Charles Bronson Biography

- For 16 years, actor Dick Van Dyke would receive a lemon cake every Christmas from Bronson, who lived nearby in Malibu.

- He was a very quiet and introspective collaborator, often sitting in a corner for much of a shoot, and listening to a director's instructions, not saying a word until the cameras started rolling.

- His father died when he was 10, and at 16 he followed his brothers into the mines to support his family. He got paid $1 per ton of coal and volunteered for perilous jobs because the pay was better.

- When responding to critics' complaints, he said: "We don't make movies for critics, since they don't pay to see them anyhow."