The iconic French actor Alain Delon passed away today, Sunday, August 18, at the age of 88. Delon became famous for both his acting talent and his unparalleled charm that earned him a brilliant career and a worldwide fame. However, the famous French actor seems to have had a turbulent personal life and a deep disappointment for the times we live in.
Eva Metis Koutoumanou
"I hate the times we live in, it makes me gasp. There are people I hate, everything is fake and only money counts. I will leave this world without regret," Delon told Paris Match magazine in one of his last interviews.
Delon established himself as one of the biggest stars of French and world cinema, born on November 8, 1935 in Sceaux (Hauts-de-Seine), he took his first steps in cinema in the late 1950s, in the film "Quand la femme s'en mêle" by Yves Allégret.
His career began when a talent scout spotted him during an impromptu casting at the Cannes Film Festival, at a time when the young but charismatic Delon was doing various jobs to survive. In fact, he had even served as a mercenary in the Foreign Legion.
His career
Delon quickly established himself as a protagonist with his role in René Clément's Plein Soleil (1960), where he played Tom Ripley, one of literature's most famous and controversial characters. His performance established him as one of the most talented and charming actors of his time.
During the 1960s, Delon worked with some of the greatest directors of French cinema. His collaboration with Jean-Pierre Melville was particularly decisive, with films such as Le Samouraï (1967), in which Delon played the enigmatic hitman Jef Costello, a role that went down in history as one of the best examples of noir cinema. This film, along with others such as Le Cercle Rouge (1970), established Delon as a symbol of the tough, lonely man with strict codes of honor.
The 1970s were also significant for Delon's career, with hits such as Borsalino (1970), where he collaborated with Jean-Paul Belmondo, another legend of French cinema. The two actors brought to life the legendary characters of the French underworld, offering the audience one of the most memorable collaborations of the time.
Delon did not limit himself to film roles, but also tried his hand at filmmaking. He produced many of the films in which he starred, such as "Pour la peau d'un flic" (1981) and "Parole de flic" (1985), showcasing his entrepreneurial prowess in the world of cinema.
At the beginning of the 21st century, Delon continued to participate in film and television productions, albeit in more selective roles. In 2001, he starred in Bertrand Blier's Les Acteurs, a play that brought together a multitude of French actors, paying homage to cinema itself. At the same time, he appeared in television series and films, such as Fabio Montale (2001), a series of crime films based on novels by Jean-Claude Izzo.
However, Delon gradually reduced his appearances in front of the camera, focusing on his personal life and recognition of his overall contribution to cinema. One of the highlights of his career in the 21st century was being awarded the honorary Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival in 2019. This award, which was accompanied by emotion and applause, recognized Delon's timeless influence and talent, which had left an indelible mark on world cinema.
On 19 May 2019, during the award of the honorary Palme d'Or at the hands of his daughter Anouchka, Alain Delon had commented that this award was for him "a posthumous tribute" given to him "in life".
His Life
Alain Delon was born in Hauteaux (now Haute-de-Seine), Île-de-France, a wealthy suburb of Paris. His parents, Edit (née Arnold, 1911–1995) and Fabian Delon (1904–1977), divorced when Delon was four years old. They both remarried and, as a result, Delon has a half-sister and two half-brothers. His paternal grandmother was Corsican, from Prounelli-du-Fiumorbo. When his parents divorced, Delon was sent to live with foster parents.
After the death of the foster parents, Delon's parents took joint custody of him, but the agreement did not prove satisfactory. He attended a Catholic boarding school, the first of many schools from which he was expelled for unruly behavior. Delon left school at 14 and worked briefly in his stepfather's butcher shop. He joined the French Navy three years later, aged 17, and during 1953-1954 served as a marine in the First Indochina War.
In 1956, after his naval service, Delon returned to France and began working as a waiter, porter, secretary and sales assistant. During this time he became friends with actress Brigitte Aubert, joining her on a trip to the Cannes Film Festival, where his film career would begin.
At Cannes, Delon was spotted by a talent scout by American producer David O. Selznick. After an audition, Selznick offered him a contract, on condition that he learn English. Delon returned to Paris to learn the language, but there he met French director Yves Allegre, who was convinced he should stay in France to start his career. Selznick allowed Delon to cancel his contract, and Allegre gave him his first film role in Send a Woman When the Devil Fails (French. Quand la femme s’en mêle, 1957).
The women of his turbulent life
Delon has always had a special relationship with women. For him, women played an important role in his life. As he had said, "for them I always wanted to be the most beautiful, the biggest, the strongest and see it in their eyes. Women have been the biggest motivator."
However, by some women he was considered a phallocrat and even a satyr.
His first famous love, from 1959 to 1963, was with the also famous Austrian actress Romy Schneider. After their breakup, Snyder, who had helped him early in his career, fell into depression and Delon found new love in the fiery Moroccan-born Natalie Barthélemy. Many years later, in 2018, Delon, in an interview, admitted that Snyder was the love of his life, after all, until her tragic end, at a young age, the two continued to have friendly contacts.
He and Natalie married a year later, in 1964, and together they had a son, Anthony, with whom Alain Delon had never been particularly well. This wedding was the only one that the famous actor had.
After five years of passion and fighting, Alain and Natalie Delon divorced in 1969, with the successful actor giving his ex-wife little money to raise their son, and Natalie Delon facing financial problems a year later.
The reason for the separation was his acquaintance with Mireille Dark, whom he met on the set of Jean Herman's film "Jeff" (1968). Together they lived 15 years, the longest relationship Delon ever had, but they would never marry.
At the time, Delon also met many other women – from stars and starlets to unknown girls in film crews – with whom he would form fleeting relationships or brief one-night love adventures.
Some of his best-known relationships during this period are with actresses Anne Parilleau and Jane Fonda and with singers Marianne Faithful, Nico (with whom he had a son) and Dalida.
In 1987, Delon met his much younger wife, Rosalie Van Bremen, an impressive model from the Netherlands. He fell madly in love with her and together they had two children, Anushka and Alain-Fabien. He and Bremen split in October 2002 and are rumored to be the first woman to leave Delon.
The prizes and the end
For his contribution to film art, Alain Delon became a member of the French Legion of Honour in 2005 and in May 2019 he was awarded the "Palme d'Or" of the Cannes Film Festival.
A month later he suffered a stroke.
In early 2022, he expressed a desire to end his life by euthanasia.
Of his life, Alain Delon said it was "so incredible that no journalist would be able to write it." Adieu!
