Yul Brynner - ©Theda Bara

The name I bring to you in this post is that of the excellent Russian-American actor Yul Brynner, winner of the Academy Award for Best Actor in 1957 for his performance in the film “The King and I” (1956), playing the role of “King Mongkut”.

In addition to the Oscar, Yul Brynner won two Tony Awards: one for Best Supporting Actor in a Musical in 1952 and a Special Tony Award in 1985.

Yul Brynner has a star on the Los Angeles Walk of Fame, located at 6162 Hollywood Boulevard, in the Motion Picture category.

Yul Brynner, born on July 11, 1920, in Vladivostok, Russia, died on October 10, 1985, at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, New York, United States, at the age of 65.

Yul Brynner was a charismatic and openly bisexual actor who married four times, the first three ending in divorce. He had three children and adopted two Vietnamese sisters. His first wife, from 1944 to 1960, was actress Virginia Gilmore (1919-1986), with whom he had a son, Yul Brynner Jr. (1946-2023), nicknamed “Rock” at age six, after American boxer Rocky Graziano (1919-1990). Brynner Jr. was a novelist and professor of history at Marist College in Poughkeepsie, New York, and Western Connecticut State University in Danbury, Connecticut. Yul Brynner had a long affair with the famous German actress Marlene Dietrich (1901-1992), who was 19 years older than the actor; In 1959, Brynner had a daughter, Lark Brynner (1959–), with Swiss actress Frankie Tilden (1939–), who was 20 at the time. Lark lived with her mother, and Brynner supported her financially. His second wife, Doris Kleiner (1931–2025), from 1960 to 1967, was a model born in the former Czechoslovakia and raised in Chile, whom he married during the filming of “The Magnificent Seven”. In 1960, the couple had a daughter, Victoria Brynner (1962–). Belgian novelist and artist Monique Watteau (1929–) also had a romantic relationship with Brynner, from 1961 to 1967. His third wife, Jacqueline Simone Thion de la Chaume (1932–2013), a French socialite, was widowed by Philippe Wiener de Croisset (1911–1965), son of French playwright Francis de Croisset (1877–1937). Brynner and Jacqueline adopted two Vietnamese children: Mia (1974–) and Melody (1975–). His third marriage ended, reportedly due to his affairs with fans of both sexes and his neglect of his children. On April 4, 1983, at age 62, Brynner married his fourth wife, Kathy Lee (1957–), a 26-year-old ballerina from Ipoh, Malaysia. They remained married for the last two years of his life.