Delon starred in more than 80 movies over six decades, including such classics as “Le Samouraï” and “The Leopard.” He was 88.
Actor Alain Delon has died. His icy good looks established him as an postwar international celebrity who enjoyed a long commercial film career in Europe. Delon starred in more than 80 movies over six decades, including such classics as Le Samouraï and The Leopard. He was 88.
An agent for one of Delon’s sons confirmed the death. His three children released a statement on Sunday to the news agency Agence France-Presse saying the actor had died peacefully at his home in Douchy, France.
Born in a wealthy Parisian suburb, Delon endured a tumultuous early life. His parents divorced when he was 4 years old. He spent his childhood shuffling between a foster family, various relatives and boarding schools, where he developed a reputation as a troublemaker and petty thief. At 17, Delon enlisted in the French navy, serving in what was then French Indochina for four years. After his service, he worked odd jobs, including as a waiter and a longshoreman, and started dating an actresswho would be his entry into moviemaking.
Delon started getting attention as a screen starting in the late 1950s. One early role was as the lead in a French/Italian sex comedy called Faibles Femmes, or Women Are Weak.
“This young man, whom some genius press agent has helpfully tagged ‘the French James Dean,’ has long silky hair, high cheekbones and a loose-jointed, soigne air,” wrote New York Times critic Bosley Crowther in a dismissive 1959 review of the film. “He smiles come-hitherly and generally is condescending to the lovelies, who flip for him. He rides a motorcycle and affects the hauteur of a ‘cat.
