Maria Margarethe Anna Schell (15 January 1926, Vienna – 26 April 2005, Preitenegg, Carinthia) was an Austrian/Swiss actress, who won the Volpi Cup for Best Actress at the Venice Film Festival in 1956 for Gervaise.

The daughter of a Swiss author and an Austrian actress, she was the older sister of actor Maximilian Schell, and lesser-known actors Carl Schell and Immy (Immaculata) Schell.

Career[link]

She starred in such films as Dr. Holl (1951), So Little Time (1952), The Heart of the Matter (1953), Gervaise (1956), Le notti bianche (1957), Rose Bernd (1957), The Brothers Karamazov (1958) playing the role of Grushenka, The Hanging Tree (1959), Cimarron (1960), and Superman (1978). She played Mother Maria in the sequel to Lilies of the Field called Christmas Lilies of the Field. She starred opposite such actors as Yul Brynner, Marcello Mastroianni, Suzy Delair, Gary Cooper and Marlon Brando. She also had five guest appearances in the television series, Der Kommissar and Derrick: Yellow He (1977) & Klavierkonzert (1978). Her final public appearance was at the premiere of her brother Maximilian's documentary film, My Sister Maria (2002). She starred in the 1976 Broadway play Poor Murderer.

Family[link]

Schell was married twice, first to Horst Hächler and second to Veit Relin. Her daughter by her second marriage, actress Marie Theres Relin (born 1966), who was married to Bavarian playwright Franz Xaver Kroetz and has three children, made a media and Internet appearance as a spokeswoman for housewives (If Pigs Could Fly. Die Hausfrauenrevolution, 2004).

Death[link]

Maria Schell lived reclusively in ill health in Carinthia in the Austrian Alps until her death from pneumonia in Preitenegg, Austria on 26 April 2005, aged 79.

Posthumous[link]

Upon her death, Maximilian Schell released a statement, saying in part: "Towards the end of her life, she suffered silently and I never heard her complain. I admire her for that. Her death might have been for her a salvation. But not for me. She is irreplaceable."

Autobiographical works[link]

• 1985: Die Kostbarkeit des Augenblicks. Gedanken, Erinnerungen. Langen Müller, München, ISBN 3-7844-2072-9.
• 1998: „... und wenn’s a Katz is!“ Mein Weg durchs Leben. Lübbe, Bergisch Gladbach, ISBN 3-404-12784-6.

selected filmography[link]

• Napoléon (1955)
• La Provocation (1970)
• The Twist (1976)

Further reading[link]

• Mato Weiland: Maria Schell. Die autorisierte Maria Schell-Story. Massimo-Verlag, Wien 1959 ÖNB
• Herbert Spaich: Maria Schell – ihre Filme – ihr Leben. [Heyne-Bücher, 32] Heyne-Filmbibliothek, 99, München 1986, ISBN 3-453-86101-9
• Hermann Josef Huber: Heitere Starparade. 300 Anekdoten von Hans Albers bis Maria Schell. Herder Taschenbuch Verl., Freiburg/Br., Basel, Wien 1989 UBS
• Maximilian Schell, Gero von Boehm, Thomas Montasser: Meine Schwester Maria. Europa-Verlag, Hamburg 2004, ISBN 3-203-82037-4
• Maja Keppler (Red.), Deutsches Filmmuseum [Frankfurt, Main] (Hrsg.): Maria Schell, [eine Ausstellung des deutschen Filmmuseums 31. Januar bis 17. Juni 2007 Frankfurt am Main, Juli bis Oktober 2007 auf dem Schloss Wolfsberg, Kärnten (Österreich)]. Schriftenreihe des Deutschen Filmmuseums: Kinematograph, 22, Frankfurt am Main 2006, ISBN 3-89487-551-8

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Maria Schell

• Maria Schell at the Internet Movie Database
• Obituary: Maria Schell (1926-2005)
• Photographs and literature

Yul Brynner
from the trailer for The Ten Commandments (1956)
Born	Yuliy Borisovich Bryner (1920-07-11)July 11, 1920 Vladivostok, Far Eastern Republic
Died	October 10, 1985(1985-10-10) (aged 65) New York City, New York, U.S.
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1941–85
Spouse	Virginia Gilmore (m. 1944–1960) «start: (1944)–end+1: (1961)»"Marriage: Virginia Gilmore to Yul Brynner" Location: (linkback:http://en-wiki.pop.wn.com/index.php/Yul_Brynner) (divorced) Doris Kleiner (m. 1960–1967) «start: (1960)–end+1: (1968)»"Marriage: Doris Kleiner to Yul Brynner" Location: (linkback:http://en-wiki.pop.wn.com/index.php/Yul_Brynner) (divorced) Jacqueline Thion de la Chaume (m. 1971–1981) «start: (1971)–end+1: (1982)»"Marriage: Jacqueline Thion de la Chaume to Yul Brynner" Location: (linkback:http://en-wiki.pop.wn.com/index.php/Yul_Brynner) (divorced) Kathy Lee (m. 1983–1985) «start: (1983)–end+1: (1986)»"Marriage: Kathy Lee to Yul Brynner" Location: (linkback:http://en-wiki.pop.wn.com/index.php/Yul_Brynner) (his death)
Parents	Boris Yuliyevich Bryner Marousia Dimitrievna Blagovidova

Yul Brynner (Russian: Юлий Бори�?ович Бринер, Yuliy Borisovich Bryner; July 11, 1920  – October 10, 1985)^[1] was a Russian-born stage and film actor.^[2] He was best known for his portrayal of Mongkut, king of Siam, in the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical The King and I, for which he won an Academy Award for Best Actor for the film version; 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. 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 was also a photographer and the author of two books.

Early life[link]

Yul Brynner was born Yuliy Borisovich Bryner in 1920.^[3][4] He exaggerated his background and early life for the press, claiming that he was born Taidje Khan of part-Mongol-Tatar parentage, on the Russian island of Sakhalin.^[5] In reality, he was born at home in a four-storey residence at 15 Aleutskaya Street, Vladivostok, in the Far Eastern Republic (present-day Primorsky Krai, Russia).^[6] He also occasionally referred to himself as Julius Briner,^[1] Jules Bryner, or Youl Bryner.^[3] A biography written by his son, Rock Brynner, in 1989 clarified these issues.

His father, Boris Yuliyevich Bryner, was a mining engineer whose father, Jules Bryner, was Swiss, and whose mother, Natalya Iosifovna Kurkutova, was a native of Irkutsk and was partly of Buryat Mongol ancestry.^[7] His mother, Marousia Dimitrievna (née Blagovidova), came from the intelligentsia and studied to be an actress and singer; she was the granddaughter of a doctor who had converted from Judaism to the Russian Orthodox Church.^[7]

He was also part Romani on his mother's side, and in 1977, he was named Honorary President of the International Romani Union, an office that he kept until his death.^[8][9]

Brynner's declaration of intention form for naturalization in the United States from 1943

After Boris Bryner abandoned his family, his mother took Yul and his sister, Vera Bryner, to Harbin, China, where they attended a school run by the YMCA. In 1934 she took them to Paris. By 1940, Brynner had returned to China and he emigrated from Dairen aboard the S.S. President Cleveland, arriving in the U.S. October 25, 1940.^[3] During World War II, Brynner worked as a French-speaking radio announcer and commentator for the U.S. Office of War Information, broadcasting propaganda to occupied France.^[10]

Career[link]

Yul Brynner began acting and modeling in his twenties and early in his career he was photographed nude by George Platt Lynes.^[11] After his radio work during World War II Brynner moved into the nascent television industry, directing and acting in live productions in New York. In 1949 Brynner made his film debut in Port of New York, his only film with his natural head of hair.^{[citation needed]}

His best-known role remains that of King Mongkut of Siam in the Broadway production of Rodgers and Hammerstein's musical The King and I which he played 4,525 times on stage over the span of his career. He appeared in the original production and later touring productions as well as a 1977 Broadway revival, London Production in 1979 and another Broadway revival in 1985. He also appeared in the film version for which he won an Academy Award as Best Actor and in a short-lived TV version (Anna and the King) on CBS in 1972. Brynner is one of only nine people who have won both a Tony Award and an Academy Award for the same role. His connection to the story and the role of King Mongkut is so deep he was mentioned in the song "One Night in Bangkok" from the 1984 musical Chess whose second act is set in Bangkok.

In 1951^[12] Brynner shaved his head for his role in The King and I.^[13] Following the huge success of the Broadway production and subsequent film, Brynner continued to shave his head for the rest of his life though he would sometimes wear a wig for certain roles. Brynner's shaved head was very unusual at the time and his striking appearance helped to give him an iconic appeal.^[14] Some fans shaved off their hair to emulate him,^[15] and a shaved head was often referred to as the "Yul Brynner look".^[16][17][18]

Brynner made an immediate impact upon launching his mainstream film career in 1956 and quickly gained superstar status after appearing not only in The King and I that year but also in starring roles in The Ten Commandments with Charlton Heston which remains one of the top five highest grossing films in history when adjusted for inflation and Anastasia with Ingrid Bergman. Brynner, at 5'10", was reportedly concerned about being overshadowed by Heston's height and physical presence in The Ten Commandments and prepared his impressive physique seen in the film with an intensive weight-lifting program.^{[citation needed]}

He later starred in films such as the epic Solomon and Sheba (1959), The Magnificent Seven (1960), Taras Bulba (1962) and Kings of the Sun (1963). He co-starred with Marlon Brando in Morituri (1965), Katharine Hepburn in The Madwoman of Chaillot (1969) and William Shatner in a film version of The Brothers Karamazov (1958). He played the titular role of The Ultimate Warrior (1975) and starred with Barbara Bouchet in Death Rage (1976). Among his final feature film appearances were in Michael Crichton's Westworld (1973) and its sequel Futureworld (1976). Brynner also appeared in drag (as a torch singer) in an unbilled role in the Peter Sellers comedy The Magic Christian (1969).^[19]

Photographer, author, and musician[link]

In addition to his work as a performer, Brynner was an active photographer and wrote two books. His daughter Victoria put together Yul Brynner: Photographer (ISBN 0-8109-3144-3) a collection of his photographs of family, friends, and fellow actors, as well as those he took while serving as a UN special consultant on refugees. Brynner wrote Bring Forth the Children: A Journey to the Forgotten People of Europe and the Middle East (1960) with photographs by himself and Magnum photographer Inge Morath and also The Yul Brynner Cookbook: Food Fit for the King and You (1983 ISBN 0-8128-2882-8).

A student of music from childhood, Brynner was an accomplished guitarist and singer. In his early period in Europe he often played and sang gypsy songs in Parisian nightclubs with Aliosha Dimitrievitch. He sang some of those same songs in the film The Brothers Karamazov. In 1967 he and Dimitrievitch released a record album The Gypsy and I: Yul Brynner Sings Gypsy Songs (Vanguard VSD 79265).

Personal life[link]

Brynner was married four times, the first three ending in divorce. He fathered three children and adopted two.

He and his first wife, actress Virginia Gilmore (1944–1960), had one child, Yul Brynner II, who was born on December 23, 1946. His father nicknamed him "Rock" when he was six in honor of boxer Rocky Graziano, who won the middleweight title in 1947. Rock is a historian, novelist, and university history lecturer at Marist College in Poughkeepsie, New York and Western Connecticut State University in Danbury, Connecticut. In 2006, Rock wrote a book about his father and his family history titled Empire and Odyssey: The Brynners in Far East Russia and Beyond. Rock regularly returns to Vladivostok, the city of his father's birth, for the "Pacific Meridian" Film Festival.

His daughter Lark Brynner (born 1959) was born out of wedlock and raised by her mother, Frankie Tilden, who was 20 years old when her daughter was born. Brynner supported her financially. His second wife, from 1960 to 1967, Doris Kleiner, was a Chilean model whom he married on the set during shooting of The Magnificent Seven in 1960. They had one child, Victoria Brynner (born November 1962), whose godmother was Audrey Hepburn.^[20]

His third wife, Jacqueline Thion de la Chaume^[21] (1971–1981), was a French socialite, the widow of Philippe de Croisset (the victim of a car accident; he was the son of French playwright Francis de Croisset and a publishing executive). Brynner and Jacqueline adopted two Vietnamese children: Mia (1974), and Melody (1975). The first house that he ever owned was the Manoir de Cricqueboeuf, a sixteenth-century manor house that he and Jacqueline purchased.^[21]

At the age of 63, he married his fourth wife, Kathy Lee, a 24-year-old ballerina from a small town in Malaysia whom he had met in a production of The King and I in which she had a small dancing role. They remained married for the last 2 years (1983–1985) of Brynner's life.^[22] According to Marlene Dietrich's daughter Maria Riva (as she wrote in her memoir Marlene Dietrich, 1994), he had a passionate affair with the famous actress during the first production of The King and I.

Citizenship[link]

Brynner, a Russian-born citizen, renounced his naturalized US citizenship in June 1965 at the US Embassy in Berne, Switzerland for tax reasons. He had lost his tax exemption as an American resident abroad by working too long in the U.S. and would have been bankrupted by his tax and penalty debt.^[21]

Death[link]

Plaque for Yul Brynner

Brynner died of lung cancer on October 10, 1985 in New York City, the same day as his Battle of Neretva co-star Orson Welles.

Knowing he was dying of cancer, Brynner starred in a run of farewell performances of his most famous role, The King and I, on Broadway from January 7 to June 30, 1985, with Mary Beth Peil as Anna Leonowens. His last performance marked the 4,633rd time he had played the role of the King.^[23]

Throughout his life Brynner was often 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.^[24] A clip from that interview was made into a public service announcement by the American Cancer Society and released after his death. It includes the warning "Now that I'm gone, I tell you don't smoke. Whatever you do, just don't smoke. If I could take back that smoking, we wouldn't be talking about any cancer. I'm convinced of that."^[25] This advertisement is now featured in the Body Worlds exhibition.

He is interred in France on the grounds of the Saint-Michel-de-Bois-Aubry Russian Orthodox monastery near Luzé between Tours and Poitiers.

Honors and awards[link]

Brynner has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6162 Hollywood Blvd.

Other[link]

His childhood home in Vladivostok is now a museum.

In 1952 he received the Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical for his portrayal of The King in The King and I (musical).

He won the 1956 Academy Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of the King of Siam in The King and I and made the "Top 10 Stars of the Year" list in both 1957 and 1958.

In 1985 he received a Special Tony Award honoring his 4,525 performances in The King and I.^[26]

Filmography[link]

Features:

• Port of New York (1949)
• The King and I (1956)
• The Ten Commandments (1956)
• Anastasia (1956)
• The Brothers Karamazov (1958)
• The Buccaneer (1958)
• The Journey (1959)
• The Sound and the Fury (1959)
• Solomon and Sheba (1959)
• Once More, with Feeling! (1960)
• Testament of Orpheus (1960)
• Surprise Package (1960)
• The Magnificent Seven (1960)
• Goodbye Again (1961)
• Escape from Zahrain (1962)
• Taras Bulba (1962)
• Kings of the Sun (1963)
• Flight from Ashiya (1964)
• Invitation to a Gunfighter (1964)
• Morituri (1965)
• Cast a Giant Shadow (1966)
• The Poppy Is Also a Flower (1966)
• Return of the Seven (1966)
• Triple Cross (1966)
• The Double Man (1967)
• The Long Duel (1967)
• Villa Rides (1968)
• The Picasso Summer (1969)
• The File of the Golden Goose (1969)
• Battle of Neretva (1969)
• The Madwoman of Chaillot (1969)
• The Magic Christian (1969)
• Adiós, Sabata (1971)
• The Light at the Edge of the World (1971)
• Romance of a Horsethief (1971)
• Catlow (1971)
• Fuzz (1972)
• Night Flight from Moscow (1973)
• Westworld (1973)
• The Ultimate Warrior (1975)
• Death Rage (1976)
• Futureworld (1976)

Short subjects:

• On Location with Westworld (1973)
• Lost to the Revolution (1980) (narrator)

Stage work[link]

• Twelfth Night (December 2–13, 1941) (Broadway)
• The Moon Vine (February 11–27, 1943) (Broadway)
• Lute Song (February 6 – June 8, 1946) (Broadway)
• The King and I (March 29, 1951 – December 17, 1955) (Broadway and national tour)
• Home Sweet Homer (January 4, 1976) (Broadway)
• The King and I (Revival) (May 2, 1977 – December 30, 1978) (Broadway and national tour)
• The King and I (Revival) (January 7 – June 30, 1985) (Broadway)

References[link]

Further reading[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Yul Brynner

• Yul Brynner at the Internet Broadway Database
• Yul Brynner at the Internet Movie Database
• Yul Brynner at the TCM Movie Database
• Yul Brynner at AllRovi

This article may be expanded with text translated from the corresponding article in the French Wikipedia. (June 2010) Don't speak French? Click here to read a machine-translated version of the French article. Click [show] on the right to review important translation instructions before translating. Google's machine translation is a useful starting point for translations, but translators must revise errors as necessary and confirm that the translation is accurate, rather than simply copy-pasting machine-translated text into English Wikipedia. Do not translate text that appears unreliable or low-quality. If possible, verify the text with references provided in the foreign-language article. After translating, {{Translated|fr|Alexandre Astruc}} must be added to the talk page to ensure copyright compliance. For more guidance, see Wikipedia:Translation.

Alexandre Astruc is a French film critic and film director born 13 July 1923, in Paris (France).

Before becoming a film director he was a journalist, novelist and film critic.^[1] His role in the auteur theory is his notion of the caméra-stylo or "camera-pen" and the idea that a director should wield his camera like a writer uses his pen and that he need not be hindered by traditional storytelling.

In 1994 he was awarded the René Clair Award for his whole body of film work.

Selected filmography[link]

(s) indicates films also co-scripted by Astruc

• 1949: Ulysse ou Les mauvaises rencontres also known as Aller et retour, a short film; Astruc also wrote the scenario
• 1952: The Crimson Curtain (s) (Le rideau cramoisi)
• 1952: La Putain respectueuse
• 1955: Les Mauvaises rencontres (s)
• 1957: Amour de poche
• 1958: Une vie (s)
• 1960: La proie pour l'ombre (s)
• 1962: L'Éducation sentimentale
• 1964: The Pit and the Pendulum (Le Puits et le Pendule)
• 1966: La Longue marche (s)
• 1968: Flammes sur l'Adriatique (s)

References[link]

External links[link]

• IMDb entry

This article about a French film director is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v t e

This article may be expanded with text translated from the corresponding article in the German Wikipedia. (August 2010) Don't speak German? Click here to read a machine-translated version of the German article. Click [show] on the right to review important translation instructions before translating. Google's machine translation is a useful starting point for translations, but translators must revise errors as necessary and confirm that the translation is accurate, rather than simply copy-pasting machine-translated text into English Wikipedia. Do not translate text that appears unreliable or low-quality. If possible, verify the text with references provided in the foreign-language article. After translating, {{Translated|de|Bernhard Wicki}} must be added to the talk page to ensure copyright compliance. For more guidance, see Wikipedia:Translation.

Bernhard Wicki (28 October 1919 in St. Pölten, Austria – 5 January 2000 in Munich) was an Austrian actor and film director.

Wicki studied in the city of Breslau such topics as Art History, History und German Literature. In 1938, he transferred to the Schauspielschule des Staatlichen Schauspielhauses (drama school) in Berlin. In 1939, because of his membership in the Bündischen Jugend he was imprisoned for many months in the Sachsenhausen concentration camp. After his release he moved to Vienna, and then in 1944 to Switzerland.

After the end of World War II, he starred in many films, like Die letzte Brücke (1953) and Es geschah am 20. Juli (1955). He was also a photographer. His first attempt at directing came three years later with the documentary Warum sind sie gegen uns? (1958). He became internationally famous with his anti-war film of 1959 called Die Brücke, which was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.^[1] In 1961, he won the Silver Bear for Best Director at the 11th Berlin International Film Festival for his film The Miracle of Father Malachia.^[2]

After his death, a fund was started in 2001 and named after him in Munich, the Bernhard Wicki Memorial Fund. Since 2002, it has awarded a film prize, The Bridge, considered a peace prize. A further prize was endowed in 2006 with 15,000 euros, a prize given in the city of Emden since 2000. He was a patron of the International Film Festival in Emden-Norderney which first started in 1990.

He first married Agnes Fink, a fellow acting colleague, and later married Elisabeth Endriss, also a colleague. In the documentary Verstörung - und eine Art von Poesie (June, 2007), Elisabeth Wicki-Endriss portrayed the life and work for Wicki.

He is buried at the Nymphenburger cemetery in Munich (grave number 4-1-23).

Filmography[link]

• 1954: The Eternal Waltz
• 1955: Children, Mother, and the General
• 1956: Weil du arm bist, mußt du früher sterben
• 1958: Warum sind sie gegen uns?
• 1959: Die Brücke (The Bridge)
• 1961: La notte (The Night)
• 1961: Das Wunder des Malachias
• 1962: The Longest Day (with others)
• 1964: Der Besuch (The Visit)
• 1965: Morituri
• 1967: Madeleine und der Legionär
• 1971: Das falsche Gewicht
• 1971: Karpfs Karriere
• 1971: Carlos
• 1977: Die Eroberung der Zitadelle
• 1977: Derrick - Season 4, Episode 3: "Eine Nacht im Oktober"
• 1978: The Left-Handed Woman
• 1980: La mort en direct
• 1980: Derrick - Season 7, Episode 9: "Zeuge Yuroski"
• 1984: Die Grünstein-Variante
• 1984: Paris, Texas
• 1987: Sansibar oder Der letzte Grund
• 1989: Das Spinnennetz

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• Peter Zander: Bernhard Wicki. Bertz + Fischer Verlag, Berlin 1995, 2. überarbeitete Auflage, ISBN 3-929470-04-7
• Richard Blank: Jenseits der Brücke. Bernhard Wicki. Ein Leben für den Film, 1999 ISBN 3-430-11473-X
• Andreas Weber (ed.): Er kann fliegen lassen. Gespräche und Texte über Bernhard Wicki. Literaturedition Niederösterreich, St. Pölten 2000, ISBN 3-901117-47-4
• Filmfestival Nordrhein-Westfalen (Hrsg.): Sanftmut und Gewalt - Der Regisseur und Schauspieler Bernhard Wicki. Filmographie, Biographie, Essays, Interview. Mit Beiträgen von Robert Fischer (Vorwort), Alexander Kluge, Laurens Straub, Wilhelm Roth, Friedrich Dürrenmatt, Hans Abich, Gunther Witte, Hermann Barth. edition filmwerkstatt, Essen 2004, ISBN 3-9807175-6-9
• Inka Graeve Ingelmann (Hrsg.): Bernhard Wicki. Fotografien. Dumont Literatur und Kunst Verlag, Köln 2005, Gebunden, ISBN 3-8321-7570-9, Ausstellungskatalog
• Elisabeth Endriss-Wicki: Die Filmlegende Bernhard Wicki. Verstörung - und eine Art von Poesie. Henschel Verlag, Berlin 2007, ISBN 978-3-89487-589-3
• Michel Quint, "Die schrecklichen Gärten". btb-Verlag 2002, ISBN 3-442-75068-7 (Übersetzung von Elisabeth Edl), Original edition: "Effroyables Jardins", Editions Joelle Losfeld, Paris 2000

External links[link]

• Bernhard Wicki in the German National Library catalogue (German)
• Bernhard Wicki at the Internet Movie Database
• Photographs and literature