Among his most famous films are “Blood-red sun” and “Scorpio”. The comedy “Poor Women” (1959) was a success in France and the first of Delon’s films to be shown in the United States.
He became established internationally with roles in “Het sol (1960) and above all the big breakthrough “Rocco and his brothers” (1960). Then continued a career in both the USA and France.
Delon had a messy upbringing. The parents divorced early, and Delon was sent for a period to a foster family. He was relegated from school and came into contact with the underworld. He also served as a paratrooper in the French Marine Corps during the Indochina War and the Battle of Dien Bien Phu in 1954, but was kicked out of the navy after stealing a jeep. Back in France, Delon hung out with criminals and prostitutes before he was discovered as an actor.
From heartbreaker to gangster
Delon worked with director names such as Luchino Visconti, Jean-Luc Godard, Jean-Pierre Melville, Michelangelo Antonioni and Louis Malle. At the beginning of his career, he often got roles as a heartthrob, and later more in gangster films.
Delon was also controversial. In 2019, he was awarded the honorary Palme d’or d’Honneur at the Cannes Film Festival, which caused protests as Delon was accused of violence against women, racism and homophobia. Delon was then defended by festival director Thierry Fremaux who said that the Cannes Film Festival was praising Delon’s career and not his views.
In a high-profile television interview that same year, Delon admitted that he saw no problem with giving ear files to women, but that he had never “broken” a woman. The son Anthony also stated that the father abused his mother.
Suspect for the death of his bodyguard
In 1968, Delon was at the center of the so-called Marković affair, in which his friend and bodyguard Stevan Marković died in violent circumstances. It was speculated that Delon himself, along with a criminal acquaintance, was involved in the death. The case was never solved.
Alain Delon had a successful career but made few film recordings after 1990. In 2019 he suffered a stroke. He died at the age of 88 after a long illness, his three children said in a statement.
“He passed away peacefully at his home in Douchy, surrounded by his three children and his family,” the statement said.