The original 'Westworld' star: Russian-American film legend Yul Brynner

Beyond his numerous roles, he's probably best remembered as "the actor with the bald head." It became his trademark early on and sometimes detracted from his acting skills. Yul Brynner, who was born on July 11, 1920 in Vladivostok and died in New York in 1985, is shown here in the 1973 sci-fi movie "Westworld."

After a few television appearances and his first role in a feature film in 1949, Brynner's second film was a huge success on the big screen. Brynner played the title role in the 1956 film adaptation of the musical of the same name, "The King and I." The actor had previously starred in the role of the king on Broadway, too. He played the role 4,625 times on stage.

Yul Brynner soon had reason to rejoice: In 1956, he received an Oscar for best actor for his role in "The King and I." The above photo shows a beaming Brynner at the Academy Awards ceremony, along with the other winners of the evening: Anthony Quinn, Dorothy Malone and Gary Grant (from left).

For "The King and I," Brynner shaved his head. Since the film and his appearance were so successful, he decided to continue his acting career with a bald head, at least for a while. In the epic religious drama "The Ten Commandments," Brynner played Pharaoh Ramses (right). Biblical and epic historical films were tremendously popular in the 1950s.

Brynner next slipped into another successful role that seemed to have been written just for him. "Anastasia," also starring Ingrid Bergman, tells the story of a mysterious woman who is to be introduced in 1920s Paris as the only surviving daughter of the murdered Tsar. Brynner played a former Russian general and owner of a Russian-themed nightclub.

Yul Brynner's Hollywood success story continued with another Russian-themed work, the film adaptation of Fyodor Dostoevsky's "The Brothers Karamazov." Of course, the producers of the elaborately produced Hollywood movie thought of Brynner, already immensely popular, when it came to casting the lead role. German actress Maria Schell made her US film debut as the charming Grushenka.

The 1950s, a decade that was very successful for Yul Brynner, ended with his role in "Solomon and Sheba." For once, the popular star wore hair on his head again as King Solomon. The historical romance starred Italy's Gina Lollobrigida as the Queen of Sheba.

The following decade was not quite as successful for the actor, even if he did make a legendary appearance in 1960 as the head of a gang of gunfighters (here in the middle) hired to protect a village from bandits in John Sturges' Western movie "The Magnificent Seven." His trademark pate disappeared under a dark cowboy hat.

The '60s were marked by several mediocre movies. However, Brynner's role as captain of a German merchant ship during World War II stands out in Austrian director Bernhard Wicki's "Morituri." Brynner convincingly portrayed a cranky German critical of the Hitler regime.

Brynner celebrated another great success in 1973 when he landed the lead role of a cowboy android in Michael Crichton's "Westworld." The Western space thriller fascinated audiences. The sequel, "Futureworld" (picture), followed in 1976: a high-tech futuristic amusement park full of lifelike androids where visitors slip into roles of characters. The films inspired the recent HBO hit series.