Yul
Brynner (Russian) (July 7, 1915 – October 10,
1985) was a Russian Hollywood and Broadway actor.
Biography
Born Yul Borisovich Bryner in Vladivostok, Russia
he appeared in many movies and stage productions in
the United States. His mother, Marousia Blag?vidova,
was the daughter of a Russian doctor of Jewish heritage
(who had converted to Christianity) 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, for example, claiming that he was born Taidje
Khan of part-Japanese parentage on the Russian island
of Sakhalin. A biography published by his son 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 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.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.
Yul 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"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"
in 1983. He adopted two daughters from Vietnam. He
married Doris Kleiner on the set during shooting of
The Magnificent Seven in 1960.
His first wife, Virginia, was an actress.
His second wife, Doris, was a Chilean model.
His fourth wife, Kathy Lee, was an Asian dancer in
The King and I shows
Children
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 (see ). His mother was Virginia Gilmore.
Lark Brynner was born out of wedlock and raised by
her mother (b. 1958)
Victoria Brynner (b. November of 1962), with wife
Doris Kleiner.
Mia Brynner (adopted 1974, born in Vietnam), with
wife Jacqueline de Croisset.
Melody Brynner (adopted 1975, born in Vietnam), with
wife Jacqueline de Croisset.
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 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 (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)
The Serpent (1973)
Westworld (1973)
The Ultimate Warrior (1975)
Death Rage (1976)
Futureworld (1976)
Lost in the Revolution (1980) (short subject) (narrator)
Broadway
Twelfth Night [Revival, Play, Comedy] Dec 2, 1941
- Dec 13, 1941
The Moon Vine [Original, Play] Feb 11, 1943 - Feb
27, 1943
Lute Song [Original, Musical] Feb 6, 1946 - Jun 8,
1946
The King and I [Original, 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 [Revival, Musical, Comedy, Drama] May
2, 1977 - Dec 30, 1978
The King and I [Revival, Musical, Comedy, Drama] Jan
7, 1985 - Jun 30, 1985
source from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki
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