Site officiel de l'Abbaye Royale Saint-Michel de Bois-Aubry

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A. HISTORY
 

A1. THE ABBEY'S BEGINNINGS

 

Numérous préhistoric and Gallo-Roman (Roman "villa" and paths) sites and objects have been found around the Royal Abbey of Bois-Aubry, but we believe, per Christian GILBERT, that the origin of the Royal Abbey Saint-Michel of Bois-Aubry can be situated in the years 1110-1120 when a hermit, named "Robert l'Ermite", accompagnied by his disciples Alverède and Guillaume, came to settle in  "Sancti Michaelis lucizencis" or "Bosco Alberici " ( "Bois d'Alberic", hence the derivative name: "Bois-Aubry")

 

 
1. A.B.A., Ornamental bracket, south arm of the transept, west side (Photo MOG,march 2009)
 

Robert l’Ermite acquired the land from the lord Brice du Chillou. The year 1131 is the earliest date we can document for the hermitage. At that time, Robert received a mill from lord Gilbert de Chougnes.  The document accompanied this donation formally attests to the existence at that time of an hermitage site consisting of "beautiful buildings" ...

 

2. A.B.A., Chapter house, third century Roman column  (Photo A.S., private coll.)
 

As the community grew, Robert l'Ermite ceded its lands to the ’Abbey of the Sainte Trinité of Tiron (an Abbey founded in 1114 by St Bernard of Abbeville on the banks of the Thironne to Thiron Gardais in Eure-et-Loir). This transfer, effected before 1135, was ratified in the year 1135 by Lord Brice du Chillou in a document called "Charter of the founding of the Priory of Bois-Aubry" (Charter CCXIII) contained in the Cartulaire of the Abbey of Tiron. This act, which established the oratory of Saint-Michel de Luze as the Priory of Tiron, in effect just confirms the previous gifts made by Brice Chillou to Robert l'Ermite. In 1138, Guillaume, abbot of Tiron, raised the Saint-Michel de Luze Priory to the status of an  Abbey (Charter CCXXI, Cartulaire of the Abbey of Tiron).

 

3. & 4. The cover of a reference book on historical, cultural and artistic aspects of the regions, « La Touraine archéologique » (R. Ranjard), shows the 12th century apse with 13th. century modification and the 15th.century bell tower of the Royal Abbey of Bois-Aubry. (1930 and 1968 editions) | 5.Cartulaire of the Abbey of the Holy Trinity of Tiron | 6. A.B.A., postcard of the Royal Abbey of Bois-Aubry (Private coll.)

 

A2. THE EREMITIC AND CENOBITIC MINDS
 

Most of the documents relating to the Royal Abbey of Bois-Aubry have disappeared (an act of 1606 states that "the abbey and its holdings have been ravaged several times, looted and burned by the Huguenots"), but the Abbey of  Saint-Michel is mentioned once in a charter of Pope Eugene III in 1147 (Charter CCXCIi) and is mentioned as a possession of Tiron by Pope Alexander III in 1177 (Charter cccxxvi). Finally, some documents do remain which relate to property donated to the Abbey or otherwise acquired by it over the centuries which relate to land, meadows, woods, mills, buildings, rents, tithes and revenues.  These documents suggest that the Royal Abbey of Bois-Aubry, while it acquired various outlaying properties over the centuries, was essentially a local affair.

 

7. A.B.A., ornamental brackets, first bay of the nave, north side(Photo MOG, march 2009)
 

Having evolved from an eremitic outlook to a cenobitic one, the small community of the Abbey of Luzé, now more a part of the Abbey of Tiron than of the diocese of Tours, began to strictly enforces the Rule de St Benoît (St Benedict). This didn't prevent them, however, from forming spiritual relationships with neighboring abbeys, such as those established under an agreement dealing with prayers and funeral services with the Abbey of Notre-Dame de Noyers (Nouâtres).

 

8. Cartulaire of the Abbey of Noyers, S.A.T. (Photo MOG)
 

In the 14th.century certain religious institutions under the Abbey of Tiron sought to escape its authority, but the Royal Abbey of Bois-Aubry continued to submit to its authority. Its first challenge to Tiron did not occure until 1484, when Louis de la Pause, replacing Annet Lestrac as head of the Abbey, quarreled with the abbot of Tiron Léonet Grimault, over his combining the duties of the Abbot of Bois-Aubry with those of the prior of Our Lady of Bacqueville in Caux...

 

9. A.B.A., Chapter house (Photo MOG, march 2009)
 

We know the names of thirty abbots of Bois-Aubry.  Note that beginning in the mid 16th. century, the abbots were normally no longer part of the congregation instead dedicating themselves to accumulating more and more profitable benefices... These include Antoine II of Crevant (1514-1531), Renaud de Saint Julien (1531-1544) or Pierre de la Baume le Blanc (1576-1592), the latter being both Queen's chaplain, Abbot of Béhuart in Brittany, Bishop of Saint-Flour and ... Abbot of Bois-Aubry.  They received income from their post without necessarily maintaining a presence, and in the 17th. century, while most of the Benedictine abbeys of Touraine adherede to the  new rules, the Abbey of Bois-Aubry would not adhere to the reforms of Saint Maur, which applied to Tiron (1629) ... The contemplative life gradually disappeared replaced by curiale duties in neighboring parishes.

 

10. A.B.A., 1544 epitaph in the transept of the Abbey (Photo)
 
This is not the place to list all the abbots of Bois-Aubry, but let us make mention of the Abbot Charles de Ronsard, brother of the poet Pierre de Ronsard.  Already the prior of St Côme (Tours), he became one of the last regular abbots Bois-Aubry (1544).  Finally, we emphasize here that several monks of the Abbey participated under the reign of Henry VIII, in the development of the law text, the Coutume de Touraine.
11. A.B.A., entrance to the cloister near the missing bays of the Abbey(Photo)
A3. WAR AND DESTRUCTION
 

Over the centuries, the Royal Abbey of Bois-Aubry underwent waves of destruction (fire, pillage, and other scourges..) followed by partial reconstructions (for example, royal intervention in the 15th.century by King Louis XI, whose symbol, the "fleur de lys" is carved on a pendant of the rood screen).  It did not escape the events that shook the region, especially during the Hundred Years War (1337-1453) - the English took the nearby Isle Bouchard in 1359, the Gascons took Faye la Vineuse in 1369; events in Chinon in 1375; events Loudun in 1380 - and the Wars of Religion (16th.century) - fighting at the Bec-des-Deux-Eaux from  1585 to 1595; pillage of the Abbey of Noyers in 1589; invasion of Faye la Vineuse in 1593 -.

12. A.B.A.,15th.century fortifications (Photo MOG, june 2007) | 13. A.B.A., 15th.century fortifications (Photo MOG, june 2007)
 

Following a gradual decline in terms of spirituality, staffing and income, and after the Revolution of 1789, the congregation of Bois-Aubry was evicted and the buildings became the property of the state ("Nation").   It was acquired in 1792 by Philippe Bernier, a gold merchant in Richelieu. The Abbey became a farm... The gradual transformation of the buildings, no longer a House of God but turned to  agricultural use, left the Abbey in deplorable condiation...

 

The Royal Abbey of Bois-Aubry was classified a historical monument in 1944, but this long overdue classification wasnot enough, and looting, destruction and neglect continued.

 

The acquisition of the Abbey by the "SCI of the Orthodox Church of France "and the"Catholic and Orthodox Cultual Association of the Abbey Saint-Michel and Saint Martin" in 1978, ended the too long agricultural exploitation of the site.

 

Finally, we acquired the Abbey in September 2006 .
14. A.B.A., the church tower and gatehouse ("Porterie") (Photo MOG, march 2009) | 15. A.B.A., print (Private coll.) | 16. A.B.A., post card(Private coll) | 17. A.B.A., ornamental bracket (Photo MOG, march 2009)
 
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*See : GILBERT, Ch., « L’Abbaye Saint-Michel de Bois-Aubry », in Bulletin Archéologique des Travaux historiques et Scientifiques, nouvelle série 19, 1983, Fascicule A Antiquités Nationales, Paris 1987, p 7 à 68 ; GILBERT, Ch., « Une abbaye tironienne en Touraine : Saint-Michel de Bois-Aubry au XIIe siècle », in Bulletin Monumental, Société française d’archéologie, T.151-I, 1993, Paris, p139 à 167 ; RANJARD, R., La Touraine Archéologique, Maillocheau, Tours, 1930, p.414 à 419. BOSSEBOEUF, L.-A., Richelieu et ses environs, 1890, rééd. Res Universis, Paris, 1990.

B. ART
 
B1. ARCHITECTURE : HISTORICAL STAGES OF CONSTRUCTION/DESTRUCTION/RECONSTRUTION
 

Architecturally and artistically, the Royal Abbey of Bois-Aubry is a masterpiece.

 

As mentioned above, the first foundation stone of the chapel was probably laid in the years 1110-1120 by Robert l'Ermite. Then, the Oratory became the Priory and the Priory itself, the Abbey. This latter incarnation endured over the centuries, through cycles of  construction and destruction (burning, looting, etc..) and sccessive partial reconstructions.

 

As reported by Christian GILBERT *, the material is essentially a high-quality tuffeau (a local stone), "rich in organic and inorganic components, that dates from the second era of the Upper Cretaceous, Turonian stage".  The  facing stones are of varying size, usually from 20 to 28 cm high and 33 to 55cm long.

 

 
18. A.B.A., sunset over the Abbaye (Photo C. VDH., oct. 2008) | 19. A.B.A.,view of the oculus of the church tower vault, 15th.century (Photo MOG, April 2008)
 
The various phases of construction and destruction can be summarized as follows:
 
1. In the late 12th. century the ensemble included the abbey (with the Romanesque nave, the choir, the semi-circular aps and semi-circular apsidal chapels capped by a vault in the form of quarter sphere,  the spiral staircase and central tower -now vanished), the sacristy, the chapter house, monks' dormitoryrefectory and kitchen; the front of the abbey church itself dates back to the late 12th.century;
20. A.B.A., cloister, view from the chapter house in the snow (Photo MOG, jan 2009)
2. 13th. and 14th. centuries: the monks rebuild the apse (which became a flat apse at the end of the thirteenth century), the apsidial chapels (flat foundation in the bottom in the 14th.century) and nave were raised; the north wall of the lay brothers' quarters dates to the 14th.century ...
 
3. 15th.century : fortification of the entire Abbey, including the gate house (Porterie) and the Priors chambers (vaulted hall); construction of the rood screen in the latter half of the 15th.century, construction of the exterior bell tower and of part of the now-ruined facade of the abbey; the southern wall of the kitchens also date from the 15th. century.
21. A.B.A., ruined facade(Photo MOG, april 2008)
4. 16th. century: no new construction appears to have taken place.  The existing buildings were maintained, although it is  likely that during the late 16th. century some buildings were damaged during the wars of religion.  In the following decades, the kitchens and refectory were destroyed ...
 
5. 17th.-18th. centuries : a carriage door was created in the remaining north wall of the refectory.  The buttresses of the nave were dubled, and an internal partition wall closed the nave at the second bay; the Prior's Chambers were partially filled in.
22. A.B.A., Cloister's portal (Photo MOG, april 2008)
6.Late 20th.century: a growing desire to restore the Abbey to its original state; restoration of the bell tower; partial restoration of the north apsidal chapel (window tracery) and the chapter house. Part of the nave, the south arm of the transept, the chapter house and the monks'corridor were shored up (stabilization / safety).
 

*GILBERT, Ch., « Une abbaye tironienne en Touraine : Saint-Michel de Bois-Aubry au XIIe siècle », op.cit., p.165.

B2. THE ABBAYE AS A WORK OF ART
 

The Abbey, whose foundations date back to the early 12th.century, has many special artistic and architectural features including:
- the traditional latin cross plan;
25. Abbaye de Bois-Aubry, 12th.century Latin cross plan with choir an semi-circular apsidal chapels
 

- a single nave with four bays (initially 24.5 m. x 7.1 m., now reduced to 12.5 m x 7.1 m) two of which have been shortened; an internal partition wall at the level of the second bay; a ruined facade at the fourth bay. Within the first two bays, splayed window openings with semi-circular arches (filled in) lacking projections, topped by a raised course accentuated by a hollowed moulding; interior support (pilasters ending in corbels columns with or without figures capitals fitted into dossets and supported by plinths) and external supports (buttresses) once held up a broken barrel vault, wich later became a cross-ribbed vault; a beautiful door looking out on the cloister; thick masonry (1,3 to 1,5 m); a cornice supported by ornamental brackets; a burial vault;

26. Capital in the nave appears through the internal partition wall, second bay | 27. Bay of the nave, north side | 28. Buttresses of southern bays and internal partition wall
 

- a transept (interior measurqements: 21.3 mx 6.1 m) with a broken barrel vault (11.5 m) rising above a moulded cordon; the crossing topped by a ribbed vault with a pendant (bischop's crook). On the west side of the south arm of the transept an arched doorway on to the cloister bordered by a scrolled-shaped archivolt. Over the door is a semi-circular window bounded by a torus; an exterior cornice with ornamental brackets. At the end of the south arm of the transept, there is a door leading to the sacristy, surmounted by a high, splayed bay, on an incline furnished with stone steps, and a second door leading to the stairway to the monks'dormitory. In the northern arm of the transept, two doors, one leading to the exterior tower, and the other (carriage gateway) leading outside. On can also see canopied niches, unfortunately filled in;

29. Canopied niche, south arm of tansept, detail | 30. Epitaph, 1596, in the crossing of the Transept, detail (Photo MOG, April 2008)
 
- a Gothic apsidal chapel grafted onto each arm of the transept. There is a Romanesque pointed arch on impost abutments. Originally in hemicycles and semi-domes, the chapels were reworked into rectangles and topped by diagonal ribs with a pendant (representing the "Lamb of God" in the nothern chapel); they are also various columns fitted with figured capitals depicting foliage, windows tracery in the form of quatrefoils, ornamental brackets supporting the cornices, and the southern absidal chapel, a basin. Some pigments are still visible;
31. A.B.A. coloured capital, southern absidal chapel, detail (Phot MOG, April 2008)| 32. Basin, southern absidal chapel (Photo MOG, April 2008)
 
- 12th.century circular staircase adjacent to the choir and the northern apsidal chapel;
33. Spiral staircase from the 12th. century and window tracery of the northern apsidal chapel (Photo MOG,dec. 2008)
 
- a choir (apse), initially semi-circular and topped with a quarter-sphere vault later modified with a bay and flat chevet; engaged pilars (Response) and figured capitals depicting foliage; diagonal ribs and a pendant (à "tête de feuille gothique"); a basin;
34. Pendant ofthe arch of the choir, Tête de feuille gothique, detail (Photo MOG, april 2008)
 
- a juba (chancel or rood screen) with three bays, including a 15th. century Gothic lavabo-basin, niche, pinnacles, cornice- qith diagonal ribs with pendant the royal escutcheon;
35. Juba, pendant, Dauphin, the future Charles VIII, detail (Photo MOG April 2008)
 

-15th.century exterior square Church tower; angular buttresses; hexagonal stairway turret with corona overhangs between floors; interior vaults with bull's eye window (oculus), diagonal ribs over four figurative brackets: terrace with a parapet and corner turrets; recessed hexagonal stone spire (13 meters); large bays;
36. 15th century exterior churh tower (Photo MOG, april 2008)| 37. 15th.century bell tower, southest corner turret and octogonal stairway tower, detail (Photo MOG)
 

-Chapter house, with an arched doorway; divided semi-circular bays with a series of small columns; two naves with three bays each; engaged pilars, cross-ribbed vaults, a pair of central colomns including a curved monolithic columns from Roman times (3rd. century); 30 capitals with diverse motifs including one historiated (the "tree of knowledge" or "temptation"); a clerics' bench; a funerary slab (commemorating William, 1326);
38. Chapter house, capital. (Photo MOG, April 2008)| 39. Chapter house , row of small colums, detail (Photo MOG, April 2008)| 40. Chapter house, historiated capital, "Tree of knowledge", detail (Photo MOG) 41. Chapter house, snow, detail. (Photo MOG, Jan 2009)| 42. Chapter house, detail (Photo MOG June 2008)
 
-Monks'dormitory; room called "Jeanne's room" (Chambre de Jeanne/Jeanne d'Arc?) with ribs over four brackets, two of which are figurative;
43. "Jeanne's room", ornamental bracket with carved figure (Photo MOG, April 2008)
 
- Cloister with arcade and well ;
44. Cloister portal (Photo MOG, April 2008)
 
- "Hôstellerie des Convers" (lay brothers'quarters), with fireplace:
45. Hôtel des Convers, view from the cloister, southeast side (Photo MOG, Jan. 2008)| 46. Hôtel des Convers, north side (Photo MOG may 2008)
 

- Other buildings: sacristy, monks'corridor, kitchens (ruined and not accessible for security reasons), fortified vaulted room or unknown usage(called the "Chambre du Prieur "), Gatehouse (Porterie), wells, fortifications including arrow-and musket-slits, various annexes.

47. Fortified section, 15th.century, southeast side (Photo MOG, June 2007)| 48. Fortified section, 15th.century, musket-slit, detail (Photo MOG, April 2008)| 49. 15th.century fortifications, site of former refectory, kitchens (Photo MOG, April 2008)| 50. Kitchens, vieuw from the southside, arrow-slit filled in to musket-slit (Photo MOG)
 
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B3. LOOTING, DESTRUCTION, NEGLECT OVER THE LAST CENTURY
 

As mentioned above, widespread looting, destruction and neglect have spanned the life of the Royal Abbey of Bois-Aubry. Classification of the Abbey as Historical Monument in 1944 slowed the pace of the devastation, but it was not enough to stop it for good.

 

 
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C. YUL BRYNNER
 

Yul Brynner died on October 10 1985, in New York. His ashes were deposited in the private cemetery of the Royal Abbey of Saint-Michel de Bois-Aubry (Luzé).
 
C1. BIOGRAPHY SUMMARY*
 

Yul Brynner**, who always maintained a mystery about its origins, was probably born in Vladivostok (Russia) on 11 July 1920 **, of a Swiss father of Mongolian extraction (Boris Brynner, an engineer) and Russian or Romanian mother (Marousia Blagovidova). He was named "Juli" in memory of his paternal grandfather, Jules Brynner.

53. Yul Brynner as Ramses II in The ten commandements (1956)
 

When his father abandoned the family in 1927, Yul was sent to Manchuria (China / Harbin), to pursue his studies. In the early 1930's, he settled in France (Paris) where he began his professional career by singing and playing the guitar at fairs and in nightclubs. He met various intellectuals, including Jean Cocteau, and became an apprentice at the Théâtre des Mathurins. Attracted by the circus, he worked first backstage, then as an as an acrobat, mime and trapeze artist at the prestigious Cirque d'Hiver. After an accident, he was forced to leave the show, and he briefly took up his studies again while supporting himself with odd jobs

 

54. Vladivostok, house where Yul Brynner was born (Photo Rock Brynner, site : http://rockbrynner.com)
 
55. Le testament d'Orphée, a film of Jean Cocteau with Yul Brynner | 56. Yul Brynner performing gypsy music| 57. Portrait of Yul Brynner
 

Near the end of 1930's, Brynner followed his friend, the great actor Michael Chekhov, to London. He accompanied Chekhov to the United States in 1941. The same year, he became enamored of the actress Virginia Gilmore (the heroine of Fritz Lang's film Western Union) whom he married three years later. It was also at this time that he made his Broadway debut as "Youl" Brynner. With World War II raging, he was on the radio working for the Office of U.S. Military Information and was on The Voice of America along with André Breton, Julien Green and Charles Boyer, doing broadcasts to support the morale of allied troops in Europe.

 

 
A year after the war ended, he was aooearubg in the Broadway play "Lute Song" (1946) with Mary Martin. He played an important role in the new musical "Dark eyes" at the Stand Theater in London. This was followed by several television series.  In 1949, he made his film debut in a detective movie, Laslo Benedek's "The drug squad".  In 1951, as King Mongkut of Siam, he costarred with Gertrude Lawrence in the Broadway musical  "The King and I" by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein, for which he won a Tony Award for best supporting actor in a Musical. The play, for which he shaved his head, had a long run and was made into a movie in 1956 by Walter Lang. Yul Brynner won an Oscar for Best Actor for this role, along Deborah Kerr and Rita Moreno (1957).
58. Yul Brynner in the role of King of Siam in the film "The king and I"
 
59. Taras Bulba (1962) - Yul Brynner in the role of Taras Bulba | 60. The Ten Commandments (1956) - Yul Brynner in the role of Ramses II| 61. Salomon and Sheba (1959) - Yul Brynner in the role of King Salomon
 
63. The Journey (1959) | 64. Yul Brynner in his role of the King of Siam| 65. The Magnificent Seven (1960)
 
66. Anastasia (1956) - Yul Brynner as General Bounine | 67. Yul Brynner and Marlon Brando in Morituri (1965)
 

Brynner was now embarked on a career that would last for decades (see "Filmography" below) as star of great epics.  During this period, he played famous roles as diverse as the Pharaoh Ramses II alongside Charlton Heston (Moses) in "The Ten Commandments" (1956), Bounine alongside Ingrid Bergman in "Anastasia" (1956), Dimitri Karamazov alongside Maria Schell in "The Brothers Karamazov" (1958), Solomon alongside Gina Lollobrigida in "Solomon and Sheba" (1959), the heroic Chris Adams alongside Steve McQueen, Charles Bronson, James Coburn and Robert Vaughin in "The Magnificent Seven " (1960), Taras Boulba alongside Tony Curtis in "Taras Boulba" (1961), a warrior hero with Kirk Douglas, Frank Sinatra and John Wayne in "Cast a Giant shadow"(1966) and with Romy Shneider and Chrisopher Plummer in" Triple Cross "(1966).   Not forgetting the films with Marlon Brando, Charlotte Rampling, Trevor Howard, George Shakiris, Richard Widmark, Rita Haywort, Trevor Howard, Marcello Mastroianni, Robert Mitchum, Curd Jürgens, Orson Welles, Katharine Hepburn, Richard Chamberlain, and so on.  In the seventies, Yul Brynner was in the television adaptation of "The King and I" (1972) and gradually moved away from the movies, although he continued to appear in numerous films with great actors like Burt Reynolds, Raquel Welch, Kirk Douglas, etc...

 

68. Yul Brynner
 

Family: Yul Brynner had four wives and five children.  In 1944 he married Virginia Gilmore (actor), with whom he had a son: Yul Jr. (1946). In the early 1950s, he had a romantic relationship with Marlene Dietrich. In 1960, he divorced to remarry the same year the model Doris Kleiner with whom he had a daughter, Victoria (1962), whose godmother was Audrey Hepburn. After a divorce in 1967, he married Jacqueline de Croisset (France) with whom he adopted two girls born in Vietnam, Mia (1974) and Melody (1975).  He divorced again in 1981 and married Kathy Lee (dancer) in 1983, with whom he remained until his death in 1985.  He also had a child born out of wedlock, Lark (1958), raised by his mother. Yul Brynner was the godfather of the writer Nathalie Rheims, and the actress Charlotte Gainsbourg.

 

69. Picture of Charlotte Gainsbourg, daughter of Jane Birkin and Serge Gainsbourg, a Yul's godchild
 

Yul Brynner died in New York on October 10, 1985. His ashes were interred in France, in the private cemetery of the Royal Abbey  of Saint-Michel de Bois-Aubry (Indre-et-Loire, Luzé)

 

70. South side, a few steps from the cemetery of the abbey where the ashes of Yul Brynner are interred.
 

Yul Brynner was an excellent photographer, and he played and sang gypsy music well. He was a huge fan of Michael Jackson.  He had a star on the "Hollywood Walk of Fame" at 6162 Hollywood Boulevard.  He remains one of moviedom's most fascinating, mysterious and popular stars.  The great poet and singer Serge Gainsbourg, in his own inimitable way, sang: "The ballroom will soon be bare, like Yul Brynner's head ..." (from the song: "Relax Baby Be Cool")

 

 
For more information or reservations, click this link
For the Gîtes, see also the website: www.abbayedeboisaubry.eu 

*Subject of various investigations in progress

**Name (Juli Borisovitch or Yul Brynner or Taidje Khan) and the date and place of birth of Yul Brynner (July 7, 1915 on Sakhalin Island and in Vladivostok on July 1920) vary depending on the source. His son, Rock on its website http://www.rockbrynner.com/ "clearly refers to the date of 1920, the city (Vladivostok) and Yul's birthplace (family house).

 

C2. FILMOGRAPHY AND MORE...
 

The following is a summary of Yul Brynner's acting career. Plays and television series are not listed below.

Yul Brynner also worked as an artistic director and producer...

You can find more information on various websites.

 

 
• 1949 : «Port of New Tork » de László Benedek, with Scott Brady, Richard Rober, K.T. Stevens.
   
• 1956 : «The, King And I » by Walter Lang, starring Deborah Kerr and Rita Moreno.
   
• 1956 : « The Ten Commandments » by C.B. DeMille, starring Charlton Heston, Anne Baxter, John Derek, et al.
   
• 1956 : « Anastasia» by Anatole Litvak starring Ingrid Bergman, Helen Hayes, and Akim Tamiroff .
   
• 1958 : «The Brothers Karamazov» by Richard Brooks, starring Maria Schell, Claire Bloom, Lee Cob, Albert Salmi.
   
• 1958 : «The Buccanneer » by Anthony Quinn, starring Claire Bloom, Charles Boyer, Inger Stevens.
   
  • 1959 : «The Journey » by Anatole Litvak, starring Deborah Kerr.
   
• 1959 : «The Sound and the Fury » by Martin Ritt starring Joanne Woodward, Margaret Leighton, Stuart Whitman.
   
• 1959 : «Salomon and Sheba » by King Vidor, starring Gina Lollobrigida and George Sanders.
   
• 1959 : «Testament of Orpheus» by Jean Cocteau, starring Jean Cocteau, Edouard Dermit, Henri Cremieux, Maria Casares and François Perier.
   
• 1960 : «Once More, with Feeling » by Stanley Donen starring Kay Kendall, Gregory Ratoff, Harry Lockart, Mervyn Johns, Shirley Ann Field, Martin Benson.
   
• 1960 : «Surprise Package » by Stanley Donen starring Mitzi Gaynor, Bill Nagy, Eric Pohlmann, Barry Foster, Lionel Murton, Alf Dean, George Coulouris, Noel Coward, Warren Mitchell, Guy Deghy, Lyndon Brook, Kenneth Warren, Carol White.
   
• 1960 : «The Magnificent Seven» by John Sturges, staring Steve McQueen, Charles Bronson, James Coburn, Eli Wallach, Robert Vaughin, Brad Dexter.
   
  • 1961 : «Goodbye Again » by Anatole Litvak, starring Ingrid Bergman, Anthony Perkins, Yves Montand, Françoise Sagan, Sacha Distel, Daniel Cauchy, Françoise Brion, Jean-Pierre Cassel, Moustache, Maurice Druon.
   
• 1962 : «Escape from Zahrain» by Ronald Neame starring Anthony Caruso, Sal Mineo, Jay Novello, Madlyn Rhue, Leonard Strong, Jack Warden, James Mason, Chris Munson, Vladimir Sokoloff.
   
• 1962 : «Taras Bulba» by J. Lee Thompson, starring Tony Curtis, Brad Dexter, Sam Wanamaker, Perry Lopez, Guy Rolfe, etc.
   
• 1963 : «Kings of the Sun » by J. Lee Thompson starring George Chakiris, Shirley Anne Field, Richard Basehart, Brad Dexter, Leo Gordon, Barry Morse, Armando Silvestre, Victoria Vetri, Rudy Solari, Ford Rainey, José Moreno, Angel Di Steffano, Chuck Hayward.
   
  • 1964 : «Flight from Ashiya » by M.Anderson starring Richard Widmark , George Chakiris , Suzy Parker, Shirley Knight, Joe Di Reda, Mitsuhiro Sugiyama, Andrew Hughes, Danièle Gaubert, E.S. Ince.
   
• 1964 : «Invitation to a Gunfighter » by Richard Wilson starring Brad Dexter, Alfred Ryder Janice Rule, George Segal.
   
• 1965 : «Morituri» by Bernhard Wicki, starring Marlon Brando.
   
• 1966 : «Cast a Giant Shadow » by Melville Shavelson, starring Kirk Douglas, John Wayne, Frank Sinatra.
   
• 1966 : «The Poppy is Also aflower » by Terence Young starring Senta Berger, Stephen Boyd, Angie Dickinson, Georges Géret, Hugh Griffith, Jack Hawkins, Rita Haywort, Trevor Howard, Jocelyn Lane, Trini Lopez, E.G. Marshall, Marcello Mastroianni, Amedeo Nazzari, Jean-Claude Pascal, Anthony Quayle, Gilbert Roland, Harold Sakata, Omar Sharif, Barry Sullivan, Nadja Tiller, Howard Vernon et Eli Wallach.
   
• 1966 : «Return of the Seven » by Burt Kennedy, starring Warren Oates, Robert Fuller, Claude Akins, Jordan Christopher et Julian Mateos.
   
• 1966 : «Triple Cross » by Terence Young, starring Romy Schneider, Chrisopher Plummer, Trevor Howard, Gert Froebe.
   
• 1967 : «The Double Man » by Franklin J. Schaffner starring Britt Ekland, Clive Revill, Anton Driffing.
   
• 1967 : «The Long Duel » by Ken Annakin, starring Charlotte Rampling et Trevor Howard.
   
• 1968 : «Pancho Villa» («Villa Rides») by Buzz Kulik starring Robert Mitchum, Maria Grazia Buccella, Charles Bronson, Herbert Lom, Robert Viharo, Frank Wolff, Alexander Knox, Bob Carricart, Fernando Rey, Diana Lorys, José Maria Prada, Antonio Ruiz, Jill Ireland, John Ireland, Julio Pena, Andrès Monreal, Regina de Julyan.
   
• 1969 : «The battle of Neretva (Bitka na Neretvi » by Veljko Bulajic starring Sergei Bondarchuk, Milena Dravic, Anthony Dawson, Boris Dvornik, Curd Jürgens, Franco Nero, Hardy Krüger, Sylva Koscina, Howard Ross, Orson Welles, Lojze Rozman, Ljubisa Samardzic, Oleg Vidov, Velimir Zivojinovic.
   
• 1969 : «The File of the Gold Goose » by S.Wanamaker, starring Charles Gray, John Barrie, Edward Woodward.
   
• 1969 : «The Madwoman of Chaillot » by Bryan Forbes starring Katharine Hepburn, Paul Henreid, Richard Chamberlain, Edith Evans, Oskar Homolka, Donald Pleasence, Henri Virlojeux, John Gavin, Nanette Newman, Gerald Sim, Gilles Ségal, Danny Kaye, Margaret Leighton, Giulietta Masina, Charles Boyer, Claude Dauphin, Fernand Gravey.
   
• 1971 : «Adios Sabata » by Gianfranco Parolini, astarringvec Lee Van Cleef, Ignazio Spalla, and Gerard Herter .
   
• 1971 : «The Light at the Edge of the World » by Billington, starring Kirk Douglas, Samantha Eggar, and Jean-Claude Drouot.
   
• 1971 : «Roman of a Horsethief » by A. Polonsky starring Eli Wallach, Jane Birkin, Serge Gainsbourg and Lainie Kazan.
   
• 1971 : «Catlow» by Sam Wanamaker starring Richard Crenna, Leonard Nimoy, Daliah Lavi, Jo Ann Pflug, Jeff Corey, Michael Delano, Bessie Love, José Nieto, Victor Israel, Tito Garcia, Rafael Albaicin, Angel del Pozo, John Clark, Cass Martin, Robert Logan.
   
• 1972 : «Fuzz» by Richard A. Colla, starring Raquel Welch, Burt Reynolds, Jack Weston, Tom Skerritt.
   
  • 1972 : «Anna and the King » .
   
• 1973 : «Le Serpent» by Henri Verneuil starring Henry Fonda, Philippe Noiret.
   
• 1973 : «Westworld» by Michael Crichton , starring James Brolin, Norman Bartold, Alan Oppenheimer, Richard Benjamin.
   
• 1975 : «The Ultimate Warrior » by Robert Clouse Max von Sydow, Joanna Miles, William Smith, Richard Kelton, Stephen McHattie, Darrell Zwerling, Lane Bradbury, Nate Esformes, Mel Novak.
   
• 1976 : «L'Ombre d'un Tueur» by'Antonio Margheriti, starring Barbara Bouchet, Martin Balsam, et Massimo Ranieri .
   
• 1976 : «Futureworld» by Richard T. Heffron starring Arthur Hill, Peter Fonda, Blythe Danner.
   
  • 1982 : «Lost to the revolution» by Forbes. Yul Brynner is narrator.
   

In the early eighties, Yul Brynner learned he had lung cancer due to excessive moking.  He made a short film on tobacco that was released after his death. You can see this very touching short film on various internet sites.

 

71 & 72. pictures of Yul Brynner, cigarette in hand !
 

Finally, Yul Brynner also published 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)

 

C3. SOURCES FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ON YUL BRYNNER
 
Many old photographs and other information on the Brynner family are available from the website of Yul Brynner's son, Rock Brynner : http://www.rockbrynner.com
 

A large amount of additional information about his life and films are available in books or on line.

 

 
For information, click this link