Facts About Yul Brynner

He was an odd western star.

Creative Commons: by Anefo

When you see the image associated with this story, I know what you are thinking. “There’s a cowboy.’ Well, maybe not. While Yul Brenner may not look like the typical western star, that’s what I remember him as. While others may think of him as the king, in “The King and I” that’s not how I remember him. Possibly because I never saw the play or movie.

I had read a little bit about Yul before writing the piece but didn’t know a whole lot about him. I did know he was enormously talented and had an ego to match. So, with that foundation, here are some things you didn’t know about Yul Brenner.

1: Yul reportedly spoke 11 languages.

Included were Gibberish, Bull, Jive, and Pig Latin. Wait, being told that’s not true. Well, I've been accused of being fluent in Bull myself.

2: He was the visual inspiration for Prof. Charles Xavier of X-Men fame.

Patrick Stewart now carries the “Bald is beautiful "mantle.

3: Yul went on an extreme weightlifting program when he found out he would be shirtless for most of his screen time in “The Ten Commandments.”