FILE – Actor Alain Delon poses for photographers at a photo call for the Honorary Palme d’Or award at the 72nd International Film Festival, Cannes, southern France, Sunday, May 19, 2019. Photo credit: AP
Internationally acclaimed French actor Alain Delon, who played both villains and policemen and made hearts skip a beat across the world, has died at the age of 88, according to French media.
With his striking looks and gentle manner, this talented actor was able to combine toughness with a charming, vulnerable quality that made him one of France’s memorable leading men. Delon was also a producer, appearing in plays and, in later years, television films.
His children announced his death on Sunday in a statement to the French national news agency. Agence France-PresseThis is a common occurrence in France. Tributes to Delon flooded social platforms and all major French media began to thoroughly cover his rich career.
FILE – French actor Alain Delon is escorted by American actresses Jane Davenport (left) and Pamela Huntington after arriving from New York at Orly Airport in Paris, August 19, 1970. | Photo Credit: Laurent Rebours
At the peak of his career, in the 1960s and 1970s, Delon was courted by some of the world’s top directors, from Luchino Visconti to Joseph Losey. In his later years, Delon became disillusioned with the film industry, saying that money killed dreams. “Money, commerce and television have ruined the dream machine,” he wrote in a 2003 edition of Newsweekly. Le Nouvel Observateur“My cinema is dead. And so am I.” But he continued to work and appeared in several TV movies in the 70s.
Delon had an unforgettable presence, whether playing a morally corrupt hero or a romantic leading man. He first gained acclaim in 1960 Plein Soleildirected by René Clément, in which he played a murderer trying to take the identities of his victims. He made several Italian films, most notably working with Visconti in the 1961 film Rocco and his brothersIn which Delon played a self-sacrificing brother who is intent on helping his sibling. The film won the Special Jury Prize at the Venice Film Festival.
1963 Visconti film Le Guépard ,panther) starring Delon, won the Palme d’Or, the highest honor at the Cannes Film Festival. His other films include Clement’s Is Paris burning?With screenplays by Gore Vidal and Francis Ford Coppola, among others; La Piscine ,sinner), directed by Jacques Deray; and, as a variation, Losey’s Assassination of Trotsky In 1972.
In 1968, Delon began making films – making 26 films by 1990 – as part of a frenetic and self-confident pace he maintained throughout his life. Delon’s confidence was evident in his statements. Fame In 1996, “I want the love I get from myself!” was an echo of his charismatic screen persona.
Delon continued to charm audiences over the years – during which time he also drew criticism for comments considered outdated. In 2010, he a tropical mari ,one husband too many) and returned to the stage in 2011 an ordinary dayWith his daughter Anushka.
She briefly chaired the Miss France jury but stepped down in 2013 following disagreements over some controversial statements she made, including criticism on women, LGBTQIA+ rights, and migrants. Despite these controversies, she received the Palme d’Honneur at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival, a decision that sparked further debate.
FILE – In this May 19, 2019 file photo, French actor Alain Delon poses for photographers at a photo call for his Honorary Palme d’Or award at the 72nd International Film Festival, Cannes, southern France. | Photo credit: Arthur Mola
Born on November 8, 1935, in Sceaux, south of Paris, Delon was placed with a foster family when he was 4 after his parents separated. He then attended a Roman Catholic boarding school. At age 17, Delon joined the Navy and was sent to Indochina. Returning to France in 1956, he worked a variety of odd jobs, from waiter to carrier in a Parisian meat market, before turning to acting.
In 1964, Delon had a son, Anthony, with his then-wife Nathalie Canovas, who worked with him on Jean-Pierre Melville’s The Female. Samurai He had two more children, Anouchka and Alain-Fabian, and later had a partner, Rosalie van Breemen, with whom he produced a song and video clip in 1987. It was also widely believed that he was the father of Ari Bologne, the son of German model and singer Nico, although he never publicly acknowledged paternity.
In a 1995 article, he said, “I’m very good at three things: my job, being stupid, and kids.” l’Express Interview. Delon did a variety of activities in his life, including building horse stables, creating colognes for men and women, watches, glasses and other accessories. He also collected paintings and sculptures.
Delon announced the end of his acting career in 1999, but continued it by starring in Bertrand Blier’s film The Man. actor ,Actors) that same year. He later appeared in several television police shows. In 2022, he starred opposite Juliette Binoche in the last film he made before his retirement Empty houseDirected by Patrice Leconte.
FILE – French actor Alain Delon attracts the attention of actress Angie Dickinson during conversation at a cocktail party in Beverly Hills, California, April 16, 1963. | Photo Credit: Harold Matossian
Her beauty helped her. In August 2002, Delon told a weekly magazine, L’Humanité HebdoIf that weren’t the case he wouldn’t still be in the business. “You’ll never see me old and ugly,” he said when he was approaching 70, “because I’ll quit before then, or I’ll die.”
However, in 2019 Delon expressed his feelings about the meaning of his life during a gala event held in his honor at the Cannes Film Festival. “One thing I am certain about is that if there is one thing I am proud of, it is really the only thing, my career.”
