Alain Delon, French Star of ‘Le Samourai’, Passes Away at 88

Alain Delon, the renowned French actor, best known for his work in Jean-Pierre Melville’s films, particularly “Le Samourai,” has passed away at the age of 88.

“He passed away peacefully in his home in Douchy, surrounded by his three children and his family,” his family stated to the AFP news agency.

Besides his iconic role in “Le Samourai,” Delon starred in several other notable films by Melville, including “Le Cercle rouge” and “Un Flic.”

Other significant movies in Delon’s filmography include Rene Clement’s “Purple Noon”; Visconti’s “Rocco and His Brothers” and “The Leopard”; Antonioni’s “L’Eclisse”; and Joseph Losey’s “Mr. Klein.”

Following Jean-Paul Belmondo’s embodiment of French cool in Godard’s “Breathless,” Delon and Melville redefined it in “Le Samourai,” where Delon’s portrayal of a meticulous hitman earned comparisons to James Dean. However, Delon was far less emotional on screen than Dean, embodying a different kind of cool—often more reserved and stoic.

Delon’s fame during the 1960s and ’70s extended far beyond France, reaching diverse regions including Japan, Communist China, and Latin America. His extraordinary appeal was epitomized in “Le Samourai.” Film scholar David Thomson described Delon as “the enigmatic angel of French film, only 32 in 1967, and nearly feminine. Yet so earnest and immaculate as to be thought lethal or potent. He was close to the real French underworld.”

Roger Ebert touted Delon as the “tough pretty boy of French movies, an actor so improbably handsome that his best strategy for dealing with his looks was to use a poker face.”

In “Le Samourai,” Melville meticulously follows Delon’s assassin, Jef Costello, through a series of evasive maneuvers, highlighting more the style of the film and Delon’s portrayal than the plot itself.

Delon’s breakout came with Rene Clement’s 1960 film, “Purple Noon,” an adaptation of Patricia Highsmith’s “The Talented Mr. Ripley.” His role as the sociopath Tom Ripley brought him stardom. In Visconti’s 1960 opera “Rocco and His Brothers,” Delon played a reluctant boxer who sacrifices his career to support his family.

Delon and Visconti collaborated again in 1963’s “The Leopard,” where Delon’s performance as a revolutionary nephew opposite Claudia Cardinale and Burt Lancaster strengthened his reputation.

In 1962, Delon starred with Monica Vitti in Antonioni’s “L’Eclisse,” portraying a stockbroker who can’t meet Vitti’s emotional needs. In 1969, he shared the screen with Romy Schneider in the thriller “La Piscine.”

Delon worked with Richard Burton in Joseph Losey’s “The Assassination of Trotsky” (1972) and later in Losey’s “Mr. Klein” (1976), delivering a controlled performance as a Catholic art dealer in occupied Paris mistaken for a Jewish activist. Delon also produced the latter.

Delon starred with Jean Gabin in several crime dramas: “Any Number Can Win” (1963), “The Sicilian Clan” (1969), and “Two Men in Town” (1973), bridging generations of French cinema.

His international roles included a photographer in “The Yellow Rolls Royce” (1964) and “Is Paris Burning?” (1966).

In 1971, Delon appeared with Charles Bronson and Toshiro Mifune in the Western “Red Sun,” which did well in Europe and Asia. He reunited with Burt Lancaster in the thriller “Scorpio” (1973), playing an assassin targeting Lancaster’s weary spy.

Alain Fabien Maurice Marcel Delon was born in Sceaux, Hauts-de-Seine. His tumultuous childhood and frequent expulsions from school eventually led him to odd jobs in Paris, where he met actor Jean Claude Brialy and established professional contacts. His film debut came in 1957 with a small role in Yves Allegret’s “Send a Woman When the Devil Fails.”

Delon declined a Hollywood contract from David O. Selznick, choosing instead to act in French cinema. However, he did participate in a few American films: “Once a Thief” (1964), “Four for Texas” (1966), and “Airport ’79: The Concorde.”

In the early 1980s, Delon ventured behind the camera, adapting novels by Jean-Patrick Manchette. While these crime dramas were only moderately successful, Delon remained closely associated with the genre throughout his career.

Delon played significant roles as both actor and producer, focusing primarily on crime dramas. He also returned to the spotlight in the French TV crime drama “Frank Riva” (2003-04) and as Julius Caesar in “Asterix at the Olympic Games” (2008).

In 1969, Delon was involved in a scandal following the murder of his former bodyguard, Stevan Markovic. The scandal had both criminal and political dimensions, eventually resulting in the conviction of François Marcantoni, though Delon and his wife were questioned.

Delon’s personal life often intrigued the French media. He had relationships with actresses Romy Schneider and Mireille Darc, German singer Nico, and Dutch model Rosalie van Breemen, with whom he had two children. He was also married to Nathalie Barthélemy from 1964 to 1969, and they had one son, Anthony.

In 2019, Delon received an honorary Palme d’Or at Cannes. Following a stroke that year, his family placed him under conservatorship in 2024.

Source: AFP