The King and I (1956 film) autobiographical, although various elements of them have been called into question. The film stars Deborah Kerr and Yul Brynner. The film was a critical and commercial success, and was nominated for nine Academy Awards, winning five, including Best Actor for Brynner. Another film adaptation of the same musical, the animated film "The King and I", was released in 1999. Strong-willed, widowed schoolteacher Anna Leonowens arrives in Bangkok from Wales with her young son Louis after being summoned to tutor the many children of King Mongkut. The two are introduced to the intimidating Kralahome, King Mongkut's confidant and Siam's prime minister.
Disability in the arts a result of their illness. Leonard Gershe's "Butterflies Are Free", about a young blind man who wins his independence from an overprotective mother, debuted on Broadway in 1969, was made into a film in 1972. The main character was played by non-blind actors in both the original run of the play and the film version. In contrast, the play "Children of a Lesser God", written by Mark Medoff and debuting in 1980, included a deaf actress playing the female lead role of a character who is deaf. This continued in the 1986 film version; Marlee Matlin, who is deaf, won