Yul Brynner: A Biography (Paperback)

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Editorial Reviews

Review

"A must read...a treasure trove...one of the best star biographies I've read in years." --Canyon News

Product Description

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.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: McFarland (May 11, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786424613
• ISBN-13: 978-0786424610
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 5.9 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #259,079 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Complex Human Being, January 18, 2007

By	Pamela S. Dorris "eternally learning" (Lutsen, MN, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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Who can explain it? I was attracted to Yul Brynner's weird chemistry even before the concept of puberty dawned on my sheltered existence. He was one of those rare individuals with real animal magnetism (a kind of cultured feralness crouching behind an active mind) that is simply catnip to certain women. This biography, more than others, is less obsequious to the legend of Yul Brynner. It lays the facts of Brynner's life out "like a patient etherized upon a table" to quote T.S. Eliot. The ambition. The effortless talent. The prevaricating. The opportunism. The perfectionism. The womanizing. The egoism. The humanitarianism. Made me wish I'd been a dinner partner of his for just one evening, provided he was in a good mood, which most of the time he was -- if things were going his way.
Many of his male contemporaries recall Brynner's almost pathological need to "one up" everyone around him. Sensitive about his height (5'8"), perhaps he (like Napoleon) felt he had something "to prove."
Typecast by his bald physiognomy and in thrall to a lavish personal lifestyle, Brynner was often forced to accept film roles that were dogged by a perverse luck -- he'd pick a winning director but get a lousy script, or be in a third-rate vehicle with another acclaimed actor that would tank. Too many times he ended up in movies that were simply too little in scope for his huge talent or which typecast him in an imperious role, constantly reprising "The King and I."
Like most males whose father figure is absent or emotionally unavailable during the formative years, Brynner had a hole somewhere inside his psyche that he could never fill. He loved children, yet could not stay with the families he created. He had a great sense of humor, yet could sometimes be found silent, alone, with a tear coursing down his cheek at some dark memory of hurt. He was a great humanitarian for refugee relief and a thoughtful friend -- yet at one and the same time, egotistical, ruthlessly demanding, and given to living well above his means. Nevertheless, he possessed qualities that made his wives not only fall for him, but grieve his loss for the rest of their lives. He was the love of her life to Virginia Gilmore (his first wife) who never fully recovered from the loss of him, and Doris Brynner never gave up his name, saying that she would always love him but could not live with him. Others who fell under his spell included Judy Garland, Ingrid Bergman, and Marlene Detreich. Brynner was larger than life, a part of the "old school" which includes Douglas, Lancaster, and Burton, and his final resting place is an anti-climax to his flamboyant life. The weathered stone, standing by itself in an obscure church yard in France can be located on the Internet. Short of stature or no, the man's talent and sheer personality warrant a massive cairn to his memory.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Tommy Lightfoot Garrett and Canyon News Editor Loved This Book, June 27, 2009

By	Jason Crawford "Jason Crawford" (San Francisco) - See all my reviews

HOLLYWOOD--McFarland Publishing's biography on Yul Brynner is a must read. Author Michelangelo Capua who is a New York correspondent for an Italian film magazine, who has previously written about Vivien Leigh and Montgomery Clift, really did exhaustive work and investigations for his book Yul Brynner: A Biography.

This biography takes the reader past the idea of the bald cowboy in "Magnificent Seven," and extremely sexy leading man in both the film and stage versions of "The King and I." Brynner was an extremely complex man who came from a very humble past. But the actor was able to pull himself up and use his handsome but very odd looks and innate talent as an actor to become a Hollywood legend. Fans today still talk about his work.

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. The book also takes you through his life and formative years not only in his home of Russia, but France and China. From sweeping stages in Parisian theaters to a versatile career in theater, television and film, reaching stardom that began and ended with the classic Rodgers and Hammerstein musical "The King and I."

This book chronicles, in great detail, the star's personal and professional successes and failures, while going into Brynner's four marriages, his numerous and well-known affairs with such stars as Judy Garland, Joan Crawford and ever emotional Ingrid Bergman. However, Cupua also goes in detail of the star's death from lung cancer in 1985.

This book also incorporates the star's extensive film history with great details of his movies, plays and appendices and outlines his work in documentaries, music and soundtracks, both in radio and television.

The beautiful cover is only a sneak peek of what a treasure trove it has inside with rare photographs of the actor in both personal candid shots and studio stills. This book is one of the best star biographies I've read in years.