All Time Greats
Yul Brynner: The exotic hero
Who doesn't recognise that bald pate of Yul Brynner seen in films such as The King and I, The Ten Commandments, Anastasia, Solomon and Sheba and The Magnificent Seven? On the actor's birth anniversary on July 7, it is opportune to go down memory lane and trace his life which ended in October 10, 1985.Brynner is best known for his portrayal of the Siamese King Mongkut in the Rodgers &Hammerstein musical The King and I as well as Rameses II in The Ten Commandments. He essayed the role of the Siamese King 4,626 times in both the stage and film versions of the musical. His histrionic skills did not go unrecognised, he won both a Tony Award and Academy Award for the same role. A little-known fact about Brynner is his two publications: one a book called 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 (1983). One of his interests was photography. His daughter Victoria put together a book of his photographs of family, friends and fellow actors, in addition to those he took while serving as a UN special consultant on refugees. This work is titled Yul Brynner: Photographer. Brynner's lineage was mysterious. He often claimed to be half Swiss, half-Japanese named Taidje Khan, born on the island of Sakhalin. The reality was quite differenthe was the son of Boris Bryner, a Swiss-Mongolian engineer and inventor and Marousia Blagovidova, the daughter of a Russian doctor. Brynner was born in the family's hometown of Vladiovostok, Russia. He was named Yul after his grandfather Jules Bryner. When Yul's father left the family, his mother took the young boy and sister Vera to Harbin, China, where they attended a school run by the YMCA. In 1934, the family went to Paris. Though Brynner was sent to an exclusive school, he eventually dropped out and became a musician, playing the guitar in nightclubs among the Russian gypsies who gave him a sense of family for the first time. After a variety of occupations as an apprentice in a theatre company and trapeze artist, he travelled to the US in 1941 to study with acting teacher Michael Chekhov and toured the country with Chekov's theatrical troupe. That year he debuted in New York as Fabian in Twelfth Night (billed as Youl Bryner). Brynner made his film debut in Port of New York (1949). From then on his career graph took an upward climb and gave him the status of a fascinating, unusual and endearing star of his time. Compiled by Cultural Correspondent
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