Editing Yul Brynner (section)

===In France and Switzerland===
In 1933, fearing a war between China and Japan, Marousia Briner moved with her children to [[Paris]]. Many Russians had moved there in exile after the Revolution.<ref name="Rochman" /> There, on June 15, 1935, the fourteen-year-old Brynner made his debut at the "Hermitage" cabaret, where he played his guitar and sang in the Russian and Roma languages. After initial success, he continued performing at various Parisian nightclubs, sometimes accompanying his sister, and playing and singing Russian and Roma songs. At that time, Brynner was a student at a lyceum in Paris, where he studied French. His classmates and teachers were aware of his strong character, as he was often involved in [[fist fighting]]. 

In the summer of 1936, Brynner worked as a lifeguard at a resort beach in [[Le Havre]]. There he joined a French circus troupe, trained as a [[trapeze]] [[Acrobatics|acrobat]] and worked with a circus troupe for several years.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cS3dd-OhsP4 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/cS3dd-OhsP4| archive-date=December 11, 2021 |url-status=live |title=Yul Brynner Interview with Bill Boggs |date=2012-06-26 |via=www.youtube.com}}{{cbignore}}</ref> After sustaining a back injury, he left the circus troupe. In nearly unbearable [[pain]], Brynner took [[narcotics]] for relief. He soon developed a [[Substance dependence|drug dependency]]. 

One day, while buying [[opium]] from a local dealer, Brynner met [[Jean Cocteau]] (1889{{ndash}}1963) and the two became lifelong friends. Cocteau introduced Brynner to [[Pablo Picasso]], [[Salvador Dalí]], [[Josephine Baker]], [[Jean Marais]], and the bohemian milieu of Paris. The experience and connections eventually helped him in his multifaceted career of acting, directing, and producing.<ref name="bryners.ru"/>

Seventeen-year-old Brynner became a drug addict and the family tried to help him treat the illness. He spent a year in [[Lausanne]], [[Switzerland]] treating his addiction at a Swiss clinic and at [[Lausanne University Hospital]] with financial support from his aunt Vera Dmitrievna Blagovidova-Briner, his mother's sister. Blagovidova-Briner was a physician trained at medical school in [[Saint Petersburg]], Russia, before the revolution. She later practiced in China and Switzerland. The year-long treatment in Switzerland, which included [[hypnotherapy]], had a lasting effect on Brynner's health. Yul never used illicit drugs again in his life. He later became addicted to cigarettes, which damaged his lungs and ruined his health as he aged.<ref name="Rochman" /><ref>Seiler, Michael. [https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1985-10-10-mn-15605-story.html "Yul Brynner Dies at 65; 30 Years in ''King and I''"], ''Los Angeles Times''</ref> 

In Harbin, Brynner's father had a lucrative trade business and lived with his second wife, actress Katerina Ivanovna Kornakova. She gave Brynner his first professional acting lessons by showing him scenes from her repertoire at Moscow Art Theatre. She instructed him in how to respond to her lines using his voice tone and body language. During their first lessons, Katerina Kornakova demonstrated and explained to Brynner the principles of [[Konstantin Stanislavsky]]'s school of acting, and the innovative ideas of [[Michael Chekhov]]. Brynner was excited and impressed with the new experience. His father initially tried to prepare his son for a management position at their family business, but changed his mind after watching several acting lessons and witnessing Brynner's happiness.

Katerina Kornakova was impressed with Brynner's intellectual and physical abilities and recommended him to study acting with her former partner [[Michael Chekhov]]. Brynner took the letter of recommendation from his stepmother and also accepted money and blessings from his father. With the generous support from both his father and stepmother, Brynner became encouraged and confident in his future success as an actor. 

At the same time, Brynner's mother's illness{{clarification needed |date=August 2024}} progressed and required special medical treatment that was available only in the United States. Brynner traveled with his mother on a long trip across the world.<ref name="Rochman" /><ref name="bryners.ru"/>