Throwback Thursday and Yul Brynner
Born in Russia around 1920, Yul Brynner began his career
strumming guitar and singing gypsy songs for Russian immigrants in Parisian
nightclubs. Later, he worked as a trapeze artist before beginning his acting
career in the 1940s.
He came to the United States in 1941 and in 1946 made his
Broadway debut in Lute Song opposite
Mary Martin. It was she who recommended him for his most famous role of the
King of Siam in The King and I. He
was a complete unknown at the time, and Gertrude Lawrence’s name appeared above
his in all publicity (only after she died did he receive top billing). The
musical debuted in 1951, and after 1,246 performances, in 1956 Yul Brynner
starred in the movie version for which he won an Oscar for Best Actor. He also
won a Tony Award for the same role, and thus became one of only a few actors to
win both awards.
He returned to the stage for 3,379 more performances. He also
appeared in many different movies up until the early 1980s, including The Journey, The Sound and the Fury, Escape
from Sahrain, Solomon and Sheba and
Magnificent Seven.
Yul Brynner died on October 10, 1985 of lung cancer, on the
same day as Orson Welles. After his death he left a public service announcement
stating that smoking was the cause of his cancer.
From the Big Blue Book of Ballet Secrets:
Dance History Factoid #72:
“Yul Brenner is best
known for his role as the King of Siam in The
King and I.”
Link of the Day:
Quote
of the Day:
“Now that I'm gone, I tell you, don't smoke.”
-
Yul
Brynner
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Want to know more about me? Read my interview at Ballet Connections:
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