AFP

French film legend Alain Delon dies at the age of 88

French film legend Alain Delon, a polarising star known to some as a sex symbol and to others as an egotistical chauvinist, has died aged 88, his children said on Sunday. The actor, known for his roles in the classics “Night at Noon” (1960) and “The Stone Cold Hero” (1967), died in the early hours of the morning, his son Anthony told AFP. He suffered from lymphoma. “Alain Fabien, Anouchka, Anthony as well as (his dog) Loubo are deeply saddened to announce the death of their father,” Delon’s children said in a statement to AFP. “He died peacefully at his home in Douchy, surrounded by his three children and family,” said the statement, which came after months of public family disputes over the star’s deteriorating health. Delon had millions of fans around the world but also attracted legions of critics. Feminists were appalled by the lifetime achievement award he received from the 2019 Cannes Film Festival. He lived a largely reclusive life in his later years, his private life ensuring he remained in the headlines despite being a rarity on screen since the 1990s. In 2023, his three children filed a complaint against his live-in assistant Hiromi Rollin, accusing her of harassment and threatening behaviour. The siblings then waged a public battle in the media and in court, arguing over the star’s health, which included a stroke in 2019. He has faced lifelong controversy over his relationships with women, with his sons previously accusing him of domestic violence. While Delon denied this, he admitted to slapping women who attacked him during arguments. He had a series of tumultuous affairs and referred to German actress Romy Schneider as the “love of my life” after their relationship in the 1960s. German-born Velvet Underground singer Nico claimed he was the father of her son Christian Aaron Boulogne – something Delon denied until Boulogne’s death from a heroin overdose in 2023. Delon married Nathalie Delon in 1964 and they began a tempestuous relationship that ended in divorce in 1969. He also had other high-profile relationships, including with pop diva Dalida and model-turned-actress Mireille Darc. – Instinctive genius – Far from being an intellectual actor, Delon was considered an instinctive genius. He prided himself on never having worked on his technique, relying instead on his charisma. French President Emmanuel Macron said Delon was a “French monument” who “played legendary roles and made the world dream”. Former Cannes Festival president Gilles Jacob praised Delon as “a lion… an actor with a steely gaze,” while Venice Film Festival director Alberto Barbera said he was an “icon” who had “ascended to the Olympus of the immortals.” His looks were cinematic gold for filmmakers in the 1960s, playing roles of pretty-boy killers and mysterious schemers, as in “Purple Noon” – later remade as “The Talented Mr. Ripley.” With his stunning portrayal of the silent killer in Jean-Pierre Melville’s “The Ice Cold Samoura,” he created the template for one of Hollywood’s most beloved cliches – the mysterious, intellectual assassin. Directors from Martin Scorsese to Quentin Tarantino all acknowledge that Delon gave his stylish killer an inner life – even though the French actor never made it big in Hollywood. Delon made his last major public appearance on the red carpet to accept an honorary Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival in May 2019. “It’s a bit of a posthumous tribute, but from my lifetime,” he said at the awards ceremony. Delon spent his final years at home in a small village in France, surrounded by high walls, where he wanted to be buried not far from his dogs. – ‘The best and the worst’ – Outside the entrance to his home in Douchy-Montcorbon, fans laid flowers on Sunday and gathered to pay their last respects. “Part of our youth has been lost, it’s very sad,” said Marie Arnold, who laid white flowers along with her sister Michele. An accordion player who gave his name as “Titi” said Delon asked him to play outside the property on the day of his death. “Alain is in deep, chosen solitude, in another world, in the past with people he loved very much,” his former partner Darc told AFP in 2015. “The best and the worst, unattainable and yet so close, cold and hot,” was how Brigitte Bardot, another star of the 1960s, described him on his 80th birthday. Delon was also criticized for his support of polarizing politician Jean-Marie Le Pen, the leader of the far-right National Front, who supported the death penalty and opposed same-sex relationships. But fans who adored him will remember his first line in the film “The Cold Samurai”: “There is no deeper solitude than that of the samurai, except that of a tiger in the jungle.”jfg-may/rox/imm