Britain's Most Notorious Prisoner, Charles Salvador aka The Real Charles Bronson (Crime Documentary)
- 5 years ago
Charles Arthur "Charlie" Salvador (formerly Charles Ali Ahmed; born Michael Gordon Peterson on 6 December 1952), better known as Charles Bronson, is an English criminal who is often referred to in the British press as the "most violent prisoner in Britain" and "Britain's most notorious prisoner". He has spent periods detained in the Rampton, Broadmoor and Ashworth high-security psychiatric hospitals.
Originating as a petty criminal, he was sentenced to seven years' imprisonment for armed robbery in 1974. Upon his release, he began a bare-knuckle boxing career in the East End of London. His promoter thought he needed a more suitable name and suggested he change it to Charles Bronson, after the American actor. He was returned to prison for planning another robbery and continued to be a violent inmate, taking numerous hostages, resulting in him being sentenced to life imprisonment.
Bronson is one of the highest-profile criminals in Britain and has been featured in books, interviews, and studies in prison reform and treatment. In his own words: "I'm a nice guy, but sometimes I lose all my senses and become nasty. That doesn't make me evil, just confused." He was the subject of the 2008 film Bronson starring Tom Hardy, a biopic based loosely around his life. Bronson has written many books about his experiences and famous prisoners he has met throughout his incarceration. A self-declared fitness fanatic who has spent many years in segregation, Bronson dedicated a book to exercising in confined spaces. He has also cultivated a reputation as an outsider artist, with his paintings and illustrations of prison and psychiatric hospital life being publicly exhibited and winning him multiple awards.
In 2014 he changed his name again, this time to Charles Salvador in a mark of respect to one of his favorite artists, Salvador Dalí, and to distance himself from his existing reputation. The Charles Salvador Art Foundation was founded to promote his artwork and "help those in positions even less fortunate than his own" to participate in art.
Bronson was born in Luton, Bedfordshire, one of three sons of Eira and Joe Peterson, who would later run the Conservative club in Aberystwyth. Bronson also has a cousin, Loraine Salvage. His uncle and aunt were mayor and mayoress of the town in the 1960s and 1970s. His aunt, Eileen Parry, is quoted as saying: "As a boy, he was a lovely lad. He was obviously bright and always good with children. He was gentle and mild-mannered, never a bully; he would defend the weak".
Originating as a petty criminal, he was sentenced to seven years' imprisonment for armed robbery in 1974. Upon his release, he began a bare-knuckle boxing career in the East End of London. His promoter thought he needed a more suitable name and suggested he change it to Charles Bronson, after the American actor. He was returned to prison for planning another robbery and continued to be a violent inmate, taking numerous hostages, resulting in him being sentenced to life imprisonment.
Bronson is one of the highest-profile criminals in Britain and has been featured in books, interviews, and studies in prison reform and treatment. In his own words: "I'm a nice guy, but sometimes I lose all my senses and become nasty. That doesn't make me evil, just confused." He was the subject of the 2008 film Bronson starring Tom Hardy, a biopic based loosely around his life. Bronson has written many books about his experiences and famous prisoners he has met throughout his incarceration. A self-declared fitness fanatic who has spent many years in segregation, Bronson dedicated a book to exercising in confined spaces. He has also cultivated a reputation as an outsider artist, with his paintings and illustrations of prison and psychiatric hospital life being publicly exhibited and winning him multiple awards.
In 2014 he changed his name again, this time to Charles Salvador in a mark of respect to one of his favorite artists, Salvador Dalí, and to distance himself from his existing reputation. The Charles Salvador Art Foundation was founded to promote his artwork and "help those in positions even less fortunate than his own" to participate in art.
Bronson was born in Luton, Bedfordshire, one of three sons of Eira and Joe Peterson, who would later run the Conservative club in Aberystwyth. Bronson also has a cousin, Loraine Salvage. His uncle and aunt were mayor and mayoress of the town in the 1960s and 1970s. His aunt, Eileen Parry, is quoted as saying: "As a boy, he was a lovely lad. He was obviously bright and always good with children. He was gentle and mild-mannered, never a bully; he would defend the weak".