HWOF

Yul Brynner (Russian: Юлий Борисович Бринер, Yuliy Borisovich Bryner; July 11, 1920 – October 10, 1985) was a Russian-born stage and film actor. He was best known for his portrayal of Mongkut, king of Siam, in the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical The King and I, for which he won an Academy Award for Best Actor for the film version; he also played the role more than 4,500 times onstage. He is also remembered as Rameses II in the 1956 Cecil B. DeMille blockbuster The Ten Commandments, General Bounine in Anastasia and Chris Adams in The Magnificent Seven. Brynner was noted for his distinctive voice and for his shaven head, which he maintained as a personal trademark long after adopting it for his initial role in The King and I. He was also a photographer and the author of two books.

• Born: Yuliy Borisovich Bryner July 11, 1920 Vladivostok, Far Eastern Republic
• Died: October 10, 1985 (aged 65) New York City, New York, U.S.
• Occupation: Actor
• Years active: 1941–85
• Spouse: Virginia Gilmore (m. 1944–1960) «start: (1944)–end+1: (1961)»“Marriage: Virginia Gilmore to Yul Brynner” Location: (linkback://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yul_Brynner) (divorced) Doris Kleiner (m. 1960–1967) «start: (1960)–end+1: (1968)»“Marriage: Doris Kleiner to Yul Brynner” Location: (linkback://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yul_Brynner) (divorced) Jacqueline Thion de la Chaume (m. 1971–1981) «start: (1971)–end+1: (1982)»“Marriage: Jacqueline Thion de la Chaume to Yul Brynner” Location: (linkback://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yul_Brynner) (divorced) Kathy Lee (m. 1983–1985) «start: (1983)–end+1: (1986)»“Marriage: Kathy Lee to Yul Brynner” Location: (linkback://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yul_Brynner) (his death)
• Parents: Boris Yuliyevich Bryner Marousia Dimitrievna Blagovidova

Read more about Yul Brynner at Wikipedia or at the Internet Movie Database

In pictures: Yul Brynner's celebrity photographs
BBC Entertainment, 2012-01-11 14:06:33
An exhibition of Yul Brynner's behind-the-scenes photographs

Today in Theatre History: JULY 11
Playbill Combined , 2010-07-11 04:00:00
1915 A King is born today... in the form of Yul Brynner. Brynner will, of course, go on to star as one half of the title of the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical, The King And I, opposite Gertrude Lawrence. Brynner will go on to play the role in numerous incarnations ...

Today In Theatre History: FEBRUARY 6
Playbill Combined , 2010-02-06 05:00:00
1946 Mary Martin and Yul Brynner play a Chinese couple who separate when the husband goes off on a quest in Lute Song. Raymond Scott composed the score, and Sidney Howard and Will Irwin wrote the libretto based on a Chinese folktale. It will run for 18 weeks at the ...