YUL BRYNNER?

YUL BRYNNER (1915-1985), born Taidje Khan, masked his private life with tall tales and outright lies, helping to create an exotic persona. Not that he needed to. His talent and pure magnetism kept him a number one star for years.





Haven't you seen The King And I (1956)? For once Hollywood got it right and hired Brynner to recreate his great stage role. His performance in this film made him a star and earned the Best Actor Oscar. Alternately ingratiating, serious, humorous, and brutal, Brynner's king of Siam is a magnificent performance. Later Brynner recreated his role in the short-lived "Anna And The King" (1972) TV series. The attempt at a non-musical series featuring Brynner in his signature role was a failure, but Brynner was fun to watch.

Watch this and then see these other four films.


The Magnificent Seven (1960) When John Sturges adapted Akira Kurosawa's "The Seven Samurai" to the American West, Brynner was chosen as the leader of the band of gunslingers who sign on to protect a village of Mexican farmers from a yearly incursion by bandits. It works, and the film is memorable.
Westworld (1973) Westworld, where nothing ever goes worng...er, wrong. Michael Chrichton concocted this delightful film about a super amusement park where the robots revolt. Brynner is having the time of his life as the Gunslinger, stalking Richard Benjamin.
Taras Bulba (1962) Brynner portrays a Cossack chieftain in J. Lee Thompson's adaptation of the Gogol novel. It is grand adventure and Brynner's character shows a great deal of the human condition.
The Ten Commandments (1956) This is Brynner at his best as the arrogant, self-centered Pharaoh Ramses II. His confrontations with Charlton Heston's Moses are drama at its best.


*Contributed by: "Eric Jamborsky" Date: Wed, Oct 5 2005 / 13:55:28 PST

Autographed Photo provided by: Eric Jamborsky
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Yul Brynner

Academy Awards®
© A.M.P.A.S.®
1956 Won Best Actor in a Leading Role: THE KING AND I