Birthdate: Thursday, November 3rd, 1921
Location: Pennsylvania, USA
Died: Saturday, August 30th, 2003
Location: Los Angeles, California, USA
Cause of death: Alzheimer's Disease and pneumonia
Best known for: Actor known for his tough guy action roles, weather-beaten good looks and, in later years, a move toward more violent films such as the Death Wish franchise.
Charles had always excelled in action roles in both the movies and on TV, whether it was serial Westerns or blockbuster war movies, but in the 1970s, as he reached his 50th year, this speciality for the genre only grew when he signed with United Artists to make several action pictures, beginning with 1972's Chato's Land. These films were somewhat churned out, but were no less successful, and one of these films was Death Wish, released in July 1974 and directed by Michael Winner. Charles played a New York architect turned vigilante called Paul Kersey who hits the streets and murders random drop-outs after the murder of his wife (Hope Lange) by "street punks".
