French actor Alain Delon, who melted the hearts of millions of movie buffs whether playing a murderer or a hitman, and sparked headlines with his shadowy connections to a famous murder case, has died aged 88.
Delon had been in poor health since suffering a stroke in 2019, rarely leaving his estate in Douchy, in France's Val de Loire region.
With striking blue eyes, Delon was sometimes referred to as the "French Frank Sinatra" for his handsome looks, a comparison Delon himself disliked.
The heart throb and icon of 1960s cinema played in many famous films, such as a French adaptation of Patricia Highsmith's novel, The Talented Mr. Ripley, The Leopard, which was awarded a Palme d'Or, and Le Samouraï, in which he played the role of a lone killer, Jeff Costello.
In 1968 he got embroiled in a murder investigation when his bodyguard Stefan Marković was found dead in a dumpster in western France. Delon was summoned several times for questioning and was placed in police custody.
According to the French daily, Le Monde, the bodyguard was a Yugoslav criminal, who was hired by Delon shortly after his release from prison and he had written in a letter to his brother that if anything ever happened to him, he should “look to A.D.” and Delon’s close friend, François Marcantoni, who is a Corsican gangster.
The murder remains unresolved, but it got penned “The Marković case” after it garnered even more attention when the press allegedly got hold of sexually explicit photographs of Claude Pompidou, the wife of former prime minister Georges Pompidou, at parties organized by Marković.
He ran away from home at least once and was expelled several times from boarding schools before joining the Marines at 17 and serving in French colonial Indochina. There, too he got into trouble over a stolen jeep.
Back in France in the mid-50s, he worked as a porter at Paris wholesale food market, Les Halles, and spent time in the red-light Pigalle district before migrating to the cafes of the bohemian St. Germain des Pres area.
There he met French actor Jean-Claude Brialy, who took him to the Cannes Film Festival, where he attracted the attention of an American talent scout who arranged a screen test.
His film debut was in “Quand la femme s'en mele” (“Send a Woman When the Devil Fails”) in 1957.
In his last years, Delon was the center of a family feud over his care, which made headlines in French media.
French president Emmanuel Macron commemorated the actor’s passing on the X platform:
“From Monsieur Klein to Rocco, The Leopard, to The Samouraï, Alain Delon has played legendary roles and made the world dream. Lending his unforgettable face to turn our lives upside down. Melancholy, popular, secretive, he was more than a star: he was a French monument,” the president wrote.
Italian cinema star Claudia Cardinale bid farewell to the French actor, recalling the 1963 film The Leopard, directed by Luchino Visconti, in which they starred together.
Recalling scenes from the historical drama, a screen adaptation of the novel, which was written by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa, Cardinale told Italy's Ansa news agency: “The dance is over. Tancredi has risen to dance with the stars.”
That's how she referred to the character of the prince, played by Delon.
With striking blue eyes, Delon was sometimes referred to as the "French Frank Sinatra" for his handsome looks, a comparison Delon himself disliked.
The heart throb and icon of 1960s cinema played in many famous films, such as a French adaptation of Patricia Highsmith's novel, The Talented Mr. Ripley, The Leopard, which was awarded a Palme d'Or, and Le Samouraï, in which he played the role of a lone killer, Jeff Costello.
In 1968 he got embroiled in a murder investigation when his bodyguard Stefan Marković was found dead in a dumpster in western France. Delon was summoned several times for questioning and was placed in police custody.
According to the French daily, Le Monde, the bodyguard was a Yugoslav criminal, who was hired by Delon shortly after his release from prison and he had written in a letter to his brother that if anything ever happened to him, he should “look to A.D.” and Delon’s close friend, François Marcantoni, who is a Corsican gangster.
The murder remains unresolved, but it got penned “The Marković case” after it garnered even more attention when the press allegedly got hold of sexually explicit photographs of Claude Pompidou, the wife of former prime minister Georges Pompidou, at parties organized by Marković.
Born just outside Paris on November 8, 1935, Delon started life on the back foot: he was put in foster care aged four after his parents divorced.Monsieur Klein ou Rocco, le Guépard ou le Samouraï, Alain Delon a incarné des rôles légendaires, et fait rêver le monde. Prêtant son visage inoubliable pour bouleverser nos vies.
— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) August 18, 2024
Mélancolique, populaire, secret, il était plus qu’une star : un monument français. pic.twitter.com/1JTqPfVo5n
He ran away from home at least once and was expelled several times from boarding schools before joining the Marines at 17 and serving in French colonial Indochina. There, too he got into trouble over a stolen jeep.
Back in France in the mid-50s, he worked as a porter at Paris wholesale food market, Les Halles, and spent time in the red-light Pigalle district before migrating to the cafes of the bohemian St. Germain des Pres area.
There he met French actor Jean-Claude Brialy, who took him to the Cannes Film Festival, where he attracted the attention of an American talent scout who arranged a screen test.
His film debut was in “Quand la femme s'en mele” (“Send a Woman When the Devil Fails”) in 1957.
In his last years, Delon was the center of a family feud over his care, which made headlines in French media.
French president Emmanuel Macron commemorated the actor’s passing on the X platform:
“From Monsieur Klein to Rocco, The Leopard, to The Samouraï, Alain Delon has played legendary roles and made the world dream. Lending his unforgettable face to turn our lives upside down. Melancholy, popular, secretive, he was more than a star: he was a French monument,” the president wrote.
Italian cinema star Claudia Cardinale bid farewell to the French actor, recalling the 1963 film The Leopard, directed by Luchino Visconti, in which they starred together.
Recalling scenes from the historical drama, a screen adaptation of the novel, which was written by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa, Cardinale told Italy's Ansa news agency: “The dance is over. Tancredi has risen to dance with the stars.”
That's how she referred to the character of the prince, played by Delon.
Source: Le Monde, PAP, Reuters
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