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 theatre. This biography takes readers through Brynner’s formative years in Russia, France and China and describes his journey from sweeping stages in Parisian theatres to a versatile career in theatre, 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.