1920-1985

Born in Vladivostok in the Russian Far East, the son of a half Swiss father, who spent part of his childhood in China before moving to France, the exotic and mysterious Yul Brynner is for many people the embodiment of the King of Siam.

His unusual name, however, is pure Swiss: he was named for his grandfather, Jules Bryner, who died just three months before he was born. Jules Bryner was born near Geneva, of German Swiss background. The family added another "n" to ensure the name was pronounced correctly – “to rhyme with ‘sinner’".

In Paris Yul became interested in acting, and studied under the Russian acting teacher Michael Chekhov. When the Germans occupied France, they both left for the US. Brynner was naturalized in 1943, although he kept his Swiss citizenship.

Brynner's acting breakthrough came in 1951, when he starred as King Mongkut of Siam in the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical "The King and I." He won an Academy Award for best actor for the performance, and played the part again in the 1956 film version, which earned him an Oscar.

It was as the king that he first appeared with the shaven head which became his trademark.

Other films in which he acted include "The Ten Commandments" and "The Magnificent Seven."

Although he never lived in Switzerland, Brynner hoped at one point to use his citizenship to help the dancer Rudolf Nureyev. Having fled the USSR, Nureyev for a time had no passport, which was a great hindrance for his career. Brynner's idea was to adopt him, making him eligible for Swiss papers. But the plan foundered, since Swiss law prohibited him from adopting an adult son as he already had children of his own.

An inveterate smoker, Brynner died of lung cancer. Knowing that he did not have long to live, he made an anti-smoking commercial, to be released after his death. Dramatic to the end, the commercial starts with him looking straight into the camera and announcing: "I'm dead."