
![]() Yul
Brynner was a Russian-born Broadway and Academy Award-winning Hollywood
actor. He appeared in many movies and stage productions in the United
States. He is best known for his portrayal of the Siamese king in the
Rodgers & Hammerstein musical "The King and I" on the stage
and on the screen, as well as Rameses II in the 1956 Cecil B. DeMille
film "The Ten Commandments" and as Chris in "The Magnificent
Seven". Brynner died on October 10, 1985 at the age of 65. The cause
of death was lung cancer brought on by smoking. Throughout his life, Brynner
was always seen with a cigarette in his hand. In January 1985, nine months
before his death, he gave an interview on Good Morning America, expressing
his desire to make an anti-smoking commercial. A clip from that interview
was made into just such a commercial by the American Cancer Society, and
released after his death, which includes the warning "Now that I'm gone,
I tell you, don't smoke."
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