He was best known for his exotic look and his role in “The King and I”, but what is less known to those who missed his public service announcement is that Yul Brynner died from lung cancer.

The Academy Award-winning Yul Brynner, born in Russia as Yuliyi Borisovich Briner, appeared in 38 movies, most often in the starring role. In addition to his role in “The King and I”, Brynner starred in “The Magnificent Seven”, “The Ten Commandments” and “Westworld.” On stage, Brynner performed his iconic role as the King of Siam in “The King and I” 4,625 times, ending his Broadway run just 3 months before his death in 1985 in New York City at age 65. He won a Tony in 1952 for his broadway performances of “The King and I.”

It was said about him, “There was only one Yul Brynner. No other actor had his looks, his range of talents, his energy, and his capacity to draw others into the spell of his charm” (IMDb). His talent led beyond acting to TV directing, modeling, photography, and performing as a guitarist.

It’s also been said that it was Yul Brynner who made bald heads “sexy.” In his public service announcements, Brynner, with his iconic shaved head and ferocious intensity, demonstrated his passion for cancer awareness. In 1984, he founded the Yul Brynner Head and Neck Cancer Foundation that was renamed the Head and Neck Cancer Alliance in 2001.

Brynner was a chain smoker whose anti-cigarette public service announcement didn’t air until after his death. The words, “Now that I’m gone, I tell you: Don’t smoke, whatever you do, just don’t smoke” was a message from the grave that was heard all over America just four months after his death. Brynner smoked five packs a day, fought lung cancer for years, and told those who interviewed him after he was diagnosed with cancer that he wanted to lead an anti-smoking campaign that would be his legacy.

Brynner’s lung cancer was discovered in 1983, when he was 63. His doctors told him to stop performing, but Brynner soldiered on, even after radiation and chemotherapy treatments. He wanted his last performance to be a taping of a public service announcement, but he died before he could film it.

With the permission of his wife, Kathy, the American Cancer Society took footage from an interview that Yul did on ABC-TV’s “Good Morning America” program. The 30-second public service announcement taken from that interview in January, 1985, truly rocked America and was also broadcast in Australia, China, Israel, Japan, and Spain. His wife explained that his anti-cigarette passion came from his realization that cancer touched his life 15 years after he had stopped smoking.

All three major networks played Brynner’s PSA and Sarah Islam of the American Cancer Society said, “This is the most powerful indictment of smoking that we’ve ever produced. This one is stronger by virtue of Yul Brynner’s international reputation.”

That PSA first aired in early 1986, and it opened with an image of a tombstone bearing the inscription, “Yul Brynner, 1920-1985.” An announcer’s voice gravely said, “Ladies and gentlemen, the late Yul Brynner.” What followed was a clip taken from the Good Morning America interview. Brynner’s last words in the PSA are, “If I could take back that smoking, we wouldn’t be talking about any cancer. I’m convinced of that.”

The American Cancer Society received many letters from ex-smokers in response to Brynner’s PSA. One college student remarked in a letter dated May, 1986, “After seeing the commercial, I vowed to never smoke again. I haven’t smoked since late March.”

A woman told The Washington Post that one of her twin 5-year-old nieces saw the PSA and told their father, who was a smoker, “Daddy, don’t smoke.” Her sister said, “Daddy, don’t. We saw the man on TV.”

Whether it’s surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, immunotherapy, targeted therapy, hormone therapy, stem cell transplant, precision medicine, or natural remedies, the results vary greatly and are dependent on how early the cancer is detected, how advanced it is, and whether the treatment or combination of treatments can arrest the cancer. Some cancers can be self-detected, but others require screening methods. Physical exams, laboratory tests of blood, urine, and stool, and imaging tests like an X-ray, CT scan, or an MRI can all be effective means for diagnosing cancer.

Sometimes, cancer is diagnosed through the evaluation or treatment of other medical conditions. Whatever the case, cancer prevention or treatment are not to be taken lightly, and if you are not receiving regular physicals, you could be at risk.