REFERENCE: YUL BRYNNER

Exotic leading man of American films, famed as much for his completely baldhead as for his performances. Brynner masked much of his life in mystery and in outright lies designed to tease the gullible, and it was not until the publication of a biography by his son in 1989 that many of the details of Brynner's early life became clear.
He often claimed to be a half-Swiss, half-Japanese named Taidje Khan, born on the island of Sakhalin; in reality he was the son of Boris Bryner, a Swiss-Mongolian engineer and inventor, and Marousia Blagovidova, the daughter of a Russian doctor. He was born in their hometown of Vladivostok on 7 July 1915, and named Yul after his grandfather Jules Bryner. When Yul's father abandoned the family, his mother took her children to Paris. He became a musician, playing guitar in the nightclubs among the Russian gypsies who gave him his first real sense of family. He met luminaries such as Jean Cocteau and became an apprentice at the Theatre des Mathurins. He worked as a trapeze artists with the famed Cirque d'Hiver company. He travelled to the U.S. in 1941 to study with acting teacher Michael Chekhov and toured the country with Chekhov's theatrical troupe. That same year he debuted in New York as Fabian in Twelfth Night (billed as Youl Bryner). After working in a very early TV series, "Mr. Jones and His Neighbors"(1944), he played on Broadway in Lute Song, with Mary Martin, winning awards and mild acclaim. He and his wife, actress Virginia Gilmore, starred in the first TV talk show, "Mr. and Mrs." (1948). Brynner then joined CBS as a television director. He made his film debut in Port of New York (1949). Two years later Mary Martin recommended him for the part he would always be known for: the King in Rodgers and Hammerstein's musical "The King and I". Brynner became an immediate sensation in the role, repeating it for film (The King and I (1956)) and winning the Oscar for Best Actor. For the next two decades he maintained a starring film career despite the exotic nature of his persona, performing in a wide range of roles from Egyptian pharaohs to Western gunfighters, almost all with the same shaven head and indefinable accent. In the 1970s he returned to the role that had made him a star, and spent most of the rest of his life touring the world in "The King and I". When he developed lung cancer in the mid-1980s, he left a powerful public service announcement denouncing smoking as the cause, for broadcast after his death. The cancer and its complications, after a long illness, ended his life. He remains one of the most fascinating, unusual and beloved stars of his time.

My favourite films with Yul Brynner

Westworld (1973) .... Robot Gunslinger
"Anna and the King" (1972) TV Series .... King Mongkut of Siam
The Light at the Edge of the World (1971) .... Jonathan Kongre... aka Luz del fin del mundo, La (Spain)
Indio Black, sai che ti dico: Sei un gran figlio di...(1971) .... Sabata/Indio Black... aka Adiós, Sabata (Spain) ... aka Adios Sabata (USA) ... aka Indio Black ... aka Indio Sabata ... aka Sabata 2 ... aka The Bounty Hunters (UK)
Bitka na Neretvi (1969) .... Vlado... aka Battaglia della Neretva, La (Italy) ... aka Battle of the River Neretva (Australia: video title) ... aka Schlacht an der Neretva, Die (West Germany) ... aka The Battle of Neretva (USA) ... aka The Battle of the River Neretva (USA)
Return of the Seven (1966) .... Chris Adams... aka Regreso de los siete magníficos, El (Spain) ... aka Return of the Magnificent Seven (International: English title)
Flight from Ashiya(1964) .... TSgt. Mike Takashima... aka Ashiya kara no hiko (Japan)
Taras Bulba (1962) .... Taras Bulba
The Magnificent Seven (1960) .... Chris Adams
Testament d'Orphée, ou ne me demandez pas pourquoi!, Le (1960) (uncredited) .... L'huissier/Court usher... aka Testament d'Orphée, Le (France: short title) ... aka The Testament of Orpheus (USA)
Solomon and Sheba (1959) .... Solomon
The Sound and the Fury (1959) .... Jason Compson
The Journey (1959) .... Major Surov
The Buccaneer (1958) .... Jean Lafitte
The Brothers Karamazov (1958) .... Dmitri Karamazov... aka The Murderer Dmitri Karamazov
Anastasia (1956) .... General Sergei Pavlovich Bounine
The Ten Commandments (1956) .... Rameses
The King and I (1956) .... King Mongkut of Siam... aka Rodgers and Hammerstein's The King and I (USA: complete title)