FRENCH film icon Alain Delon has died at the age of 88.
The star was a legend of the golden era of French cinema – known for his roles in Samurai and Borsalin.
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French film legend Alain Delon has sadly passed awayCredit: AFP
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The actor was called the ‘French Frank Sinatra’Credit: AFP
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The star posed with actress Mireille Darc and Italian director Sergio Leone in 1977. Credit: AFP
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Delon in Borsalino in 1970. Credit: Alamy
With striking blue eyes, the actor was called “the French Frank Sinatra”.
His family said: “Alain Fabien, Anouchka, Anthony, as well as (his dog) Loubo, are deeply saddened to announce the death of their father.
“He passed away peacefully at his home in Douchy, surrounded by his three children and his family.”
The film icon is known to have been in poor health in recent years.
During his stellar career, which spanned more than 30 years, Delon appeared in more than 90 films and earned the nickname “Angel Face.”
He is best known for his hits from the 1960s, including The Leopard and Rocco and his Brothers.
Leopard won the Palme dOr – the highest award at the Cannes Film Festival.
Delon is best known to English audiences for his portraits of Inspector Maigret Georges Simenon – a fictional French detective.
The newspaper Le Parisian called him “a legend of cinema”, while Liberation described him as “a leading figure of cinema, a symbol of dark masculinity, an actor with crazy charisma”.
Delon recently made headlines after his children publicly argued over his care, and police also seized guns and ammunition from his home. Prosecutors said he did not have a license.
Born on November 8, 1935 in Sceaux, south of Paris, Delon was placed in a foster family after his parents divorced when he was 4 years old.
He then attended a Roman Catholic boarding school.
At the age of 17, Delon joined the navy and was sent to Indochina.
Back in France in 1956, he worked odd jobs from waiter to porter at a Paris meat market before turning to acting.
In 1964, Delon had a son, Anthony, with his then-wife Nathalie Canovas, who co-starred with him in Jean-Pierre Melville’s 1967 film The Samurai.
He had two more children, Anouchka and Alain-Fabien, with Rosalie van Breemen.
He was previously believed to be the father of Ari Boulogne – the son of German model and singer Nice, although he never publicly admitted it.
In an interview with LExpress in 1995, he said: “I’m very good at three things: my work, my stupidity and my children.”
Throughout his life, Delon juggled various interests – from setting up a horse stable to developing cologne for men and women, then watches, glasses and other accessories.
He also collected paintings and sculptures.
In 1999, Delon announced the end of his acting career – but that same year he appeared in Bertrand Blier’s Les Acteurs (The Actors).
He later appeared in several television police shows.
In 2022 – in the last film he made before his retirement – he starred with Juliette Binoche in the film The Empty House directed by Patrice Leconte.
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