As I delve into the captivating life of Alain Delon, a French icon whose charisma and talent have left indelible marks on both the silver screen and the fashion industry, I am struck by the sheer magnitude of his experiences. From gritty crime sagas to profound psychological dramas, from blockbuster comic book adaptations to timeless collaborations with some of cinema’s greatest directors, Delon has traversed the cinematic landscape like a modern-day Odysseus.
Legendary French actor Alain Delon, renowned for his captivating charm and mysterious allure that graced numerous iconic European films from the 1960s and ’70s, has passed away at the age of 88.
“Alain Fabien, Anouchka, Anthony, along with their beloved pet Loubo, regretfully share the news of their father’s demise. He passed away tranquilly in his home in Douchy, encompassed by his three children and family members,” stated a message from the family to the AFP news agency.
Delon had been suffering from poor health in recent years and had a stroke in 2019.
Delon, with films like Luchino Visconti’s “Rocco and His Brothers” (1960) and “The Leopard” (1963), René Clément’s “Purple Noon” (1960), Michelangelo Antonioni’s “The Eclipse” (1962), Joseph Losey’s “Mr. Klein” (1976) and Jean-Pierre Melville’s “Le Samouraï” (1967) and “The Red Circle” (1970), starred in numerous films that are now considered cinematic classics within the art house genre.
His stiff and contemplative acting roles, many portraying troubled men with hidden emotions, were known for abrupt displays of aggression and emotion, as well as a persistent melancholy reminiscent of films from postwar France and Italy. He was frequently compared to Brigitte Bardot, but in the male form.
Despite being a popular leading man in Europe, Delon struggled to achieve stardom in Hollywood. He relocated there in 1964, securing deals with MGM and Columbia and ultimately starring in six films. However, he was unable to make a significant impact and departed in 1967. Following this, he took on roles in the successful French crime movies “The Sicilian Clan” (1969) and “Borsalino” (1970).
Despite boasting over 100 acting roles and several dozen productions to his credit, Alain Delon garnered relatively few awards during his lifetime. He secured just one French César award, which came in 1984 for Bertrand Blier’s film “Our Story,” where he portrayed an alcoholic who falls for a younger woman (Nathalie Baye). In 1995, he was bestowed with an honorary Golden Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival, and in 2019, he received an honorary Palme d’or at the Cannes Film Festival.
The final award was embroiled in controversy, as a petition collecting over 25,000 signatures criticized him for alleged racism, homophobia, and misogyny. (Delon told Reuters that he didn’t oppose gay marriage but disapproved of “adoption by two people of the same sex,” and claimed he had never harassed a woman in his life, stating instead that they often harassed him.)
“During his award ceremony at Cannes,” the emotional actor told the crowd, “I’d like to make it clear that you aren’t required to share my views. However, there’s something about my career that I am absolutely certain of and extremely proud of – just one thing.”
Delon, born on November 8, 1935, hailed from Sceaux, a town nestled south of Paris. His father, Fabien, managed a local cinema, while his mother, Édith, was employed at a pharmacy. Following their separation in 1939, he moved to live with foster parents and later attended a Catholic boarding school. After obtaining a vocational qualification, he had a short stint working at the butcher shop owned by his stepfather in Bourg-la-Reine, a Paris suburb.
At age 17, Delon got conscripted into the military and chose to join the French navy. However, he was disciplined for taking military gear and was deployed to Saigon during the First Indochina Conflict. Unfortunately, he was dismissed from service due to stealing a jeep and causing an accident.
In 1956, Delon returned to Paris where he took on various jobs and often visited the clubs and cafes of Saint-Germain-des-Prés. It was here that he encountered Jean-Claude Brialy, a star in films from the New Wave era like Claude Chabrol’s “Le Beau Serge.” Brialy introduced Delon at Cannes that year, capturing the attention of David O. Selznick with his striking features. Selznick invited Delon to Rome for a screen test, and after impressing him, offered a seven-year contract contingent on Delon enhancing his English skills.
Instead, Delon opted to stay in France upon the request of director Yves Allégret, who offered him his initial role in the 1957 revenge thriller titled “Send a Woman When the Devil Fails“. (It was Michèle Cordoue, Allégret’s wife and Delon’s lover at the moment, who suggested him for this part.)
“He admitted years later to Vanity Fair that he had no idea how to act in front of the camera when he was 22 and untrained. Yves Allégret, upon seeing him for the first time, advised him: ‘Alain, listen carefully. Speak as you speak to me. Look at me as you look at me. Hear as you hear me. Don’t pretend, live.’ This advice transformed everything.”
From that point on, Delon consistently worked. In 1958, he starred as the main character in the French crime comedy “Be Beautiful and Shut Up,” where Jean-Paul Belmondo made his early appearance as a young hoodlum. That same year, he also took on the role of an army lieutenant in the pre-World War I Viennese drama “Christine.”
In the final film, Romy Schneider, a well-known German actress from the beloved Sissi movies, played the lead role. The romantic chemistry between her character and Delon’s was so intense that it translated into a real-life relationship. They became engaged the following year and stayed together until 1963. Post their split, they worked together in two more films: Jacques Deray’s The Swimming Pool (1969) and Losey’s The Assassination of Trotsky (1972).
Delon achieved his significant milestone in 1960 through the movie “Purple Noon,” which was based on Patricia Highsmith’s book “The Talented Mr. Ripley” and adapted by Clément (known for “Forbidden Games”). In this film, Delon portrayed the captivating yet malevolent character Tom Ripley, exuding charm and menace in a suspenseful tale set against the stunning Mediterranean landscape. The movie was both critically acclaimed and commercially successful, earning Delon comparisons to James Dean by some critics.
In this Italian family drama directed by Visconti titled “Rocco and His Brothers,” the actor took on the role of a struggling young man from the south who migrates to Milan with his siblings, aiming to become a boxing champion. The movie also featured Renato Salvatori and Annie Girardot. “Rocco” won the Golden Lion in Venice in 1960, boosting Delon’s fame across Europe and beyond. It was just the fifth film of his career at that time.
Remarkable films from the ’60s also featured prominently, such as “The Eclipse,” a modernist existential romance by Antonioni starring alongside Monica Vitti; “Any Number Can Win” (1963), a melancholic heist film directed by Henri Verneuil where Delon played an aspiring young gangster with Jean Gabin; and “The Leopard,” an epic Sicilian production by Visconti, which starred Burt Lancaster and Claudia Cardinale. This movie won the Palme d’or in Cannes in 1963 and earned Delon his only Golden Globe nomination.
For the remainder of that decade, his work encompassed various notable projects: Alain Cavalier’s gritty noir film “The Unvanquished” (1964), in which Delon also served as producer; the World War II epic “Is Paris Burning?” (1966), a collaboration with Clément, featuring an extensive international cast including Orson Welles, Leslie Caron, and Kirk Douglas; the three-person drama “The Swimming Pool” (1969), directed by Deray and later remade as “A Bigger Splash” in 2015, starring Schneider and Jane Birkin; and Verneuil’s successful crime film “The Sicilian Clan” (1969), a high-speed Franco-Italian production that co-starred Lino Ventura.
In Hollywood, Delon made The Yellow Rolls-Royce (1964), featuring Shirley MacLaine; the thriller Once a Thief (1965), with Ann-Margret and Jack Palance; the Dean Martin-starring Texas Across the River (1966); and the Algerian War film Lost Command (1966), with Anthony Quinn.
In the 60s, Alain Delon portrayed the enigmatic character of Jef Costello in Melville’s film noir, “Le Samouraï”. His brooding and stoic performance as a man of few words was highly acclaimed by critics, and this role stands out as one of his most iconic. During an interview with “Cahiers du cinéma”, Delon expressed that the character felt like something greater than himself, beyond his own consciousness. He said, “The samurai is me, but unknowingly so.”
Delon appeared in over 30 films during the 1970s, but he didn’t star in as many iconic movies as he did in the preceding decade. However, he did work with Melville again on the crime saga “The Red Circle,” a French box office success that is now regarded as one of the greatest heist films ever made. Later, they collaborated on “Un Flic” (1972), which was Melville’s final film.
Additionally, he reconnected with Deray on the film set of the gangster movie “Borsalino”, where they both starred alongside Belmondo. This was followed by “Borsalino & Co.” (1974). He also played a professor smitten with a student in Valerio Zurlini’s psychological drama, “Indian Summer” (1972). Lastly, he collaborated once more with Lancaster on the CIA thriller “Scorpio”, directed by Michael Winner, in 1973.
One of Delon’s most notable works from this decade might be his second project with Losey, titled “Mr. Klein“. This film revolves around a morally questionable art dealer in Paris during Nazi occupation, who unexpectedly finds he has a Jewish counterpart. The movie, which Delon also produced, garnered him his first César nomination for best actor and was awarded the prized titles for the best French film and director.
In the late ’70s, Delon dived headfirst into the world of fashion. He introduced watches, sunglasses, and a collection of perfumes, which he named “Shogun” and “Samurai Woman.”
From the 1980s onwards, he appeared in fewer films. Notable works from this period include “Swann in Love,” directed by Volker Schlöndorff (1984), “Our Story” by Blier (1984), a melancholic romantic tale, and Jean-Luc Godard’s deconstructed neo-film noir, “Nouvelle Vague” (1990).
In the year 2008, Delon’s most successful movie was released, where he portrayed Julius Caesar in the humorous film titled “Asterix at the Olympic Games“. This cinematic spectacle garnered over $130 million at the box office.
After his 1959 engagement with Schneider, Delon was romantically connected to The Velvet Underground singer Nico. However, he denied being the father of her son, Christian Aaron Boulogne (born in 1962). This child was later adopted by Delon’s parents.
1964 marked the year I tied the knot with the enchanting actress, Francine Canovas, who later became Nathalie Delon. In the same year, we welcomed our son, Anthony, into our lives.
Delon embarked on a significant romance in 1968 with actress Mireille Darc, best known for her roles in the “Borsalino” films. In 1987, he entered into a relationship with Dutch model Rosalie van Breeman, and together they had two children named Anouchka and Alain-Fabien.
Lately, his three offspring had a disagreement about their father’s healthcare plan and financial affairs. In February of 2024, the police discovered that he was in possession of 72 unlicensed firearms and over 3,000 rounds of ammunition within his home in Douchy-Montcorbon, located south of Paris.
In a 2018 interview with Le Figaro, Delon stressed that he was not a “thespian.”
“He stated that his profession isn’t acting like a thespian. A thespian is a dedicated professional, while he considers himself an actor – someone who embodies the roles they play. He explained that he’s always lived his roles rather than performing them. In other words, unlike a thespian who practices and perfects their craft, he feels like an accidental actor, as if his life and career are just happenstances.”
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2024-08-18 09:55