Farewell to Alain Delon: the great French actor leaves us at age 88

Farewell to Alain Delon: the famous French actor leaves us at the age of 88. This was announced by his children to Afp: “Alain Fabien, Anouchka, Anthony, as well as his dog Loubo, have the immense sorrow to announce the departure of their father,” the statement read. “He passed away peacefully at his home in Douchy, with his children and family members beside him. The family asks you to respect their privacy at this extremely painful time of mourning.”

Born in Sceaux (Seine) on November 8, 1935, he is one of the most iconic figures in French and international cinema. His career began in an unusual way: at the age of 17 he enlisted in the French Navy and in 1953 was sent to Southeast Asia to participate in the Indochina War. After being discharged in 1956, Delon returned to Paris and began to frequent the milieu of intellectuals and the entertainment world. It was here that he approached the theater, beginning to act in small productions. However, it was his extraordinary beauty and ability to adapt to even minor roles that caught the attention of film producers. His breakthrough came in the 1960s thanks to his meeting with director Luchino Visconti.

Delon offers memorable performances that solidify his fame internationally in such cinematic masterpieces as Rocco and His Brothers and The Leopard, but there are many other roles he plays in his many films that have studded his career. In 1995 he was awarded theGolden Bear for Lifetime Achievement at the Berlin Film Festival, and in 2019 the Palme d’Or for Lifetime Achievement at the Cannes Film Festival.

The world of cinema today mourns one of its greatest protagonists. Claudia Cardinale entrusts ANSA with her last words for Alain Delon: “They ask me for words,” says the actress, “but the sadness is too intense. I join the pain of his children, his loved ones, his fans. The dance is over. Tancredi has gone up to dance with the stars. Forever yours, Angelica.”

Brigitte Bardot is “devastated by the passing” of Alain Delon: the Brigitte Bardot Foundation writes in a social post. “Their friendship, based on their common love for animals and common commitment to their welfare, was precious and sincere,” the Foundation continues. Alain was much more than a movie icon; his commitment marked our hearts."

“Alain Delon succeeded where most of his colleagues fail: to be considered the most handsome man in the world and at the same time an extraordinary actor. If he has left his mortal remains today, it is to ascend to the Olympus of the Immortals we will always remember,” Alberto Barbera, director of the Cinema sector of the Venice Biennale, said in a note. “An icon of French cinema,” Barbera continued, "who owes part of his planetary success to the films he shot in Italy, Rocco and His Brothers, The Eclipse, The Leopard, and The First Night of Tranquility, a popular star who left his indelible mark on the films of the greatest great auteurs of European cinema, from Luchino Visconti to Michelangelo Antonioni, Joseph Losey, Jean-Luc Godard, Jean-Pierre Melville, Valerio Zurlini, René Clement."

“A timeless talent of world cinema, Alain Delon, has left us,” Cinecittà President Chiara Sbarigia said in a note. "His tireless passion and his masterful performances in masterpieces such as the Dostoevskian Rocco Parondi in Luchino Visconti’s Rocco and His Brothers, for whom, three years later, he would be Prince Tancredi Falconeri in The Leopard, make him a leading actor in Italian cinema as well."

Emmanuel Macron also remembered the great French actor: “Monsieur Klein or Rocco, the Gattopoardo or the Samurai, Alain Delon 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: a French monument.”

Farewell to Alain Delon: the great French actor leaves us at age 88

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