Yul Brenner

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."