Yul Brynner: A Biography

by Michelangelo Capua

Overview

Known as the bald cowboy in The Magnificent Seven and the sexy, charismatic male lead in The King and I, Yul Brynner was a Hollywood paragon of masculinity. Beyond his distinctive appearance and distinguished acting career was a life of intrigue and concocted tales surrounding his youth. Born Youl Bryner in Russia, he played gypsy guitar and worked as a trapeze clown until a severe injury motivated him to pursue his interest in theater.

This biography takes readers through Brynner's formative years in Russia, France and China and describes his journey from sweeping stages in Parisian theaters to a versatile career in theater, television and film, reaching a stardom that began and ended with the classic Rodgers and Hammerstein musical The King and I. With accounts of his personal and professional successes and failures, the book includes his four marriages, his numerous and notorious affairs with such stars as Judy Garland, Joan Crawford and Ingrid Bergman, and his 1985 death from lung cancer. A filmography details his movies and plays, and appendices outline his work in documentaries, music and soundtracks, radio programs and television.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780786424610
Publisher:	McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers
Publication date:	05/25/2006
Pages:	208
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.42(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Michelangelo Capua is the author of several McFarland biographies of Hollywood film stars. He lives in London.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments     
A Note on Yul Brynner’s Name      viii
Introduction     

1. Past Imperfect     
2. Gypsy King     
3. Television Debut     
4. I’m the King! Etc., Etc., Etc.     
5. Dietrich and Crawford     
6. Cecil B. DeMille     
7. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood     
8. A Bastard with a Heart of Gold     
9. The Magnificent Seven     
10. Surprise Flops     
11. Terrible Choices     
12. Westworld     
13. Long Live the King!     

Filmography     
Stage Appearances     
Documentaries, Music and Soundtracks, Radio Programs and Television Appearances     
Brynner as Director     
Notes     
Bibliography     
Index     

Editorial Reviews

a must read...a treasure trove...one of the best star biographies I’ve read in years”—Canyon News; “provides some fascinating insights into Bryner’s difficult and rebarbarative personality”—DVD Choices; “provides some fascinating insights into Brynner’s difficult and rebarbative personality”—Crime Time.

From the Publisher

a must read...a treasure trove...one of the best star biographies I've read in years

Canyon News