Artist Yul Brynner
Song:A Puzzlement
Album:The King and I: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
Though he had a long Hollywood career, Russian actor Yul Brynner is mainly known for playing King Mongkut in the 1951 Broadway production and the 1956 film of the Rodgers & Hammerstein musical The King and I. He won awards for both versions. He was also known for his shaved head look which was very unusual at the time. He was born Yuliy Borisovich Briner on July 11, 1920 in Vladivostok, Far Eastern Republic, Russia. It's near the Chinese border. His family was well to do but their wealth was confiscated when the Red Army took over Vladivostok in 1922. His father was a mining engineer. His parents divorced in 1923 and his father lived with actress Katerina Kornakova. She would later help Brynner emigrate to the US. Brynner's mother moved the family to Harbin, China. His father gave him a guitar as a birthday present in 1930. He performed in nightclubs after his mom moved the family to Paris. Brynner became addicted to drugs after he suffered a back injury while working as a circus acrobat. His aunt was a physician and took him to Switzerland to recover. Meanwhile, Brynner met Jean Cocteau in Paris and became friends with him and other artists. After his recovery, Brynner moved to China for acting lessons from his stepmother. When Brynner's mother got sick and needed treatment in the US. he moved there with her in 1940. His sister was already living in New York working as an opera singer. During WWII, Brynner worked as an announcer for Voice of America and took acting lessons from Michael Chekhov. He married actress Virginia Gilmore and they appeared in the CBS TV series Studio One. Brynner made his film debut in the 1949 film Port of New York. I've seen that film. Brynner has hair. Then he auditioned for the Broadway musical The King and I and won the starring role of King Mongkut. That's when he shaved his head. It became his signature role as he won a Tony. Then he won an Oscar when he reprised the role in the 1956 film version. He would reprise that role several times over the years. His shaved head became a thing and was known as the Yul Brynner look. Other films included The Ten Commandments, Anastasia and The Brothers Karamazov. Though this established him as a movie star, Brynner wasn't as successful in the 60s. Most of his films were commercial disappointments until he played the killer robot Gunslinger in the 1973 film Westworld. After appearing in the Westworld sequels, Brynner retired from acting and died from lung cancer on Oct. 10, 1985 at age 65. Here's Yul Brynner performing A Puzzlement in the 1956 film The King and I.
I first saw him in Westworld. He was an incredible actor. He brought that robot to life and actually gave him a personality. A cold blooded killer in a robotic form. I also remember him filming an anti-smoking message before his death. It was a very powerful message and a good one. Sadly the lung cancer robbed us of his genus. Thanks so much Frank. David.
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