Alain Delon, the French star who shot to stardom during the 1960s with films like Il Gattopardo (1963) and Le Samouraï (1967), has passed away at the age of 88 years old in Douchy, France, in the company of his family. Delon was reported to have spent his last months on his estate, and his family has confirmed he died peacefully in his home, per a Variety report.
Born in Sceaux, France, in 1935, the actor is considered one of the most influential leading men of his generation. His work with directors like Jean-Pierre Melville, Michelangelo Antonioni, Luchino Victoni, and Jean-Luc Godard was internationally acclaimed and always put him in the spotlight as one of the valued European actors everyone sought for their films in the ’60s and ’70s. However, he wasn’t very keen on participating in every movie he was offered. His career was primarily based on French cinema.
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Prior to his death, Delon’s life was unfortunately in legal turmoil. His children filed a complaint in 2023 against Hiromi Rollin, Delon’s apparent companion. Anthony, one of Delon’s sons, claimed the woman severely manipulated the star. Rollin responded with a claim that though she had a relationship with Delon, she was no longer his companion. All the cases were dropped before getting to trial. In January 2024, Delon filed a complaint against Anthony, who had gone on record to say his father was senile and was unable to carry out basic tasks after having a stroke in 2019. According to reports, this was also related to inheritance matters.
Delon developed a lymphoma in the early 2020s. In one of his last interviews, the actor expressed his support for euthanasia, calling it “a natural thing.” Last year, in the middle of a legal battle, his children decided the cancer treatment was putting him through a physical ordeal that wasn’t justified, and decided to stop it.
Alain Delon’s Legacy and Le Samouraï
Delon’s career is extremely broad in terms of scope and influence. His most important performance was undoubtedly playing Jef Costello in Jean-Pierre Melville’s noir crime thriller Le Samouraï. The film, which holds a 100% score on Rotten Tomatoes, tells the story of a professional hitman whose latest job goes awry when he notices there’s a witness who can identify him. His performance has been considered an essential influence in films like 1989’s The Killer and 2011’s Drive. The film’s legacy and influence can also be seen in movies like Reservoir Dogs, The Conversation, Taxi Driver, and Heat.
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But perhaps his legacy is also notable for the roles he was supposed to get and didn’t for one reason or another. Often considered a difficult actor to work with, Delon was one of the options for playing Michael Corleone in The Godfather, but he refused to participate. He also said the same about Steven Spielberg’s Close Encounters of the Third Kind. But one of his most notorious refusals to make big Hollywood films was when he was offered the role of Sherif Ali in Lawrence of Arabia; Delon decided to turn down the offer because he had to wear contact lenses, and it wasn’t very comfortable. In the theoretical Dune project by Alejandro Jodorowsky, Delon was set to play Duncan Idaho.
All at MovieWeb send our condolences to Delon’s family, friends and fans.
