French film legend Alain Delon dies at 88

French film legend Alain Delon, a divisive star known to some as a sex symbol and to others an egotistical chauvinist,
has died at the age of 88, his children annnounced Sunday in a statement to
AFP.

“Alain Fabien, Anouchka, Anthony, as well as (his dog) Loubo, are deeply
saddened to announce the passing of their father. He passed away peacefully
in his home in Douchy, surrounded by his three children and his family,” said
the statement, which came after months of public family feuding over the
star’s weakening health.

The actor, known for his roles in classics “Purple Noon” (1960) and “Le
Samurai” (1967), died at around 3:00 am (0100 GMT), his son Anthony told AFP.

A rarity on the screen since the 1990s, Delon made headlines in 2023 when his
three children filed a complaint against his live-in assistant Hiromi Rollin,
accusing her of harassment and threatening behaviour.

The siblings went on to wage a public battle in the media and the courts,
arguing over the star’s state of health, which included a stroke in 2019.

Delon’s family has asked for privacy following his death.

Ahead of his debilitating stroke, Delon made his last major public appearance
on the red carpet to receive 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 had said upon
receiving the award.

“I am going to leave, but I won’t leave without thanking you,” added the man
who had lived out his final years at his home in a village in northeast
France, surrounded by high walls, where he planned to be buried not far from
his dogs.

“Alain is in a deep, chosen solitude, in another world, in the past with
people he very much loved… His malaise has always been present,” his former
partner Mireille Dard told AFP in 2015, before the star turned 80.

“The best and the worst, both inaccessible and so close, cold and hot,”
fellow 1960s star Brigitte Bardot had described him on his 80th birthday.
— Instinctive genius —

Far from a cerebral actor, Delon was considered an instinctive genius. He
prided himself on never having worked on his technique, rather relying on
charisma.

“He’s not a normal actor, Alain Delon. He’s an object of desire,” said actor
Vincent Lindon in a 2012 documentary.

His looks were cinematic gold for filmmakers in the 1960s, playing roles of
pretty boy killers and mysterious schemers like in “Purple Noon” — later
remade as “The Talented Mr Ripley”.

He went on to set the template for one of Hollywood’s favourite tropes — the
mysterious, cerebral hitman — with his staggering performance as the silent
killer in Jean-Pierre Melville’s “Le Samurai” (1967).

Directors from Martin Scorsese and Quentin Tarantino to Hong Kong’s John Woo
all acknowledge a debt to the inner life Delon gave his stylish killer —
although the French actor himself never made it big in Hollywood.

But while he was universally admired, he also faced harsh criticism and
judgement.

Some raised issue with his suport for polarising politician Jean-Marie Le
Pen, leader of the far-right National Front (later renamed the National
Rally), who was in favour of the death penalty and spoke against
homosexuality.

Ahead of his 2019 return to Cannes, he faced controversy over his
relationship with women, with his sons previously accusing him of domestic
violence.

While Delon denied this, he admitted to slapping women who attacked him
during quarrels.

The self-described right-winger was also mocked for his ego and habit of
talking about himself in the third person.

But fans who adored him will think back to his opening line in the film “Le
Samurai”: “There is no deeper solitude than that of the samurai, except that
of a tiger in the jungle.” (BSS/AFP)