French Cinema Icon Alain Delon Passes Away at 88

• French cinema icon Alain Delon has passed away at 88, after a long health battle.
• Born in 1935, Delon’s career took off after meeting actor Jean-Claude Brialy at the Cannes Film Festival.
• Despite his success in France and Japan, Delon never achieved the same level of fame in Hollywood.
• His life, marked by brilliance and controversy, left an indelible mark on the world of film.

Alain Delon, the French actor who captivated audiences with his striking performances and piercing blue eyes, has passed away at the age of 88. His death was reported by French media on Sunday, August 18, 2024. Delon had been in poor health since suffering a stroke in 2019 and spent his last years at his estate in Douchy, in France‘s Val de Loire region.

Born on November 8, 1935, just outside Paris, Delon’s early life was marked by hardship. His parents divorced when he was four, leading to his placement in foster care. He ran away from home at least once and was expelled from boarding schools multiple times. At 17, he joined the Marines and served in then French-ruled Indochina, where he got into trouble over a stolen jeep.

Returning to France in the mid-50s, Delon worked as a porter at Paris wholesale food market, Les Halles, and spent time in the red-light Pigalle district before migrating to the cafes of the bohemian St. Germain des Pres area. It was here that he met French actor Jean-Claude Brialy, who introduced him to the Cannes Film Festival.

Delon’s Rise to Stardom

This exposure led to an American talent scout arranging a screen test for Delon, marking the beginning of his illustrious career in cinema. Delon made his film debut in 1957 in Quand la femme s’en mele (Send a Woman When the Devil Fails). His breakthrough came with two films by Italian director Luchino Visconti, Rocco and His Brothers in 1960 and The Leopard in 1963. His performances in these films, along with his roles in Henri Verneuil’s 1963 film Melodie en Sous-Sol (Any Number Can Win) and Jean-Pierre Melville’s 1967 Le Samourai (The Godson), solidified his status as a star in French cinema.

Despite his success in France and idolization in Japan, Delon never achieved the same level of fame in Hollywood. He did, however, work with American cinema giants, including Burt Lancaster in the 1973 film Scorpio, where Delon played an apprentice-hitman.

Delon’s personal life was as colorful as his on-screen roles. He was known for his friendships with underworld figures, a fact he openly acknowledged. In a 1970 interview with the New York Times, Delon stated, Most of them, the gangsters I know … were my friends before I became an actor. I don’t worry about what a friend does. Each is responsible for his own act. It doesn’t matter what he does.

Controversies and Later Years

His relationships with women were equally headline-grabbing. He had a son with German model-turned-singer Nico, married Nathalie Barthelemy with whom he had a second son, and had a 15-year relationship with Mireille Darc. He also had two more children with Dutch model Rosalie van Breemen.

Delon’s later years were marked by controversy. He publicly defended the far-right National Front and expressed regret over the abolition of the death penalty. He also spoke disparagingly of gay marriage, which was legalized in France in 2013. His outspokenness often courted controversy, but to his fans, his failings were overshadowed by his cinematic contributions.

In his last years, Delon was at the center of a family feud over his care, which made headlines in French media. In April 2024, a judge placed Delon under reinforced curatorship, meaning he no longer had full freedom to manage his assets due to concerns over his health and well-being.

The passing of Alain Delon marks the end of an era in French cinema. His life, filled with both brilliance and controversy, left an indelible mark on the world of film. His performances, marked by their intensity and depth, will continue to be celebrated by film enthusiasts around the world. As French President Emmanuel Macron aptly put it, Delon was “a French monument, and his legacy will undoubtedly live on in the annals of cinema history.