A great wild animal has died, one who both fascinated and divided: cinema icon, French actor Alain Delon died at the age of 88, his three children announced on Sunday August 18 in a joint statement to AFP.
“Alain Fabien, Anouchka, Anthony, as well as (his dog) Loubo, have the immense sadness to announce the departure of their father. He passed away peacefully in his house in Douchy, surrounded by his three children and his family. […] His family asks you to please respect his privacy at this extremely painful time of mourning,” the statement said.
“The actor of Full sun and of Samurai has gone to join (the Virgin) Mary among the stars so dear to his heart. His family asks you to please respect his privacy, in this extremely painful moment of mourning”, the three children continue.
The actor died “very early in the middle of the night,” they said.
Extremely rare in cinema since the end of the 1990s, Alain Delon made headlines in the summer of 2023 when his three children filed a complaint against his companion, Hiromi Rollin, sometimes described as his partner, suspecting abuse of weakness.
Her three children then waged a fratricidal war through the media and the courts, arguing over the health of the star, who suffered from lymphoma and had a stroke in 2019.
In May 2019, he returned to enjoy the lights of the Cannes red carpet to receive an honorary Palme d’Or, between tears and speeches with testamentary overtones: “It’s a bit of a posthumous tribute, but while I’m still alive,” reacted the actor of Full sun (1960), a film that gave him an international aura, Rocco and his brothers (1960) and The Cheetah (1963), or The swimming pool (1969).