PARIS (AP) 鈥� Alain Delon, the internationally acclaimed French actor who embodied both the bad guy and the policeman and made hearts throb around the world, died at age 88, French media reported.
With his handsome looks and tender manner, the prolific actor was able to combine toughness with an appealing, vulnerable quality that made him one of France鈥檚 memorable leading men.
Delon was also a producer. He also appeared in plays, and in later years, in television movies.
French President Emmanuel Macron paid tribute on X to 鈥渁 French monument."
鈥淎lain Delon has played legendary roles and made the world dream,鈥� he wrote. 鈥淢elancholic, popular, secretive, he was more than a star.鈥�
Delon's children announced the death on Sunday in a statement to the French national news agency Agence France-Presse, a common practice in France. Tributes to Delon immediately started pouring in on social platforms, and all leading French media switched to full-fledged coverage of his rich career.
Earlier this year, his son Anthony had said his father had been diagnosed with B-cell lymphoma, a type of cancer.
Over the past year, Delon's fragile health condition had been at the heart of a family dispute over his care that gave rise to bitter exchanges through the media among his three children.
At the prime of his career, in the 1960s and 1970s, Delon was sought out by some of the world鈥檚 top directors, from Luchino Visconti to Joseph Losey.
In his later years, Delon grew disillusioned with the movie industry, saying that money had killed the dream. 鈥淢oney, commerce and television have wrecked the dream machine,鈥� he wrote in a 2003 edition of the newsweekly, Le Nouvel Observateur. 鈥淢y cinema is dead. And me, too.鈥�
But he continued to work frequently, appearing in several TV movies in his 70s.
Delon鈥檚 presence was unforgettable, whether playing morally depraved heroes or romantic leading men. He first drew acclaim in 1960 with 鈥淧lein Soleil,鈥� directed by R茅ne Cl茅ment, in which he played a murderer trying to take on the identity of his victims.
He made several Italian movies, working, most notably with Visconti in the 1961 film 鈥淩occo and His Brothers,鈥� in which Delon portrays a self-sacrificing brother intent on helping his sibling. The movie won the Special Jury Prize at the Venice Film Festival.
The 1963 Visconti film 鈥淟e Guepard鈥� (The Leopard) starring Delon won the Palme d鈥橭r, the highest honor at the Cannes Film Festival. His other films included Cl茅ment鈥檚 鈥淚s Paris Burning,鈥� with a screenplay by Gore Vidal and Francis Ford Coppola among others; 鈥淟a Piscine鈥� (The Sinners), directed by Jacques Deray; and, in a departure, Losey鈥檚 鈥淭he Assassination of Trotsky鈥� in 1972.
In 1968, Delon began producing movies 鈥� 26 of them by 1990 鈥� part of a frenzied and self-assured momentum that he maintained throughout his life.
His confidence was palpable in his statement to Femme in 1996, 鈥業 like to be loved the way I love myself!鈥� This echoed his charismatic screen persona.
Delon continued to captivate audiences for years 鈥� on the way courting criticism for comments deemed outdated. In 2010, he appeared in 鈥淯n mari de trop鈥� (鈥淥ne Husband Too Many鈥�) and returned to the stage in 2011 with 鈥淎n Ordinary Day,鈥� alongside his daughter Anouchka.
He briefly presided over the Miss France jury but stepped down in 2013 after a disagreement over some controversial statements, which included critiques on women, LGBTQIA+ rights, and migrants. Despite these controversies, he received a Palme d鈥橦onneur at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival, a decision that sparked further debate.
The Cannes Film Festival on Sunday expressed its 鈥渟adness.鈥� Delon 鈥渆mbodied French cinema far beyond its borders,鈥� it said, in a statement.
The Brigitte Bardot Foundation, dedicated to animal protection, paid tribute to 鈥渁n exceptional man, an unforgettable artist and a great friend of animals,鈥� in a statement released on social media. Delon was 鈥渁 close friend鈥� of French film legend Brigitte Bardot 鈥渨ho is deeply saddened by his passing,鈥� the statement said. 鈥淲e lose a precious friend and a man with a big heart.鈥�
French film producer Alain Terzian said Delon was 鈥渢he last of the giants.鈥�
鈥淚t鈥檚 a page being turned in the history of French cinema,鈥� he told France Inter radio. Terzian, who produced several films directed by Delon, recalled that 鈥渆very time he arrived somewhere ... there was a kind of almost mystical, quasi-religious respect. He was fascinating.鈥�
Born on Nov. 8, 1935, in Sceaux, just south of Paris, Delon was placed with a foster family after his parents鈥� separation when he was 4. He then attended a Roman Catholic boarding school.
At 17, Delon joined the navy and was sent to Indochina. Back in France in 1956, he held various odd jobs from waiter to a carrier in the Paris meat market before turning to acting.
Delon had a son, Anthony, in 1964 with his then-wife Nathalie Canovas, who played alongside him in Jean-Pierre Melville鈥檚 鈥淭he Samurai鈥� in 1967. He had two more children, Anouchka and Alain-Fabien, with a later companion, Rosalie van Breemen, with whom he produced a song and video clip in 1987. He was also widely believed to have been the father of Ari Boulogne, the son of German model and singer Nico, although he never publicly acknowledged paternity.
鈥淚 am very good at three things: my job, foolishness and children,鈥� he said in a 1995 L鈥橢xpress interview.
Delon juggled diverse activities throughout his life, from setting up a stable of trotting horses to developing cologne for men and women, followed by watches, glasses and other accessories. He also collected paintings and sculptures.
Delon announced an end to his acting career in 1999, only to continue, appearing in Bertrand Blier鈥檚 鈥淟es Acteurs鈥� (The Actors) the same year. Later he appeared in several television police shows.
His good looks sustained him. In August 2002, Delon told a weekly magazine, L鈥橦umanite Hebdo, that he wouldn鈥檛 still be in the business if that weren鈥檛 so.
鈥淵ou鈥檒l never see me old and ugly,鈥� he said when he was already nearing 70, 鈥渂ecause I鈥檒l leave before, or I鈥檒l die.鈥�
However, it was in 2019 that Delon encapsulated his feelings about his life鈥檚 meaning during a gala event honoring him at the Cannes Film Festival. 鈥淥ne thing I鈥檓 sure about is that if there鈥檚 something I鈥檓 proud of, really, the only thing, it鈥檚 my career.鈥�
鈥斺赌�
Retired AP correspondent Elaine Ganley contributed biographical material to this story.
鈥斺赌�
This story has been corrected to delete reference to Delon appearing in 鈥淭he Empty House鈥� in 2022.
Sylvie Corbet And Thomas Adamson, The Associated Press
