Yul Brynner

"Yul Brenner" and "Brynner" redirect here. For the fictional Jamaican bobsledder, see Cool Runnings. For other uses, see Brynner (disambiguation).
In this name that follows Eastern Slavic naming customs, the patronymic is Borisovich and the family name is Briner.

Yul Brynner
Юл Бриннер
Brynner in 1960
Born
Yuliy Borisovich Briner

(1920-07-11)July 11, 1920
Vladivostok, Far Eastern Republic
DiedOctober 10, 1985(1985-10-10) (aged 65)
New York City, U.S.
Resting placeAbbaye royale Saint-Michel de Bois-Aubry (near Luzé, France)
Citizenship
  • Soviet Union
  • United States (renounced)
  • Switzerland
OccupationActor
Years active1941–1985
Spouses
​
​
(m. 1944; div. 1960)​
Doris Kleiner
​
​
(m. 1960; div. 1967)​
Jacqueline Thion de la Chaume
​
​
(m. 1971; div. 1981)​
Kathy Lee
​
(m. 1983)​
Children5

Yuliy Borisovich Briner (Russian: Юлий Борисович Бринер; July 11, 1920 – October 10, 1985), known professionally as Yul Brynner (Russian: Юл Бриннер), was a Russian-born actor. He was known for his portrayal of King Mongkut in the Rodgers and Hammerstein stage musical The King and I (1951), for which he won two Tony Awards, and later an Academy Award for Best Actor for the 1956 film adaptation. He played the role 4,625 times on stage and became known for his shaved head, which he maintained as a personal trademark long after adopting it for The King and I.

Considered one of the first Russian-American film stars,[1] he was honored with a ceremony to put his handprints in front of Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood in 1956. He also received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1960.

In 1956, Brynner received the National Board of Review Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of Rameses II in the Cecil B. DeMille epic The Ten Commandments and General Bounine in Anastasia. He was also well known as the gunman Chris Adams in The Magnificent Seven (1960) and its first sequel Return of the Seven (1966). He had roles as the android "The Gunslinger" in Westworld (1973), and its sequel, Futureworld (1976).[2]

In addition to his film credits, he worked as a model and photographer. He also wrote several books.[3][4]

  1. ^ Obituary Variety, October 16, 1985.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference filmo was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ "Yul Brynner: A Photographic Journey". yulbrynnerphotographer.com. Retrieved April 21, 2018.
  4. ^ "Yul Brynner's books". Goodreads. Retrieved April 21, 2018.