanian ancestry of some kind (I doubt his ancestors were Lithuanian-speaking ethnic Poles who seeked other Lithuanian-speaking ethnic Poles to marry). If then one surname (or parents) is of Polish origin, that’s a separate thing. And again, he identified himself as Lithuanian. Since he also mentioned Russian (which isn’t documented) multiple times when discussing his ancestry, I think he would’ve mentioned Polish as well if it was recent. So I’d change to:
Lithuanian, possibly Polish and other Eastern European
They didn’t necessarily have to seek anything. Their families could’ve known each other in the same city in Lithuania.
Hi Follers, Charles Bronson was half Polish, half Lithuanian….
His father Walter P. Buchinsky Sr.(1883-1933) was the son of Josephus Buszynski and Catharina Elizabeth Szutakiewiez. Walter was born in Lithuania to ethnically Polish parents. Josephus (paternal grandfather) was the son of Petra Buszynski and Leva Szawareska, who were both Polish.
On Bronson’s mothers side his grandparents were Thomas Valinski and Mary Annie Dumblesky (1865-1935). Mary was the daughter of William Dumblesky and Josephine Mary Grabosky. William and Josephine were both Lithuianian.
Do you have a source for this, other than ancestry.com family trees?
Also, how do you know his maternal grandparents were ethnically Lithuanian? Once again the Lithuanian name feature is missing.
I don’t know. My ancestry subscription expired recently so I can’t find where my sources were. btw please confirm my last three submissions. I will repay you it will make my day really happy. and I will feel really happy inside.
sincerely, bearboy/jackson9/Michael Dubs
His parents spoke Lithuanian, both of them.
https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-9RZP-458?mode=g&i=10&cc=1810731
Also here:
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GRKS-3RC?i=27&cc=1727033&personaUrl=%2Fark%3A%2F61903%2F1%3A1%3AMG4S-XVH