I have been on DL for over 20 years, and have posted my Yul Brynner story before, so forgive me if you've read it at some point:
Back in 1983, the touring company of THE KING AND I was coming to the Fox Theatre in St Louis. With Yul Brynner (and his wife at the time, Kathy Lee). My father, who knew how much I loved this musical - and who considered himself an expert in obtaining tickets of all types - somehow managed to score two tickets in the first row, on the aisle. They were right on the edge of the orchestra pit! (To this day I have no idea how he got these).
Anyway, at the time everyone already knew about Brynner's illness and that he was being treated for lung cancer, so I decided to bring a bouquet of flowers along, thinking that I would somehow get an usher to take them backstage at the end of the show. It was the closest I have ever been to a stage performance, especially in a huge venue like the Fox, this lavish movie palace that seats something like 4500.
The performance was wonderful (especially with the orchestra right at my feet!) but a few times it was clear that Brynner was a little short of breath, esp during the "Shall We Dance?" sequence. In the scene where he insists that Anna's head be lower than his, he was wearing one of those open jackets over his bare chest, and as he lowered himself to the floor, I could see black lines on his chest indicating where he had gotten, or was still getting, radiation treatments.
So at the curtain call, there was a thunderous standing ovation immediately, and I was bawling like a baby. There were no ushers around, so at the spur of the moment I got the attention of one of the orchestra members, shoved the bouquet at him, and said, "Can you get these backstage?" and the guy very kindly took them. When Brynner came out for his curtain call, the place went NUTS, and to my amazement the orchestra guy tossed the bouquet onstage - and it landed right at Brynner's feet!! Without blinking an eye, he looked down, swooped the flowers up, and held them aloft over his head while the crowd went absolutely crazy.
Yul Brynner died a little over a year later. It has been over 36 years since this happened, and I have been fortunate enough to have seen many great shows since then, but I have NEVER forgotten this moment, and was grateful to my father (who was thrilled to hear this story) until the day he died. It was one of the best moments of my life.