L /N

Tuesday, September 2, 2003
PAGE 9A
Laredo Morning Times
LOCAL/NATIONAL
Funeral services announced
Ave.
Charles Bronson dies at 81
BY BOB THOMAS
Associated Press Writer
DOLORES “DORIS”
WESCOTT
Dolores “Doris” Wescott
Miss
Dolores
“Doris”
Wescott passed away peacefully in her sleep at the age of
92 on Sunday, Aug. 31, 2003 in
Laredo, Texas. She is preceded in death by her parents,
Erasmo and Andrea Wescott
and her two brothers, Erasmo
Wescott Jr., and Daniel
Wescott. She is survived by
her sister Zulema W. Castillo
and her brother Manuel (Lucia)
Gomez.
She
is
also
survived by 21 nieces, nephews, and other relatives.
A rosary will be held at Buitron
Funeral Home Chapel on
Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2003 at 7
p.m. Services will be held at
S
a
n
Martin De Porres Catholic
Church, Wednesday, Sept. 3,
2003.
Holy
Mass
will be celebrated at 9 a.m.
The funeral procession will
depart Buitron Funeral Home at
8:45 a.m. Interment will be in
The
Catholic
Cemetery.
Pallbearers will be Manuel
Gomez Jr., Gerardo Gomez,
Juan Estrada, Ramon Luna,
Erasmo Castillo, and Eduardo
Castillo. Arrangements are
under the direction of Buitron
Funeral Home, 4502 Thomas
CARLOTA “COTA” P.
BOTELLO
Carlota “Cota” P. Botello
Mrs. Carlota Botello passed
away Aug. 30, 2003 at her
residence. A rosary was
held Monday, Sept. 1, 2003
at 7 p.m. at Joe Jackson
Heights Funeral Chapels.
Visitation was from 5 to 9 p.m.
Funeral services will be
Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2003 at 8:40
a.m. from Joe Jackson Heights
Funeral Chapels, 719 Loring at
Cortez to Blessed Sacrament
Catholic Church for a holy
Mass at 9 a.m. Pallbearers will
be: Eduardo Botello, Jr., Ruben
Gerardo Botello, Carlos David
Botello, Jose Leal, Jr.,
Miguel Angel Garcia and
Robert Perez. Interment will
follow at the family plot in
the Veteran Section of the
City Cemetery. The family
encourages you to sign the
guest
book
online
at
www.joejacksonheights.com.
Arrangements are under the
direction of Joe Jackson
Heights Funeral Chapels, 719
Loring at Cortez.
Horoscopes
BY FRANCIS DRAKE
ARIES (March 21 to April
19) The demands of work
(and possibly your health)
interfere with your desire for
adventure and escape today.
This is a simple fact. You
cannot cross the river in two
boats — only one.
TAURUS (April 20 to May
20) No matter how much you
have or how much you want
to delight children or romantic interests, your responsibilities still come first. Accept
your limitations and function
within them the best way you
can.
GEMINI (May 21 to June
20) Today’s Moon opposes
your sign. This means you
have to be extra-patient with
family members and situations at home. You can do
this.
CANCER (June 21 to July
22) Expect transportation
delays: auto breakdowns,
missed buses and the like.
Allow extra time for travel
and communication with others today.
LEO (July 23 to Aug. 22)
There is an old Navajo saying
that a man who loves his
family can never be rich. Be
generous to others. Broaden
your sense of family. After all,
we are all in this Big Soup
together.
VIRGO (Aug. 23 to Sept.
22) Four planets are now in
Virgo; however, today the
Moon makes a harsh aspect
to them. Be extra-patient
with others, especially family
members and everything
connected with real estate.
LIBRA (Sept. 23 to Oct. 22)
Try to take some time to be
by yourself today to do some
thinking. Quiet solitude in
pleasant surroundings will
benefit you now.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23 to Nov.
21) Old friends from the past
re-enter your life now. For
some reason, this might put
a financial strain on your
pocketbook. Relax; don’t try
to impress anyone; be who
you are.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22 to
Dec. 21) Avoid direct confrontations with bosses and
authority figures today. You
might be tempted to assert
yourself. It’s not a good idea;
you will lose more ground
than you will gain.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22 to
Jan. 19) Quiet thoughts
about other cultures and values that are different from
yours can open your eyes to
a different point of view. This
is a good thing.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20 to
Feb. 18) Although wellmeaning, a friend might not
have the best advice for you
about how to share something. Trust your own gut
instinct on this. If something
feels fishy, it is.
PISCES (Feb. 19 to March
20) Avoid conflict with
authority figures today. You
cannot please partners and
parents at the same time
right now. Don’t get caught in
the middle.
LOS ANGELES — Charles
Bronson, the grim-faced
tough guy who built a
European following before
making his mark in the
United States with action
films including the ”Death
Wish” series, wondered if he
was too manly to achieve
instant stardom in his home
country.
”Maybe I‘m too masculine,”
he said in a 1971 interview.
”Casting directors cast in
their own, or an idealized
image. Maybe I don‘t look
like anybody‘s ideal.”
The 81-year-old actor died
Saturday of pneumonia at
Cedars-Sinai
Medical
Center with his wife at his
bedside, publicist Lori Jonas
said. He had been in the
hospital for weeks, Jonas
said.
During the height of his
career, Bronson was hugely
popular in Europe; the
French knew him as ”le
sacre monstre” (the sacred
monster), the Italians as ”Il
Brutto” (the ugly man). In
1971, he was presented a
Golden Globe as ”the most
popular actor in the world.”
Like
Clint
Eastwood,
whose spaghetti westerns
won him stardom, Bronson
had to make European films
to prove his worth as a star.
He left a featured-role
career in Hollywood to play
leads in films made in
France, Italy and Spain. His
blunt manner, powerful build
and air of danger made him
the most popular actor in
those countries.
At age 50, he returned to
Hollywood a star.
His early life gave no indication of his later fame. He
was
born
Charles
Buchinsky on Nov. 3, 1921
— not 1922, as studio
biographies claimed — in
Ehrenfeld, Pa. He was the
11th of 15 children of a coal
miner and his wife, both
Lithuanian immigrants.
Young Charles learned the
art of survival in the tough
district of Scooptown, ”where
you had nothing to lose
because you lost it already.”
The Buchinskys lived crowded in a shack, the children
wearing
hand-me-downs
from older siblings. At the
age of 6, Charles was
embarrassed to attend
school in his sister‘s dress.
Charles‘ father died when
he was 10, and at 16
Charles followed his brothers into the mines. He was
paid $1 per ton of coal and
volunteered for perilous jobs
because the pay was better.
Like other toughs in
Scooptown, he made trouble and landed in jail for
assault and robbery.
He might have stayed in
the mines for the rest of his
life except for World War II.
Drafted in 1943, he served
with the Air Force in the
Pacific, reportedly as a tail
gunner on a B29. Having
seen the outside world, he
vowed not to return to the
squalor of Scooptown.
He was attracted to acting
not, he claimed, because of
any artistic urge; he was
impressed by the money
movie stars could earn. He
joined the Philadelphia Play
and Players Troupe, painting scenery and acting in a
few minor roles.
At
the
Pasadena
Playhouse school, Bronson
improved his diction, supporting himself by selling
Christmas cards and toys
on street corners. Studio
scouts saw him at the
Playhouse and he was cast
as a sailor in the 1951 service comedy ”You‘re in the
Navy Now” starring Gary
Cooper.
As Charles Buchinsky or
Buchinski, he played supporting roles in ”Red Skies
of Montana,” ”The Marrying
Kind,” ”Pat and Mike” (in
which he fell victim to
Katharine Hepburn‘s judo),
”The House of Wax,” ”Jubal”
and other films. In 1954 he
changed his last name, fearing reaction in the McCarthy
era to Russian-sounding
names.
Bronson‘s first starring role
came
in
1958
with
”Machine-Gun Kelly,” an
exploitation film made in
eight
days.
He
also
appeared in two brief TV
series, ”Man with a Camera”
(1958) and ”The Travels of
Jamie McPheeters” (1963).
His status grew with
impressive performances in
”The Magnificent Seven,”
”The Great Escape,” ”The
Battle of the Bulge,” ”The
Sandpiper” and ”The Dirty
Dozen.” But real stardom
eluded him, his rough-hewn
face and brusque manner
not fitting the Hollywood tradition for leading men.
Alain Delon, like many
French,
had
admired
”Machine-Gun Kelly,” and
he invited Bronson to costar with him in a BritishFrench film, ”Adieu, L‘Ami”
(”Farewell, Friend”). It made
Bronson
a
European
favorite.
Among his films abroad
was a hit spaghetti western,
”Once Upon a Time in the
West.” Finally Hollywood
took notice.
Among his starring films:
”The
Valachi
Papers,”
”Chato‘s
Land,”
”The
Mechanic,” ”Valdez,” ”The
Stone Killer,” ”Mr. Majestyk,”
”Breakout,” ”Hard Times,”
”Breakout Pass,” ”White
Buffalo,” ”Telefon,” ”Love
and Bullets,” ”Death Hunt,”
”Assassination,”
”Messenger of Death.”
The titles indicate their
nature: lots of action, shooting, dead bodies. They were
made on medium-size budgets, but Bronson was earning $1 million a picture
before it was fashionable.
His most controversial film
came in 1974 with ”Death
Wish.” As an affluent, liberal
architect, Bronson‘s life is
shattered when young thugs
kill his wife and rape his
daughter. He vows to rid the
city of such vermin, and his
executions brought cheers
from crime-weary audiences.
The character‘s vigilantism
brought widespread criticism, but ”Death Wish”
became one of the big moneymakers of the year. The
controversy
accelerated
when Bernard Goetz shot
youths he thought were
threatening him in a New
York subway.
Bronson made three more
AP Photo/File
STARDOM: Charles Bronson is shown at the “Walk of Fame” in
the Hollywood section of Los Angeles in this Dec. 10, 1980, file
photo. Bronson died of complications from pneumonia, his publicist said Sunday.
”Death Wish” films, and in
1987 he defended them: ”I
think they provide satisfaction for people who are victimized by crime and look in
vain for authorities to protect
them. But I don‘t think people try to imitate that kind of
thing.”
Bronson could be as taciturn
in interviews as he appeared
on the screen. He remained
aloof from the Hollywood
scene, once observing, ”I
have lots of friends and yet I
don‘t have any.”
His first marriage was to
Harriet Tendler, whom he
met when both were fledgling actors in Philadelphia.
They had two children
before divorcing.
In 1966, Bronson fell in
love with the lovely blonde
British actress Jill Ireland,
who happened to be married to British actor David
McCallum. Bronson reportedly told McCallum bluntly:
”I‘m going to marry your
wife.”
The McCallums divorced
in 1967, and Bronson and
Ireland married the following
year. She costarred in several of his films.
The Bronsons lived in a
grand Bel Air mansion with
seven children. Two were by
his previous marriage, three
by hers and the couple had
two of their own. They also
spent time in a colonial
farmhouse on 260 acres in
West Windsor, Vt.
Ireland lost a breast to cancer in 1984. She became a
spokesperson
for
the
American Cancer Society
and wrote a best-selling
book, ”Life Wish.” She followed with ”Life Lines,” in
which she told of her struggle to rescue her 27-yearold son, Jason McCallum
Bronson, from drug addiction. He died of an overdose
in 1989, and she died of
cancer a year later.
Bronson is survived by his
wife, Kim, six children and
two grandchildren. Funeral
services will be private.
Candidates step up recall campaign
BY ANDREW BRIDGES
Associated Press Writer
LOS ANGELES — Gov. Gray Davis
and the candidates seeking to replace
him in California‘s recall election used
the Labor Day holiday to cross-cross
the state and take their shots at frontrunning
Republican
Arnold
Schwarzenegger.
Davis accused Schwarzenegger on
Monday of being a stand-in for former
Republican Gov. Pete Wilson, who had
been an opponent of labor during his
eight years in office. Davis reminded
pro-labor supporters at a downtown
rally that Wilson is co-chairman of
Schwarzenegger‘s campaign.
”You remember those eight years
were not good years for working people,” the Democratic governor said.
”We‘re not going back, my friends,
we‘re going forward.”
Schwarzenegger spokesman Sean
Walsh said Davis was resorting to the
criticism because he lacked vision.
”It‘s sad, comments from individuals
who don‘t have positive ideas and
don‘t have a vision to restore our
state‘s economy and add additional
jobs for working men and women,” said
Walsh, a former Wilson spokesman.
Former baseball commissioner Peter
Ueberroth, a Republican, criticized
Schwarzenegger for only agreeing to
take part in one campaign debate.
”Giving voters a chance to hear him
several times before Election Day is
good for him. It‘s good for the voters.
And it‘s good for the Democratic
process,” Ueberroth said.
Schwarzenegger was in Sacramento
meeting supporters at the California
State Fair and working a table to register voters for the Oct. 7 recall election.
He said it was important to honor the
state‘s working men and women, calling this particular Labor Day a sad one
because of a weak job market.
”Many workers have witnessed firsthand the American dream slipping
away,” he said.
He reiterated that he would only
debate the other candidates one time
before the election.
”I”m looking forward to the debate, it‘s
going to be great,” he said. ”We are
going to do one great debate where we
can all bring out all the different
issues.”
Davis and Ueberroth weren‘t the only
candidates to step up their attacks
against Schwarzenegger over the holiday weekend. Lt. Gov. Cruz
Bustamante, a Democrat, and state
Sen. Tom McClintock, a Republican,
also criticized the actor star on issues
ranging from taxes to immigration.