Yul Brynner Biography

Fast Facts

• An eight-foot-tall granite statue carved by sculptor Alexei Bokiy stands in Yul Brynner Park in front of the home where he was born
• Before moving to the United States, he played Russian and gypsy songs on his guitar in Parisian nightclubs, trained as a trapeze acrobat and worked in a French circus troupe
• On screen and on stage, he was known for his unflinching gaze and deep, commanding voice
• His most famous role was the King of Siam in the musical "The King and I," which he played on film and 4,625 times on stage
• After the success of "The King and I," for which he shaved his head, he continued to shave his head for the rest of his life, an oddity during his time
• Though he became a naturalized U․S․ citizen, he renounced his citizenship in 1965 for tax reasons
• Told the press he was born as Taidge Khan on the Russian island of Sakhalin to Mongolian parents, but his son's biography clarified that these were stories made up to heighten his iconic image