“Mostly Women, Still in Love”: Find This Hollywood Legend’s Grave in a Small French Cemetery

From “The Magnificent Seven” to “The Ten Commandments,” “The King and I,” and “Westworld,” Yul Brynner was one of the most recognizable faces in cinema from the mid-1950s to the 1970s. This Hollywood icon passed away in New York in 1985, but his ashes now rest in Indre-et-Loire, France! Specifically, they are located in the Orthodox cemetery of the Royal Abbey of Saint-Michel de Bois-Aubry, a monument that has been historically recognized since 1944.

According to reports from La Nouvelle République, the journey of Yul Brynner’s ashes is quite remarkable. Initially, his remains traveled from New York to Bonnebosq in Calvados, where Brynner owned a villa. Later, they were moved to the Parisian cemetery of Sainte-Geneviève-des-Bois, where many of his Romani friends are buried. Ultimately, his ashes found a permanent place in the renowned Abbey of Saint-Michel de Bois-Aubry.

But why is the final resting place of Hollywood’s most famous bald man marked by a simple white tombstone in this Touraine cemetery? “Out of friendship and religion,” Marc-Olivier Gribomont, a former high-ranking European official who bought the site in 2006 without initially knowing the actor’s grave was there, explained a few years ago to La Nouvelle République. “The abbey was previously (1978-2006) owned by an Orthodox community that included Matthias, a childhood friend of Yul Brynner who worked at the UN during the week and was a monk on weekends,” Gribomont shared. This connection explains how Brynner, who had converted to Orthodox Christianity, ended up in this quaint cemetery in Indre-et-Loire.

“There’s always a tall bald guy who thinks he’s Yul Brynner!”

Marc-Olivier Gribomont is pleased to see the actor serve as a “great ambassador” for the abbey’s rich heritage, and has even established a small museum on the property dedicated to the Hollywood star. “Yul Brynner certainly piques people’s curiosity,” he notes, speaking again to La Nouvelle République.

Among those who visit the cemetery, some stumble upon the star’s grave by chance, while others come specifically to pay their respects. “Mostly women, still in love,” Gribomont smiles. “But also Romani people and bikers, among whom there’s always a tall bald guy who thinks he’s Yul Brynner!”

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