Yul Brynner

Yul Brynner (July 7, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was a Russian-born Broadway and Academy Award-winning Hollywood actor. He appeared in many movies and stage productions in the United States. He is best known for his portrayal of the Siamese king in the Rodgers & Hammerstein musical The King and I as well as Ramesses II in The Ten Commandments.

Biography

He was born Yul Borisovich Brynner () in Vladivostok, Russia. His mother, Marousia Blagоvidova, was the daughter of a Russian doctor of Jewish heritage and his father, Boris Bryner, was an engineer and inventor of Swiss and Mongolian ancestry. He was named Yul after his paternal grandfather, Jules Bryner.

Brynner's early life was exotic, but he made it out to be even more exotic than it actually was, claiming that he was born Taidje Khan of part-Japanese parentage on the Russian island of Sakhalin. A biography published by his son Rock Brynner in 1989 clarified these issues.

After Boris Bryner abandoned his family, his mother took Yul and his sister, Vera Bryner, to Harbin, China, where they attended a school run by the YMCA, and in 1934 she took them to Paris, France. Early in his career he was photographed nude by George Platt Lynes.

Brynner's best-known role was that of King Mongkut of Siam which he played 4626 times in both the stage and film versions of the musical The King and I, for which he won an Academy Award as Best Actor. He is one of only seven people who have won both a Tony Award and an Academy Award (Oscar) for the same role.

He made an immediate impact upon first starring in films in 1956, appearing not only in The King and I that year, but also in major roles in The Ten Commandments and Anastasia. He later starred in such films as Solomon and Sheba (1959), The Magnificent Seven (1960), and Westworld (1973).

Brynner died on October 10, 1985 (the same day as Orson Welles) in New York City at the age of 70. The cause of death was lung cancer brought on by smoking. In January 1985, nine months before his death, he gave an interview on Good Morning America, expressing his desire to make an anti-smoking commercial. A clip from that interview was made into just such a commercial by the American Cancer Society, and released after his death, which he opens by looking straight into the camera and intoning, "I'm dead."

Yul Brynner is interred in the cemetery at the Saint-Michel-de-Bois-Aubry monastery in Luze, near Poitiers, Vienne, France.

He has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6162 Hollywood Blvd, and his childhood home is now a museum in Vladivostok.

Family life

Yul Brynner was married four times, of which the first three ended in divorce. He had three birth-children and adopted two others.

His first wife, Virginia Gilmore (1944–1960), was an actress. They had one child, Yul Brynner II (b. December 23, 1946), nicknamed when he was six "Rock" by his father in honor of boxer Rocky Graziano, who won the middleweight title in 1947. Rock is a historian, novelist and university history lecturer ^*.

Lark Brynner (b. 1958) was born out of wedlock and raised by her mother.

His second wife, Doris Kleiner (1960 – 1967), was a Chilean model, whom he married on the set during shooting of The Magnificent Seven in 1960.^* They had one child Victoria Brynner (b. November 1962).

His third wife, Jacqueline de Croisset (1971 – 1981), was a French socialite. She was the widow of Philippe de Croisset, a publishing executive. Yul and Jacqueline adopted two Vietnamese children: Mia (1974), and Melody (1975).

His fourth wife, Kathy Lee, was an Asian dancer in The King and I shows.^* They married in 1983.

Trivia

Towards the end of his life he contracted trichinosis and subsequently sued Trader Vic's restaurant in the Plaza Hotel in New York City for serving him undercooked pork, from which, allegedly, he caught the disease.
He had an affair with Marlene Dietrich in the early 1950s and appeared on the Cafe Istanbul radio program.
Brynner loved taking photographs. His daughter Victoria put together a book of his photographs of family, friends, and fellow actors, as well as those he took while serving as a UN special consultant on refugees. The book is titled Yul Brynner: Photographer (ISBN 0810931443)
He published two books in his lifetime. Bring forth the children: A journey to the forgotten people of Europe and the Middle East in 1960 and The Yul Brynner Cookbook: Food Fit for the King and You (ISBN 0812828828) in 1983.
He is referenced in a Toy Dolls song entitled "Yul Brynner is a Skinhead". The lyrics, contrary to the title, humorously point out that Brynner can't be a skinhead since he's not wearing Dr. Martens boots and doesn't have any tattoos.
Brynner's appearance in Westworld is noted in former Pavement frontman Stephen Malkmus's song "Jo Jo's Jacket." The song appears on Malkmus's first solo album, Stephen Malkmus.
Yul is referenced in "Stormtrooper", a song by Ooberman released as a secret track on their debut album The Magic Treehouse.
He is also referenced in Murray Head's song, "One Night in Bangkok" (1984).
One of the main characters in the 1993 Disney movie Cool Runnings goes by the name Yul Brenner.
Brynner's height was 5'10".
Made "Top 10 stars of the year", twice. 1957, 1958.
To prevent being overshadowed by Charlton Heston's physical presence Brynner began to intensely lift weights for The Ten Commandments (1956).

Filmography

Port of New York (1949)
The King and I (1956)
The Ten Commandments (1956)
Anastasia (1956)
The Brothers Karamazov (1958)
The Buccaneer (1958)
The Journey (1959)
The Sound and the Fury (1959)
Solomon and Sheba (1959)
Once More, with Feeling! (1960)
The Testament of Orpheus (1960)
Surprise Package (1960)
The Magnificent Seven (1960)
Goodbye Again (1961)
Escape from Zahrain (1962)
Taras Bulba (1962)
Kings of the Sun (1963)
Flight from Ashiya (1964)
Invitation to a Gunfighter (1964)
Morituri (1965)
Cast a Giant Shadow (1966)
The Poppy Is Also a Flower (1966)
Return of the Magnificent Seven (1966)
Triple Cross (1967)
The Double Man (1967)
The Long Duel (1967)
Villa Rides (1968)
The Battle of Neretva (1968)
The File of the Golden Goose (1969)
The Madwoman of Chaillot (1969)
The Magic Christian (1969) (Cameo)
Adios Sabata Part of The Sabata Trilogy(1971)
The Light at the Edge of the World (1971)
Romance of a Horsethief (1971)
Catlow (1971)
Fuzz (1972)
On Location with Westworld (1973) (short subject)
Night Flight from Moscow (1973)
Westworld (1973)
The Ultimate Warrior (1975)
Death Rage (1976)
Futureworld (1976)
Lost in the Revolution (1980) (short subject) (narrator)

Broadway

Twelfth Night Play, Comedy Dec 2, 1941 – Dec 13, 1941
The Moon Vine Play Feb 11, 1943 – Feb 27, 1943
Lute Song Musical Feb 6, 1946 – Jun 8, 1946
The King and I Musical, Comedy, Drama Mar 29, 1951 – Mar 20, 1954
Home Sweet Homer Original, Musical, Romantic Comedy Jan 4, 1976 – Jan 4, 1976
The King and I Musical, Comedy, Drama May 2, 1977 – Dec 30, 1978
The King and I Musical, Comedy, Drama Jan 7, 1985 – Jun 30, 1985