Brynner, Rock 1946-

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Brynner, Rock 1946-

PERSONAL:

Born 1946; son of Yul (an actor) and Virginia Gilmore (an actress) Brynner. Education: Trinity College, M.A.; Columbia University, Ph.D.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Pawling, NY. Agent—The Literary Group International, Stanford Bldg., 51 E. 25th St., Ste. 401, New York, NY 10010. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER:

Has worked as a computer programmer for Bank of America, as a farmer, pilot, musician, actor, street clown, roadie for the Rolling Stones, road manager for The Band and Bob Dylan, and bodyguard for Muhammad Ali; starred in a one-man show on Broadway; appeared in film Where's Jack?, 1969; road manager on crew for film The Last Waltz, 1978; currently a professor of history.

WRITINGS:

The Ballad of Habit and Accident: A Novel, Wyndham Books (New York, NY), 1980.

Yul: The Man Who Would Be King: A Memoir of Father and Son, Simon & Schuster (New York, NY), 1989.

The Doomsday Report (novel), Morrow (New York, NY), 1998.

(With Trent Stephens) Dark Remedy: The Impact of Thalidomide and Its Revival As a Vital Medicine, Basic Books (New York, NY), 2001.

Empire and Odyssey: The Brynners in Far East Russia and Beyond, Steerforth Press (Hanover, NH), 2006.

SIDELIGHTS:

Frequently recognized for being the son of the late Broadway and Hollywood star Yul Brynner (often remembered for his roles in Westerns and the musical The King and I), Rock Brynner was never interested in acting as a career. Although he did once star in a Broadway show himself, the younger Brynner did not enjoy the experience and instead followed many other pursuits in life. Among these were jobs as a computer programmer, street clown, pilot, road manager for Bob Dylan, and bodyguard for boxer Muhammad Ali (professional boxers not being allowed to defend themselves by force outside the ring). After earning a master's degree in philosophy and a doctorate in history, Brynner eventually settled down into a job as a professor and author. As a writer, his choice of books has been almost as varied as his career; he has penned novels, histories of his family, and a nonfiction work about the drug thalidomide.

Brynner has written two books about family members: Yul: The Man Who Would Be King: A Memoir of Father and Son and Empire and Odyssey: The Brynners in Far East Russia and Beyond. The former is a personal look at the relationship between him and his famous father, while the latter is a sweeping saga of four generations of Brynners that many critics found utterly fascinating. Making use of his knowledge as a historian, Brynner goes back to the time of his greatgrandfather Jules, who was born in Switzerland and immigrated to Russia; Jules's son, Boris, who became a prosperous industrialist who lost his wealth in the Russian Revolution; and then to the story of Yul Brynner, which the actor had often obfuscated for the public but which in reality was as fascinating as the myth he constructed. A Publishers Weekly critic called the book "an enthralling family chronicle" that also reveals much about European history. David Pitt, writing for Booklist, similarly felt that the work "paints a vivid picture of life in Russia before, during and after the Revolution."

Venturing into fiction with the novels The Ballad of Habit and Accident and The Doomsday Report, the latter a thriller about the release of a report predicting the extinction of mankind and its consequences, Brynner has not received considerable attention for his fiction. Dark Remedy: The Impact of Thalidomide and Its Revival As a Vital Medicine, written with scientist Trent Stephens, was perceived as much more fascinating. Although the author denies his personal experience with thalidomide inspired the book, Brynner once suffered from an immune disorder called pyoderma gangrenosum, which he treated successfully with the once-infamous drug. Thalidomide, once used as a sedative, became an example of pharmaceutical company greed when the untested drug was found to cause severe birth defects in children. More recently, however, scientists have learned that thalidomide can be a safe and effective treatment for many serious diseases, such as lupus, leprosy, multiple sclerosis, and even AIDS. Brynner and Stephens's book discusses the history of the drug, from its discovery in 1954, through the birth-defect scandal, and into modern uses; reviewers praised it as a well-researched and enlightening book. Martin Schulz, for example, stated in the British Medical Journal that it "is a book with both a sound scientific background … and a historical background written with a personal touch." Lancet reviewer Mark Gillman found some "minor inaccuracies," but overall declared Dark Remedy "an interesting book that could be read by anybody who is interested in the pharmaceutical industry, the profit motive (for good or ill), and how it affects individuals."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

BOOKS

Brynner, Rock, Yul: The Man Who Would Be King: A Memoir of Father and Son, Simon & Schuster (New York, NY), 1989.

Brynner, Rock, Empire and Odyssey: The Brynners in Far East Russia and Beyond, Steerforth Press (Hanover, NH), 2006.

PERIODICALS

Booklist, February 15, 2001, William Beatty, review of Dark Remedy: The Impact of Thalidomide and Its Revival As a Vital Medicine, p. 1104; February 15, 2006, David Pitt, review of Empire & Odyssey: The Brynners in Far East Russia and Beyond, p. 32.

British Medical Journal, June 30, 2001, Martin Schulz, review of Dark Remedy, p. 1608.

Economist, March 17, 2001, "Good Stuff; Thalidomide; Thalidomide's New Future," p. 7.

Kirkus Reviews, February 1, 2006, review of Empire and Odyssey, p. 119.

Lancet, June 9, 2001, Mark Gillman, "Dark Motives, Dark Remedy," p. 1893.

Library Journal, June 1, 1998, Sheila M. Riley, review of The Doomsday Report, p. 149; April 15, 2001, Natalie Kupferberg, review of Dark Remedy, p. 126; March 1, 2006, Maria C. Bagshaw, review of Empire and Odyssey, p. 99, and Margaret Heilbrun, "Q & A: Rock Brynner," p. 104.

Nature Medicine, Volume 7, number 3, 2001, Kenneth C. Anderson, review of Dark Remedy.

Publishers Weekly, May 11, 1998, review of The Doomsday Report, p. 52; January 29, 2001, review of Dark Remedy, p. 76; February 27, 2006, review of Empire and Odyssey, p. 47; March 6, 2006, review of Empire and Odyssey, p. 38, and Bettina Berch, "The King and I, and a Few Others, Too: PW Talks with Rock Brynner," p. 58.

Sciences, spring, 2001, Laurence A. Marschall, review of Dark Remedy, p. 45.

Washington Post Book World, June 18, 2006, Selwa Roosevelt, "The King and I: The Son of Yul Brynner Traces the Family's Roots around the World," review of Empire and Odyssey, p. 8.