There are some people who think that American actor Charles Bronson was of German heritage. Not so. Neither was he of a Central American or Spanish background. Charles Bronson was born Karolis Bucinskis to Lithuanian parents. After serving our country in World War II, Bronson moved to New York to pursue acting, eventually breaking out in The Magnificent Seven and The Great Escape, in which he plays a claustrophobic and tough prisoner (he actually was claustrophobic from his years working in a coal mine). Despite his tough visage, Bronson was actually quite fastidious. According to his former roommate Jack Klugman, star of The Odd Couple, Bronson "Was the Felix. He was very neat and clean. He was a damn good ironer. You'd see those muscles pumping out. You'd never see a wrinkle on that shirt." We mentioned today that the credit pinch might hit cars and bank Washington Mutual had failed, which made a sincere dent in Volvo/Bronson enthusiast SuzanneD's day.
I really, really love Jalopnik, but I sincerely wish I had read through my news feeds before hitting you guys up. Jalopnik telling me my bank has failed is like Charles Bronson à la Death Wish telling me my vintage Volvo Amazon has been stolen - it's hard to digest how something that brings me so much pleasure could bring me so much pain.
Sorry about that, just make sure not to get your consumer affairs news from Jalopnik. There's another site that tilts that way. [Photo STF/AFP/Getty Images]