The morning of August 18, 2024 brought with it the news of Alain Delon's death, and the media coverage that followed gave the feeling as if an entire culture had lost one of its guiding lights. Delon was an icon without equal in the world of European cinema. With his unforgettable face and electrifying presence, he was not only an actor, but a cultural symbol and perhaps more than any other French symbol, imbued with nostalgia for another time, for another France and Paris that, despite its complexity, contradictions and dark sides, was as irresistible as Delon.
Many called him the “male Brigitte Bardot” for his dazzling beauty and captivating presence, but he was much more than that. Delon was a mesmerizing film star, carrying the image of elegant and mysterious masculinity wherever he appeared. His iconic image was so timeless that in 2009, when Delon was already 75, Dior launched a perfume that used a 1968 photo of him and the perfume as feline, passionate and irresistible. Although the photo was taken more than 40 years earlier, Delon’s look continued to exude the same charisma and emotion, proving to the world how relevant his boyish image remains in today’s culture.
The early years
Delon was born on November 8, 1935, in the town of Souss-en-Bérier, France. His childhood was complex and difficult, as his parents divorced when he was only four years old, and he moved between different foster families, which shaped his rebellious and independent nature.
He dropped out of school when he was only 14 years old and the only professional certificate he had was one that allowed him to work as a butcher.
At the age of 17, he joined the army and served in the French navy. His service included a period in the First Indochina War, which was interrupted after he was arrested for stealing a jeep. He was dismissed from the navy and imprisoned for 11 months, during which he celebrated his 20th birthday in a prison cell. This period made a deep impression on him: he discovered military discipline, a sense of honor and the values that a flag represents. France.
After his service, he began working odd jobs in Paris. On one occasion, while working as a waiter, he met the singer Dalida before she was famous, with whom he later had an affair.
Slowly he made connections in the underworld of Pigalle andMontmartre, criminals, prostitutes, pimps and policemen. And he even befriended a male prostitute named Carlos, who took care of protecting him.
Delon was fascinated by the microcosm of Pigalle and Montmartre, especially the respect, friendliness, and code of silence. His thin body and “regal” face attracted women and allowed him to stay with prostitutes who looked after him, which he certainly did not mind. He said that at that point in his life his future seemed to be heading towards a career as a pimp.
At the same time, he spent time in the lively clubs of Saint-Germain-des-PrésOne evening at the Club Saint-Germain, he met actress Brigitte Auber, who took him under her wing. They lived in her apartment in the 7th arrondissement, which distanced Delon from the underworld circles of Pigalle and Montmartre, and his future changed.
the hack
In 1957, Uber invited Delon to accompany her to the festival. Cannes, where he met the actor (years later he would also become a director) Jean-Claude Brialli, who became his main contact in the world of cinema.
Not long after, an American casting agent named Henry Wilson discovered him by chance, quickly recognizing his potential and introducing him to producer David O. Selznick, who offered him a temporary contract in Italy. This was the beginning of Delon's journey into the world of cinema, without experience or training, "almost by accident," as he used to say.
After a small role, Selznick offered Delon a seven-year Hollywood contract, on the condition that he learn English. Delon returned to Paris, and while studying, he became the lover of Michel Cordeau. She convinced her husband, director Yves Elgart, to hire him to shoot his first film, “When the Woman Intervenes,” in a small role. “I didn’t know how to do anything. Elgart looked at me like this and said: ‘Listen to me, Alain. Talk like you talk to me. Look like you look at me. Listen like you listen to me. Don’t act, live.’ That changed everything. If Yves Elgart hadn’t told me that, I wouldn’t have had this career.”
In 1958, then already a young star, he was elected Alain Delon By actress Romy Schneider, who was already a world celebrity, to play her partner in the film “Christine. Romy did not speak French, Alain Delon didn't speak German, and she found him uninteresting and in bad taste, while he found her unattractive. Filming began two months later, and the two didn't get along at all. Despite this, they fell in love, got engaged, and became the royal couple of the European entertainment industry.
His big break came in 1960 with the film “Rocco and His Brothers,” directed by Luchino Visconti, in which he first revealed his ability to combine tenderness with savagery. That same year, Delon played the character of Tom Ripley in “The Sun Trap,” the first film adaptation of Patricia Highsmith’s novel. There was a symmetry between Ripley’s story and Delon’s: both came from nowhere and tasted all the good the world had to offer, and they were not going to let anything bring them back to the working class and the underworld. There are scenes where you get the feeling that Delon is not acting, he is simply himself and enjoying his excellent chemistry with René Clamande. His performance, which combined external beauty with internal darkness, remains one of the most appreciated of his career, and years later was recognized as a performance that cannot be replicated.
Delon's Golden Years: From Star to Icon
In the 60s, Delon starred in a series of films that have since become classics in European cinema. His collaborations with directors such as Luchino Visconti in “The Tiger” (1963), Michelangelo Antonioni in “Eclipse” (1962), and others.
He starred in Alain Caballier's film “L'Insoumis” in 1964. The film tells the story of a French soldier during the Algerian War, who rebels against orders during the war – first on the battlefield where he flees, and then during the kidnapping of a lawyer whom he decides to release against the wishes of his employers, members of the OAS (the Organisation de l'Armée Secrète, was a far-right organization founded in France in 1961 with the aim of opposing the liberation of Algeria from French colonial rule).
The film was censored at 30 minutes following a lawsuit filed by a lawyer on behalf of the FLN (the Front de Libération Nationale was the main organization that fought against French colonial rule in Algeria during the Algerian War of Independence) because she was held captive by the OAS.
22 years later, the Smiths approached Delon and asked him for permission to use a photo from the film for the cover of their album “The Queen is Dead.” Morrissey claimed that Delon’s image at that time and in general reflected the dark, painful layers that the album was trying to convey. Delon agreed to use his photo, but tried to convince the Smiths to change the album title so as not to anger his parents, but band leader Morrissey did not agree. To date, the film has not been released in its full version.
In the mid-1960s, Delon tried to conquer Hollywood. He signed with MGM and Columbia, but failed to break into the American market. After making six films in Hollywood, he returned to France.
In 1967, he played his second iconic role in Jean-Pierre Melville's "The Samurai," where he played a hired killer who leads a double life of alienation and violence. Delon's character in the film, with his trench coat and signature hat, became one of the most recognizable characters in film history and established him as an unforgettable character actor. This character, a modern samurai who leads his life according to a code of personal honor, corresponded with Delon's own character, which was characterized by a cool detachment but also by inner nobility.
Delon then starred in Spirits of the Dead, in which he co-starred with Brigitte Bardot, and in The Girl on a Motorcycle, which was a hit in the UK. It was the first film to be rated X in the United States. Delon had further success with Adieu l'ami, in which he starred alongside Charles Bronson.
A year later, in 1969, he starred in “La Piscine” with Romy Schneider, from whom he had separated in 1963. The film’s success is also attributed to the personal relationship between the two. Delon asked the director to cast Schneider in the role. He pursued her relentlessly, both before and after filming, in a desperate attempt to reconcile. Despite Schneider’s refusal, their shared history and emotional connection were evident on screen, contributing to the film’s authenticity.
The Markowitz Affair
During the filming of the film, the body of Stephan Markovich, Delon's friend and bodyguard, was found in a trash can near ParisThe affair received great resonance in France and the French media under the name “The Markowitz Affair.”
Delon met Stefan Markovic in the late 50s, when he was filming a film in Belgrade. Markovic was a Yugoslav gangster who took a liking to Delon and became his bodyguard. He moved with Delon to Paris and even lived in his mansion for several years. But their relationship deteriorated when Markovic became a nuisance to Delon, demanding more money and exposing him to personal and public risks, and was therefore evicted from his home.
Markowitz, who used his years of friendship with Delon to establish extensive connections in the worlds of politics, media and entertainment, began throwing libertine parties for his friends, who were from the crème de la crème of Paris. But he secretly placed cameras in all the rooms and then blackmailed the invitees to ensure that he would not leak the photos. One of the couples he tried to blackmail was Georges and Claude Pompidou.
Not long after, Markowitz's body was found in a bin in a suburb outside Paris, wrapped in a mattress. Delon was arrested for questioning, and at the same time, the mattress packaging in which the body was found led to a gangster named François Marcantoni. A search warrant at his home turned up a mattress that matched the model of the packaging in which the body was wrapped, and he became the prime suspect.
Marcantoni denied the connection to Delon and claimed his innocence, but remained in custody until 1976. The investigation uncovered the involvement of Pompidou, who had ordered the murder to prevent the leaking of photos of his wife to the media, but he for his part claimed that she was not his wife and that he had been framed by the Secret Service in order to prevent him from running for president.
The involvement of these big names made the affair a national sensation in France. Although Delon was cleared of all charges in December of that year, it continued to plague him legally and in his image until 1976, when Marcantoni was released and acquitted.
Years later, Marcantoni said in an interview, "Only three know the truth: Delon, me, and God, but the latter never reveals it."
World star
However, in the 70s, Alain Delon continued to be successful in film, with various projects that highlighted his talent. In 1970, he produced and starred in Borsalino, a very successful film that marked his first collaboration with Jean-Paul Belmondo. During 1970 and 1972, Delon again starred with Jean-Pierre Melville in Le Cercle rouge and Un flic, while maintaining his image.
Delon also tried his hand at American cinema in films such as Scorpio and Airport 80 Concorde. He continued to appear in a variety of action and drama films, including Soleil rouge and Mort d'un pourri. His films Mr. Klein and The Professor were critically successful, though not always commercially successful.
In addition, Delon showed talent in the field of music with the successful duet Paroles… Paroles… with Dalida. He produced other films throughout the period and maintained his status as a global film star, with a diverse and successful career.
By the end of the 70s, Delon had proven that he was not just an exceptionally handsome face, but also an actor of extraordinary range and depth. Hollywood had icons like James Dean and Steve McQueen, and Europe had Delon, who became an icon of European cinema at the time.
The beginning of the slow decline
The 1981s marked the beginning of a slow decline in Delon's star. After more than two decades working as an actor and producer, in 1983 Delon directed his first film, “For the Skin of a Policeman,” which marked a significant step up in his artistic skills. He even returned to directing in XNUMX with “The Force,” but received mixed reviews.
Although he managed to come out of several scandals unscathed throughout his life, in a 1984 interview with Paris Match, he forever tarnished his image in the eyes of the French public when he was asked about his relationship with Jean-Marie Le Pen. Most of you know Marine Le Pen, founder of the far-right National Front party, and himself a controversial figure and Holocaust denier.
In an interview, he said of Le Pen, “I can say at least three things about him: He is nice. He says out loud things that others dare to say only in a low voice and he speaks differently.” A month later, elections to the European Parliament were held, and the French public discovered the National Front party, which received almost 11% of the vote and for the first time sent 10 representatives to the European Parliament in Brussels.
Delon continued to defend his positions in interviews in 2013 and 2019, saying that people were trying to label him as a far-right but that he was what he always was – right-wing, period. The fact that he had starred in “Mr. Klein” eight years earlier, a story reminiscent of Schindler’s List in French with its own twists, added to Delon’s complex and contradictory character.
In 1985, Delon won a César Award for his role in Bertrand Bélier’s “Our Story.” Delon and his entourage felt the winds of American consumerism blowing from the United States in the mid-XNUMXs, and he decided to launch lines of fashion products that bore his name, such as clothing, sunglasses, perfumes, etc.
In 1987, Delon met Rosalie van Berman while filming a music video. The two became a couple, and had two children: Anoushka in 1990 and Alain-Fabien in 1994.
Delon found his place less in French cinema in the 90s. A new generation of directors and actors seized the spotlight, and a big star like him began to struggle to find projects in which he could express his talent. Things got worse, until at the end of the 90s he announced his desire to retire from cinema, as he felt left alone without the esteemed directors he had worked with in the past. However, in 1999 he agreed to participate in Bertrand Bélier’s film “The Participants,” which is dedicated to the greats of French cinema. In the XNUMXs, he turned to television and theater productions, with occasional successes in series such as Fabio Montale.
In 2002, Delon and Rosalie van Berman divorced after 15 years of marriage. During that year, Delon struggled with depression and expressed a lack of will to live.
At the 2013 Cannes Film Festival, Delon was honored for his achievements, and an enhanced version of the film “The Heat” was screened during the event. In October of that year, Delon appeared again in the play “A Regular Day” during a tour of France with his daughter in the following years until his health deteriorated.
A changing world, poor health, and internal wars within the Delon tribe
Over the years, Delon continued to voice controversial opinions about the LGBT community's gains after the right to gay marriage was approved in France by parliament and his misunderstanding of the ongoing feminist struggle. At the same time, he continued to defend his political views and slowly the aging star seemed like someone unable to understand and accept the times in which he lived.
Everyone has apparently forgotten Delon, who said 60 years earlier, “If I love a man as much as I love a woman, what does it matter? Love is love.”
A world dominated by social media influencers was no longer forgiving, and controversy arose around his statements. When it was announced that he would be awarded the Palme d'Or for Best Actor at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival, a feminist resistance movement arose, claiming that he was a homophobe, a misogynist, a racist out of touch with the spirit of the times (he was eventually awarded the award).
Delon had affairs with many women throughout his life, including actresses Romy Schneider, German actress and singer Nico, Dalida, Nathalie Delon – the only one of all his loves to whom he was married for 4 years, Madeleine Bémy, Mireille Darc He had the longest relationship of all his loves, actress Anne Frio, and in the 80s and 90s, he was in a relationship with model Rosalia van Berman. His last relationship was with Jerome Rollin. According to her, they had an intimate relationship for over three decades.
In early 2023, Delon's three children filed a lawsuit against Rollin, alleging exploitation, abuse, violence, and kidnapping. She countersued them. Delon's personal problems didn't end there.
Delon has a son from a relationship with actress Nico. The child, Christian Aron Bolonghe, was born in 1962. He was raised by his adoptive mother and Delon has always denied being his biological father. In 2001, Christian claimed in his book that he was Delon's son and in 2024, Christian's daughter sought to prove the relationship through a DNA test. Delon refused to cooperate. If the test had shown unequivocally that Christian was his son, his inheritance would have been divided between his four children and not between his three. "Fortunately," her request was ultimately rejected by the court.
In the last decade of his life, Delon struggled with a host of medical problems, including strokes, cognitive decline, and lymphoma. He underwent numerous surgeries and treatments, and was eventually declared in need of increased legal protection due to his deteriorating health.
In early 2024, a public battle called the Delon Affair took place. Alain sued his son Antoine after he gave an interview to the newspaper Paris Match and revealed his father's condition without his permission.
In response, Antoine sued his sister Anoushka, claiming that she hid his medical condition from the rest of the family years before their father's condition became critical. She claimed that Antoine kept calling their father senile and making him feel worse than he really was, and then she sued him for leaking a recording of her and their father's conversation without permission to Instagram.
This is not the first or second time that a wealthy family has fallen apart so publicly in the parents' final years.
I experienced everything, I saw everything.
This is just a summary of Delon's life story. It is impossible to tell in one post about all his films, the stages of his life, the contradictions and contradictions that made his life story fascinating. This is a statement that is true for any life story, but in Delon's case, the character who will be remembered most of all is the character of his youth from the sixties, when he was a handsome wreck who wanted to eat the world.
Despite the great respect Delon received in his later years, the thousands of articles published since Sunday morning have featured only young pictures of Delon. That's how everyone wants to remember him, just as we want to remember ourselves: young, beautiful, bold, with the world spread out before us.
Delon was to French cinema and the world of culture what Leonardo da Vinci was to the world of art and Michael Jordan was to basketball. There have been and will be better than them, but history is divided into before them and after them.
There were more beautiful than him, there were more interesting than him, but Delon was among the first to live the post-war, post-austerity life into the 60s in a way that used the press in a clever way that created a myth around him. This myth protected him in darker moments, and kept him relevant even more than XNUMX years after he began his journey.
Delon's life story is a narrative that was carefully written and rewritten throughout his life. Some of it is known, some of it may be published in the future in different versions. It's not for nothing that he said that his acting career happened by accident. He knew that wasn't true, he worked hard to try to break through the glass ceiling that life had destined for him.
In January 2018, in an interview with “Paris Match,” Delon said: “Life doesn’t bring me much anymore. I’ve experienced everything, I’ve seen everything. But mostly, I hate this period, I vomit it. […] I know I’ll leave this world without regrets.
Some would say, with a more cynical perspective, that he was a handsome man, with self-confidence and a lot of luck who lived at the right moment and succeeded more than he ever dreamed.
Alain Delon's true legacy, beyond the pictures with his beautiful face, is countless films, plays, interviews, art, and most of all, a fascinating life story that would be fun to watch one day in a wide-screen film, which, like this article, will cover only the main points and leave a taste for more.
France has said goodbye to one of the last of its generation of giants. There was no, and probably will be no more, Alain Delon.