Harriet Tendler is an American personality who shot to fame as the first wife of the late Hollywood star Charles Bronson. Her late husband was an American actor who made appearances in a number of movies like Violent City, Cold Sweat, Chato’s Land, and many more.
Apart from being a celebrity wife, she is a radio host and an author. Tendler is also the mother of Charles’ two children. But what about her relationship with her late ex-husband, Bronson? What was their marriage like when they were together and why they separated? Also, did Harriet remarry anyone after her divorce from Bronson?
Read the subheadings below to discover the undiscovered facts focusing more on Harriet Tendler, first wife of the late Hollywood star Charles Bronson. Also know a little more about her children and what she is up to at present and Is she alive?
Harriet Tendler Grew Up In A Jewish Family
As of 2022, she is 93 years old as she was born in 1929. Harriet apparently grew up in a Jewish family in Philadelphia. Similarly, she holds Caucasian ethnicity.
Talking about her parents, her dad was a prosperous Jewish dairy farmer. But on the other hand, Harriet hasn’t talked about her mother or even revealed her name. However, since her dad was once mentioned as being a “widowed farmer,” it is presumed Harriet lost her mother at an early age.
When she was a teenager, Bronson’s ex-wife, Harriet went to the Bessie V. Hicks School Of Stage, Screen, and Radio. The school was in her hometown in Philadelphia.
Harriet Tendler And Charles’ Relationship: How Did They Meet?
The former couple met in 1947 when Harriet was a student at Bessie V. School of Stage, Screen, and Radio in Philadelphia. Charles was Harriet’s senior. The couple instantly felt a connection and both dated for a couple of years. But at that time Charles was not that wealthy and not even a star; he used to work in a coal mine.
In fact, on his and Harriet’s first date, the future actor only had four cents. Some sources also claim that Tendler’s father was not so happy with their relationship as Charles was a Catholic and Harriet was raised Jewish.
After Charles became famous with his acting career, Harriet’s dad agreed and his daughter and Bronson exchanged their vows on September 30, 1949, in Atlantic City, New Jersey, and they would remain married for over two decades until their divorce in 1965.
Tendler was called Charles’s lucky charm as he got his first role two years after marrying her.
Harriet And Her Ex-Spouse, Bronson Shared Two Children
When together, Harriet and Bronson welcomed two kids. On 27 February 1955, Tendler experienced her first motherhood by welcoming her first daughter Suzanne Bronson.
Six years later, the then-couple welcomed their second kid, a son named Tony Bronson in February 1961. All of them were raised by Harriet herself as Charles was busy taking his career to the top.
Tendler And Charles’ Divorce; The Reason
For many years, Harriet and Charles’ marriage was going fine. The former supported the latter strongly during his struggling days as an actor. She was a good wife and also a good mother to their children.
Things would get sour when the news of Tendler’s spouse having an affair with his co-actress, Jill Ireland came out in the open.
Harriet, however, later claimed it wasn’t really Bronson’s affair that destroyed their marriage. She explained it had more to do with how her ex-husband handled his Hollywood fame.
According to Tendler, Bronson became quite obsessed with his work and cared less about his family. Even when it came to his acting job, he only cared about the money and was always into what was next.
Did Harriet Remarry After Her Separation From Bronson?
After the divorce from her former partner, Harriet is said to have focused more on her career and till now there is no information about her dating or her marital details.
On the other hand, after divorcing Harriet, Charles married Jill Ireland who also was younger than him. They walked down the aisle on October 5, 1968. Ireland, however, would die on May 18, 1990, at the age of 54 after battling breast cancer.
After Jill, Charles married Kim Weeks. They exchanged their vows in December 1998. At the time of their nuptials, Charlie was in his late 70s. They were together till the death of Charles (five years).
How did Harriet Tendler’s Ex-Spouse, Bronson’s Death
Harriet’s ex-partner, the famous Charles left the world on August 30, 2003. On that day Hollywood lost one charming gem of the acting world. The actor died at the age of 81 as he took his last breath in Los Angeles at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.
At the time of his death, Charles was with his third wifey Kim. Later his dead body was buried at Brownsville Cemetery in West Windsor, Vermont.
In Charle’s past years, his health grew progressively worse. And in 1998 he had also done hip-replacement surgery. He was also suffering from pneumonia and Alzheimer’s disease. Suffering from all these diseases, his exact causes of death were respiratory failure and metastatic lung cancer.
Harriet Also Struggled With Her Health Condition
In an interview with WAMG back in Jan 2011, Tendler revealed that her health was not in a good condition. She then was fighting breast cancer and lung cancer. Since her diagnosis, Tendler has reportedly done several surgeries for her broken femur, reportedly three times.
Bronson Ex-Wife Tendler’s Career As A Host And Author
As far as the records go, Harriet has always been a radio talk show host on several stations in Los Angeles. But before being a radio host she badly wanted to be an actress. Tendler even worked in a store as a salesperson to support her late ex-husband, Bronson in his past struggling days.
Besides this, she is also an author and has published three books. Among all of them, her most popular book is “Charlie and Me.” In this book, she has described herself and her ex-partner’s career, their marriage, and their separation.
Fortune Of Harriet Tendler; What Is Her Net Worth?
As Harriet is not that much opened about her personal life, her exact amount of net worth is not known. But being an author and a radio host her wealth has been estimated in the range of $1 million to $5 million.
In opposition, her ex-hubby was the highest-paid actor in Hollywood during his acting period. And his fortune was estimated at $65 million at the time of his death.
