Yul Brynner

‎11 July 1920: Yul Brynner was born as Yuliy Borisovich Bryner. He was a Russian stage and film actor. He was best known for his portrayal of Mongkut, king of Siam, in the Rodgers and Hammerste in musical ''The King and I'', for which he won an Academy Award for Best Actor for the film version (1956); he also played the role more than 4,500 times onstage. He is also remembered as Rameses II in the 1956 Cecil B. DeMille blockbuster ''The Ten Commandments'', General Bounine in Anastasia and Chris Adams in ''The Magnificent Seven'' (1960). Brynner was noted for his distinctive voice and for his shaven head, which he maintained as a personal trademark long after adopting it for his initial role in The King and I. He worked in more than 40 films. He was also a photographer (His photography is in ''Yul Brynner: Photographer'') and the author of two books (''Bring Forth the Children: A Journey to the Forgotten People of Europe and the Middle East'' 1960 and ''The Yul Brynner Cookbook: Food Fit for the King and You'' 1983). He released music album ''The Gypsy and I: Yul Brynner Sings Gypsy Songs''. He died on October 10, 1985 due to lung cancer.