Movie Legend Alain Delon Dead at 88

Legendary French actor Alain Delon has died, marking the end of an era and a “page being turned” in French cinema history. As the AP reports, Delon was 88 years old and had been reportedly diagnosed with B-cell lymphoma earlier in 2024.

“It’s a page being turned in the history of French cinema,” French producer Alain Terzian told France Inter radio after the news broke. “Every time he arrived somewhere … there was a kind of almost mystical, quasi-religious respect. He was fascinating.”

Delon is best known for his roles in films like Le Guepard (The Leopard) in 1963, Is Paris Burning, Purple Noon, and Le Samourai in 1967. He did try to make the jump to English films in the late ’60s and early 70s, including the western Red Sun with Charles Bronson, Toshiro Mifune, and Ursula Andress.

Delon’s children confirmed his passing on Sunday in a statement to France’s Agence France-Presse. According to the AP, his health has been a point of contention between his children in recent years. The legendary actor also courted controversy amid the MeToo movement, with his final public appearance in 2019 receiving a lifetime achievement Palm d’Or mired in protests from Women’s rights groups and others.

He also made controversial comments about the abolition of the death penalty, same-sex marriages, and the right for gay couples to adopt children. His final years saw a tug-of-war between his children. His oldest son Anthony comes from his marriage to actress and model Nathalie Delon from 1964 until 1969, followed by another son, Christian Boulogne, from his relationship with singer/actress/model Nico, and two with Dutch actress Rosalie van Breemen, Anouchka Delon and Alain-Fabien Delon.

“Anthony and Alain-Fabien had accused Anouchka of hiding Delon’s state of health from them and manipulating the actor,” CNN reports through their affiliate BFMTV. A 2023 court battle would follow, with Delon’s children filing complaints against Hiromi Rollin, a close companion to the actor claiming to be his partner. She hit back with a suit of her own, with all of them being dismissed.