French actor Alain Delon has died at the age of 88 after suffering from ill health, his family has announced.
The star was known for his roles in films such as Purple Noon in 1960, The Leopard in 1963, and Le Samourai in 1967.
A family statement said: “Alain Fabien, Anouchka, Anthony, as well as (his dog) Loubo, are deeply saddened to announce the passing of their father.
“He passed away peacefully in his home in Douchy, surrounded by his three children and his family.”
Delon in Rome in 1969. Pic: AP
The actor had been in poor health since suffering a stroke in 2019 and rarely left his estate in Douchy, in France’s Val de Loire region.
Delon’s last major public appearance was to receive an honorary Palme d’Or at the Cannes film festival in May 2019.
With his striking blue eyes, the actor was sometimes referred to as the “French Frank Sinatra” for his handsome looks – a comparison Delon disliked.
Directors from Martin Scorsese and Quentin Tarantino to Hong Kong’s John Woo have acknowledged a debt to Delon’s performance as the silent killer in Jean-Pierre Melville’s Le Samourai, which set the template for one of Hollywood’s favourite stereotypes – the mysterious, cerebral hitman.
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Delon with Romy Schneider in The Swimming Pool in 1968. Pic: AP
A huge star in France and Japan, Delon never made it as big in Hollywood, despite starring alongside American cinema giants, including Burt Lancaster when the Frenchman played apprentice-hitman Scorpio in the 1973 film of the same name.
Off screen, he courted controversy with his outspoken views, including when he said he regretted the abolition of the death penalty and spoke disparagingly of gay marriage, which was legalised in France in 2013.
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Delon publicly defended the far-right National Front and phoned founder Jean-Marie Le Pen, an old friend, to congratulate her when the party did well in the 2014 local elections.
Towards the end of his life, Delon was at the centre of a family feud over his care, which made headlines in the French media, and in April 2024 a judge placed him under “reinforced curatorship”, meaning he no longer had full freedom to manage his assets.
French president Emmanuel Macron has posted on X in response to the news of his death, saying: “Mr. Klein or Rocco, the Leopard or the Samurai, Alain Delon played legendary roles and made the world dream. Lending his unforgettable face to shake up our lives. Melancholic, popular, secretive, he was more than a star: a French monument.”
