Alain Delon

Alain Fabien Maurice Marcel Delon (French: [alɛ̃ dəlɔ̃]; 8 November 1935 – 18 August 2024) was a French actor, film producer, screenwriter, singer, and businessman. Acknowledged as a cultural and cinematic leading man of the 20th century, Delon emerged as one of the foremost European actors of the late 1950s to the 1980s, and became an international sex symbol. He is regarded as one of the most well-known figures of the French cultural landscape. His style, looks, and roles, which made him an international icon, earned him enduring popularity.
Delon achieved critical acclaim for his roles in films such as Women Are Weak (1959), Purple Noon (1960), Rocco and His Brothers (1960), L'Eclisse (1962), The Leopard (1963), Any Number Can Win (1963), The Black Tulip (1964), The Last Adventure (1967), Le Samouraï (1967), The Girl on a Motorcycle (1968), La Piscine (1969), Le Cercle Rouge (1970), Un flic (1972), and Monsieur Klein (1976). Over the course of his career, Delon worked with many directors, including Luchino Visconti, Jean-Luc Godard, Jean-Pierre Melville, Michelangelo Antonioni, and Louis Malle.
Delon received many film and entertainment awards throughout his career. In 1985, he won the César Award for Best Actor for his performance in Notre histoire (1984). In 1991, he became a member of France's Legion of Honour. At the 45th Berlin International Film Festival, he won the Honorary Golden Bear. At the 2019 Cannes Film Festival, he received the Honorary Palme d'Or.
In addition to his acting career, Delon also recorded the spoken part in the popular 1973 song "Paroles, paroles", a duet with Dalida as the main singing voice. He acquired Swiss citizenship in 1999.
The Delons are originally from Saint-Vincent-Lespinasse, in Tarn-et-Garonne. Their known genealogy goes back to Jean Delon, born in the fifteenth century. Delon's paternal great-grandfather, Fabien Delon (Saint-Vincent-Lespinasse, 28 December 1829 - Figeac (Lot), 12 December 1909), a civil engineer, was decorated with the Legion of Honour in 1892. His paternal grandmother, Marie-Antoinette Evangelista (born in 1867 in Prunelli-di-Fiumorbo), was Corsican. On 3 December 1888 she married Delon's paternal grandfather, Jean-Marcel Delon (Figeac, 4 November 1856 – L'Haÿ-les-Roses 1926), then a tax collector in Gap, who was appointed in Corsica in 1886. The couple had two children together, a son François Fabien Delon and a daughter Jeanne Lucidora Adele Delon.
Delon's maternal grandfather, Alfred Louis Arnold (1876–1959), was born in Paris and was a rider of the French army, gendarme. His parents were Just Arnold, born in 1847 in Bürglen, Uri, a shoemaker by trade, and Marie-Adéle Lienemann, born in 1849, a cook. He married Maria Minard (1881–1913), a model for Jeanne Lanvin. The couple had two children: a daughter, Édith Marie Suzanne Arnold, and a son, Henri Arnold.
Alain Fabien Maurice Marcel Delon was born in a house located at 99 Houdan Street on 8 November 1935 in Sceaux, a wealthy suburb of Paris in the department of Seine (now Hauts-de-Seine). His father François Fabien Delon (Craponne-sur-Arzon, 12 March 1904 – Le Kremlin-Bicêtre, 17 September 1977), was a projectionist and later the director of the cinema Le Régina in Bourg-la-Reine, his mother Édith Marie Suzanne Arnold (19 April 1911 – Jouy-en-Josas, 20 June 1995), was an assistant employed in a pharmacy and a theater usher at the cinema where both his parents met, he was born into a petit-bourgeois family.
When Delon was four years old his parents divorced in 1939. Both of his parents remarried, as a result he had two half brothers and an adopted sister on his father's side, and two half siblings on his mother's side. He was then entrusted to a foster family, called Nero, who lived "Rue de la Terasse" which would remain for him a childhood wound that never healed. The father of this family was a prison guard in Fresnes Prison, Val-de-Marne. Delon, who lived next door, heard the salvo that executed the wartime collaborator Pierre Laval in the prison courtyard in 1945, the details of which he was told. While living with the foster family, Delon became passionate about bicycle racing and hoped to become a bicycle racer like Fausto Coppi.
When his foster parents died in 1946, Delon was sent back to his birth parents, who took shared custody of him. Growing up, he spent time living with his father and his second family in L'Haÿ-les-Roses and with his mother and her second family in Bourg-la-Reine. However his parents not wanting to take care of him decided to place him in the Catholic boarding school of Saint-Nicolas d'Igny (Essonne), where he spent his entire youth with one of his best friends, Gérard Salomé. He developed his passion for music there. He joined the school choir and was also chosen to sing as a soloist. He was also congratulated on a performance by the Apostolic Nuncio to France Cardinal Angelo Roncalli, the later Pope John XXIII.
Due to the lack of attention from his parents, Delon became unruly, constantly misbehaving in the classroom and getting into fights with other children. He was expelled from the school after he beat up one of his classmates. The priests recommended he be sent to Saint Gabriel de Bagneaux. During his four years there, Delon constantly misbehaved and was disrespectful to his teachers. He then stole the director's motorcycle which resulted in him being expelled again. Delon was expelled from a few more schools which were, Jesuit, Benedictine, Franciscan and lay schools, until the age of 13, when he entered Saint Nicolas d'Igny Institute. There he had the opportunity to perform the role of a thug in Le Rapt, a 22-second silent short film directed by Olivier Bourguignon, a friend of his father. At age 14, Delon decided he did not want to stay in the school and wished to leave France. He decided to run away to Chicago with his friend Daniel Salwadet who had an uncle living there. They left the school, determined to hitchhike to Bordeaux. When they arrived in Châtellerault, a passerby took them to the local police station. Due to Delon's temper, he and his friend were put in jail and were sent back to their families. Because of his actions, Delon was expelled from the school. His parents then decided that studies were not for him and made Delon abandon them.
His mother, who had married Paul Boulogne, a butcher and delicatessen owner from Bourg-la-Reine, took him into the family home and decided to make him join his business. He later said he never really found a place in that family and never felt safe there. Delon took courses at the Au Jambon de Paris, while working part time as his stepfathers delicatessen where he would go the central markets in the morning to buy 40 kilograms of sausages. He eventually obtained a Certificate of Professional Aptitude (Certificat d'Aptitude Professionnelle or CAP) in charcuterie. For three years he worked at his stepfather's delicatessen, which had sixteen employees, he also worked at other delicatessens as well. His family had plans for him to take over the delicatessen in the future. However during those three years, Delon developed a very bad reputation in the community. He partied constantly, got into bar fights, and was also a member of a gang at one point.
Anticipating the call up for military service, he joined the French Navy at age 17. After a stint at the Pont-Réan Maritime Training Centre, he continued his service in 1953 at the Bormette Signals School. After he was caught stealing equipment, the Navy gave him a choice of leaving it or extending his commitment from three to five years.
As a first-class seaman, he was then assigned to the protection company of the Saigon arsenal, in what was still French Indochina. Towards the end of the war, he was arrested for stealing a jeep and going on a trip during which the vehicle fell into a stream. His radio licence was revoked and he was given a Dishonorable discharge, from the Navy. He celebrated his 20th birthday in a prison cell. This period made a deep impression on him: he discovered military discipline, a sense of honour and respect for the values represented by the flag of France. He developed a passion for weapons and was captivated by the performance of French actor Jean Gabin in Touchez pas au grisbi, a film he saw in the Indochinese capital.
After his Naval service, Delon returned to France in 1956. He resented his parents for letting him go to Indochina (he was a volunteer but their permission was necessary) and did not get back in touch with them, deciding to fend for himself and having no idea what he would do for a living. His younger brother Jean-François Delon would later be the first in his family to reconnect with him in 1961 after he and his father saw Alain's name on a Rocco and His Brothers poster. Delon settled in at the Regina Hotel and did a few odd jobs, notably as a produce handler at the Paris market Les Halles and as a waiter in a café near the Champs-Élysées. He met the future singer Dalida, with whom he would have an affair later in life. In Pigalle and Montmartre, he met members of the French underworld, thugs and gigolos, one of whom, a "homosexual named Carlos", ensured his protection. Delon was fascinated by the values of this environment, in particular the sense of honour, friendship, respect and the law of silence. His slim physique and his pleasant "angelic face" attracted women and allowed him to be housed and fed by several prostitutes, which was not to his displeasure. His future then seemed to be heading towards a career as a pimp.
Delon discovered the bustling Saint-Germain-des-Prés district and at the Club Saint-Germain met the actress Brigitte Auber, who had recently acted for the director Alfred Hitchcock in To Catch a Thief. They lived together on rue du Pré-aux-Clercs, in the 7th arrondissement of Paris, which distanced Alain Delon from the underworld and changed his career path. On the occasion of the 1957 Cannes Film Festival, he went down with her to the Côte d'Azur and moved into the house she owned in Saint-Paul-de-Vence. It was during this festival that he became friends with Jean-Claude Brialy and came into contact with the film industry, where he met his future agent George Beaume. He was "spotted" by Henry Willson, who was in charge of recruiting new talent on behalf of the American film producer David O. Selznick, who offered him a trial run in Rome. He thus entered the world of cinema without any particular training as an actor.
In Rome, he lived with Gian Paolo Barbieri, who would become a famous photographer. In the Cinecittà studios, on the sidelines of the filming of Charles Vidor's A Farewell to Arms, he underwent conclusive auditions and Selznick offered him a seven-year contract in the United States on the condition that he learn English. Delon returned to Paris and began to study English, but the actress Michèle Cordoue, whose lover he had become, convinced her husband, the director Yves Allégret, to hire him to shoot his first film, Quand la femme s'en mêle. Delon initially rejected the offer from Allégret but eventually accepted the offer and Selznick allowed him to cancel the contract. he played a small role alongside the star Edwige Feuillère. Alain Delon recounted: "I didn't know how to do anything. Allégret looked at me like that and he said: 'Listen to me, Alain. Speak as you speak to me. Look at how you look at me. Listen as you listen to me. Don't play, live.' It changed everything. If Yves Allégret hadn't told me that, I wouldn't have had this career."
He then appeared in the comedy Sois belle et tais-toi by Marc Allégret (Yves' brother), where he associated with Mylène Demongeot and Henri Vidal, as well as another young actor, a beginning actor like himself, Jean-Paul Belmondo. During the shooting, he borrowed the Renault 4CV belonging to Pascal Jardin, the director's second assistant, against Jardin's advice. In the Saint-Cloud tunnel, the borrowed car rolled over five times. The vehicle was destroyed and Delon escaped, suffering only a minor injury that left a scar under his chin which became characteristic of his image.
In 1958, he became a young leading man, he was chosen by the actress Romy Schneider, who had become a world celebrity following the success of the Sissi film trilogy, to play her male partner in Christine by Pierre Gaspard-Huit. The producers arranged an interview with the press at Orly airport in Paris: the two young actors met for the first time when Romy got off the plane on 10 April 1958. Their first relationship was stormy : Romy didn't speak French, Alain Delon didn't speak German, and while she found him uninteresting and in bad taste, he found her unattractive. Filming began two months later and the two actors did not get along at all. However, they ended up falling in love and the "fiancés of Europe" celebrated their official engagement, organized by Romy's mother and stepfather in Morcote, Switzerland, on the shores of Lake Lugano, in front of the international press, without planning a date for a possible wedding. They embodied beauty, youth, success and became a couple celebrated by showbusiness and the public.
After Christine, where he played his first important role, Delon had his first success in Michel Boisrond's Weak Women, where he reunited with Mylène Demongeot and also shared the bill with other young leads, Pascale Petit and Jacqueline Sassard. In Le Chemin des écoliers, based on Marcel Aymé, he played the son of the character played by Bourvil. His model was Jean Gabin.
Delon was given the lead in the comedy Women Are Weak (1959). This was a big hit in France and was the first of Delon's films to be seen in America. Delon made some personal appearances in New York to promote the movie.
In a 1959 interview first aired on the French television program Cinépanorama, conducted during the filming of Rocco and His Brothers, Alain Delon expressed his admiration for Jean Marais, stating that he idolized the actor. "Everything is happening very quickly for you, you must be caught in a whirlwind, do you manage to find yourself?" He answered: "I try to not let myself be overwhelmed. To remain what I was before, to remain as simple. I took as a model an actor that I love and that is Jean Marais, who always remained the same."
Delon next made two films that ensured his international reputation. In 1960, he appeared in René Clément's Plein Soleil, released in the US as Purple Noon, which was based on the Patricia Highsmith novel The Talented Mr. Ripley. Delon played protagonist Tom Ripley to critical acclaim; Highsmith was a fan of his portrayal. The movie was a hit in France and on the art house circuit in English-speaking countries. He then played the title role in Luchino Visconti's Rocco and His Brothers (1960). Critic Bosley Crowther of The New York Times wrote that Delon's work was "touchingly pliant and expressive".
Delon made his stage debut in 1961 in the John Ford play 'Tis Pity She's a Whore alongside Romy Schneider in Paris. Visconti directed the production which broke box office records. He was reunited with René Clément in the Italian comedy film about fascism, The Joy of Living (1961). It was a minor success. More popular was an all-star anthology film Famous Love Affairs (1961); Delon's segment cast him as Albert III, Duke of Bavaria, opposite Brigitte Bardot. Around this time Delon was mentioned as a possibility for the lead in Lawrence of Arabia.
Peter O'Toole was cast instead, but then Delon was signed by Seven Arts to a four-picture deal, including a big budget international movie of the Marco Polo story and The King of Paris, about Alexandre Dumas. Neither project came to fruition. Instead he was cast by Michelangelo Antonioni opposite Monica Vitti in L'Eclisse (1962), a major critical success, although audiences were small. More popular was another all-star anthology film, The Devil and the Ten Commandments (1963); Delon's segment cast him with Danielle Darrieux.
Producer Jacques Bar was making a heist film starring Jean Gabin with backing from MGM, titled Any Number Can Win (1963). Gabin's co-star was going to be Jean-Louis Trintignant until Delon lobbied Bar for the role. He took the film's distribution rights in certain countries instead of a straight salary. Because such an arrangement had never previously been made in France, it became known as "Delon's method". Delon's gamble paid off handsomely, with Jean Gabin later claiming that Delon earned 10 times more money than he did as a result. However, in 1965, Delon claimed "no one else has tried it since and made money".
The experience gave Delon a taste for producing. He signed a five-picture deal with MGM, of which Any Number Can Win was the first. His reputation was further enhanced when he worked with Visconti again in Il Gattopardo (The Leopard) with Burt Lancaster and Claudia Cardinale. It was the seventh biggest hit of the year in France. Any Number Can Win was the sixth. The Leopard was widely screened in the U.S. through 20th Century Fox. Delon was now one of the most popular stars in France. He starred in a swashbuckler, The Black Tulip (1964), another hit.
Les Félins (1964), which reunited him with Clement and co-starred Jane Fonda, was filmed in French and English versions. The latter was distributed by MGM, but it was not a success. In 1964, the Cinémathèque Française held a showcase of Delon's films and Delon started a production company, Delbeau Production, with Georges Beaume. They produced a film called The Unvanquished (L'insoumis) in 1964, in which Delon played a terrorist OAS assassin. It had to be re-edited because of legal issues. Despite being distributed by MGM, audiences were small. After finishing the film, Delon left the French cinema to pursue a career in Hollywood.
Typecast as a "Latin lover", Delon spent the next few years focused on Hollywood. In 1965 he said that he wanted to make a picture in America and one in Europe each year. He also said that his accent prevented him from playing certain roles: "Because of my accent, I would not attempt to play Americans. I am working on removing the distinctly French inflections from my speech so that I can play all continental nationalities."
He made his debut in the British film industry starring in an all-star anthology for MGM titled The Yellow Rolls-Royce (1965), opposite Shirley MacLaine. It was popular although Delon had little to do. He made his Hollywood debut as the lead role in the film Once a Thief, where he co-starred with Ann-Margret. It was based on a novel by Zekial Marko who had written Any Number Can Win, but it was not as successful. It was financed by MGM, which announced Delon would appear in a Western to be titled Ready for the Tiger and directed by Sam Peckinpah, but the film was never made.
Instead, Delon signed a three-picture deal with Columbia, for whom he appeared in the big budget action film Lost Command (1966), playing a member of the French Foreign Legion, alongside Anthony Quinn and Claudia Cardinale. The studio announced that he would appear in the biopic Cervantes, but this was never made. Universal Studios used Delon in a Western, Texas Across the River, opposite Dean Martin. Ray Stark wanted to use him in The Night of the Iguana and This Property Is Condemned. He did not appear in either film but acted in that producer's Is Paris Burning?, directed by René Clément, playing Jacques Chaban-Delmas. This was a massive hit in France but performed disappointingly at the US box office – as did all of Delon's Hollywood-financed films. Delon remained a massive star in France, along with Steve McQueen and Sean Connery, and was one of the biggest foreign stars in Japan. However, he could not make headway in the US market.
After one British movie and four Hollywood movies Delon returned to France to rejoin the French cinema. He starred in the film The Last Adventure opposite Lino Ventura. It was one of Delon's most popular films of the 1960s but was not popular in North America. He was meant to work again with Visconti in The Stranger but this did not happen. Instead, he appeared on the Paris stage in Les Yeux Crevés and starred in the neo-noir crime thriller Le Samouraï ('The Samurai') with Jean-Pierre Melville, which became another film classic. He played an amnesiac in Diabolically Yours (1968) for Julien Duvivier.
He had a role in another all-star anthology, Spirits of the Dead (1968). His segment was directed by Louis Malle, and co-starred Brigitte Bardot. Delon had another attempt at English-language cinema with The Girl on a Motorcycle (1968) with Marianne Faithfull, for director Jack Cardiff. It was a surprise hit in Britain and was the sixth most popular movie in the box office, however it did not do well in France. The Girl on a Motorcycle, which was released in United States as Naked Under Leather, would be the first film to receive an X rating in the United States. Far more popular at the French box office was Farewell Friend (Adieu l'ami), in which Delon and Charles Bronson played former foreign legionnaires who get involved in a heist. The film helped turn Charles Bronson into a genuine star in Europe.
The film La Piscine reunited the 1960s couple mythique ('mythical couple') Alain Delon and Romy Schneider. This was thought to be one of the reasons for its success. Schneider had dramatically broken up with Delon a couple years earlier and married German director and actor Harry Meyen in Berlin. She had a child. Delon asked the filmmaker to book her for this role. He continuously pursued her, both before and after filming "La Piscine", with persistent attempts to reconcile. Despite Romy Schneider's refusals, their shared history and emotional connection spilled onto the screen, infusing the film with raw authenticity.
While making the 1969 thriller La Piscine (The Swimming Pool) with Romy Schneider, the body of Delon's Yugoslav secretary and bodyguard Stefan Marković, apparently murdered, was found in a rubbish dump near Paris. The police investigation revealed claims of sex parties involving celebrities such as Delon and members of the French government, including future president Georges Pompidou, whose wife Claude was allegedly the subject of a series of compromising photos at one such party. Corsican crime boss François Marcantoni, a friend of Delon, was suspected of involvement in the murder. The affair gained notoriety throughout France and in the French press as the "Marković affair". In a 1969 BBC interview, Delon was questioned about his alleged involvement in the death of Marković, rumors of his involvement in the sex parties, and Delon's own sexual preferences.
Delon then starred in a series of gangster films. The first was Jeff (1969), made by his own production company, Adel. In The Sicilian Clan (1969) Delon collaborated with Lino Ventura and Jean Gabin, and the film was a blockbuster. Even more popular in Europe was Borsalino (1970), which Delon produced and in which he co-starred opposite Jean-Paul Belmondo. Neither of these films was successful in the US, as Delon had hoped. Neither was The Red Circle, despite Delon co-starring in it with Yves Montand. For a change of pace, he produced a romantic drama, The Love Mates (1971), which was not successful. Neither was the 1971 comedy Easy, Down There!.
In the early 1970s, Delon made another attempt at the English-speaking market. The Assassination of Trotsky (1972) for Joseph Losey was poorly received, but Red Sun (1972), with Charles Bronson and Toshiro Mifune, did well. In France he appeared opposite Simone Signoret in The Widow Couderc (1971). He starred in his third film with Melville, Un flic in 1972 as well. He then produced and starred in a romantic drama, Indian Summer (1972), and subsequently appeared in the thrillers, Traitement de choc (1973), and Tony Arzenta (1973).
In 1973, he recorded a duet with Dalida, "Paroles, paroles", that went on to become one of the most recognizable French songs. He tried again for Hollywood stardom with Scorpio (1973), with Burt Lancaster for director Michael Winner. It was only a minor hit. In France, he made The Burned Barns (1973) and Creezy (1974). He produced Two Men in Town (1974) which re-teamed him with Jean Gabin, and Borsalino & Co. (1974), a sequel to his earlier hit.
After another gangster thriller, Icy Breasts (1974), Delon returned to his first swashbuckler since The Black Tulip, playing the title character in the 1975 Italian-French film Zorro. He made some more crime filmes: The Gypsy (1975), Flic Story (1975) (with Jean Louis Triginant), Boomerang (1976) and Armaguedon (1976). In 1976, Delon starred in Monsieur Klein, for which he was nominated for the César Award.
It was back to crime for another series of thrillers in which he starred as well as produced: Man in a Hurry (1977), Death of a Corrupt Man (1977), Le Gang (1977), and Attention, The Kids Are Watching (1978). In 1979, Delon stated that only a quarter of his business activities involved films, that he also had "a helicopter business, built furniture, promoted prize fights, and raced horses", and that he was still interested in becoming a star in America.
In 1979 he made a final attempt at Hollywood stardom, signing with agent Sue Mengers and starring in The Concorde ... Airport '79 (1979). The film was not a big success. Delon returned to acting in French films, playing in and producing The Medic (1979) and Three Men to Kill (1980).
Teheran 43 (1981) was a change of pace. In this big Soviet production he co-starred with Claude Jade and Curd Jürgens (Curt Jurgens) in a co-starring role beside Russian actors. Then it was back to crime: For a Cop's Hide (1981), Le Choc (1982, opposite Catherine Deneuve), Le Battant (1983). He was awarded the Best Actor César Award for his role in Bertrand Blier's Notre histoire (1984), and portrayed the aristocratic dandy Baron de Charlus in a film adaptation of Marcel Proust's novel Swann in Love in the same year.
His thrillers resumed with Parole de flic (1986), The Passage, Let Sleeping Cops Lie (1988), and Dancing Machine (1990). One notable film during this period was Jean-Luc Godard's Nouvelle Vague in 1990, in which Delon played twins. Delon's last major role was in Patrice Leconte's Une chance sur deux in 1998, alongside Jean-Paul Belmondo, another box office disappointment. Delon announced his decision to give up acting in 1997, although he still occasionally accepted roles.
Delon acquired Swiss citizenship in 1999, and the company managing products sold under his name is based in Geneva. He resided in Chêne-Bougeries in the canton of Geneva.
In 2001, Delon starred in the French television drama Fabio Montale. He played an ageing policeman dressed in stylish clothes, a "signature Delon" role for audiences. The show was a big hit. In 2003, Delon tried to recreate the success of Fabio Montale and produced and starred in another French television police drama, Frank Riva. It did well but less so than Fabio Montale.
He starred in 2008 as Julius Caesar in the box-office hit Asterix aux jeux Olympiques, which co-starred Gérard Depardieu. Around this time he mostly took roles in TV movies and also played some roles on the French stage.
He directed a TV movie in 2008, co-starring Anouk Aimée, titled Love Letters based on a play by A.R. Gurney. In 2018, after a seven-year hiatus from cinema, Delon had planned to star in a new movie, titled La Maison Vide, co-starring Juliette Binoche and directed by Patrice Leconte. However, in November 2018 the French media announced that the project had been canceled. No specific reason was given for the cancellation. Among his last roles were in the 2011 television movie Une journée ordinaire, and in the 2012 Russian production S Novym godom, Mamy! in which he starred as himself. He again appeared as himself in the 2019 movie Toute Resemblance as a guest on a talkshow.
In April 2019, at 83, Delon released a new single, "Je n'aime que toi", composed by Rick Allison and Julia Paris. In 1973, Delon had scored a huge international hit duetting with Egyptian-French singer Dalida on the song "Paroles, paroles". He also collaborated with Shirley Bassey in 1983 on the international hit song "Thought I'd Ring You".
At the 2019 Cannes Film Festival, Delon received an honorary Palme d'Or for his long-standing career in movies. A retrospective of some of his films was shown at the festival. However, there was much controversy surrounding Delon receiving this award due to remarks he had allegedly made about the treatment of women during his career and in his private life. Thierry Frémaux, the artistic director of the festival, addressed the controversy during a homage at the ceremony, stating, "We know that intolerance is back. We're being asked to believe that if we all think the same, it will protect us from the risk of being disliked or being wrong. But Alain Delon is not afraid of being wrong, being disliked, and he doesn't think like others, and he's not afraid of being alone." Delon responded emotionally, saying, "For me, it's more than the end of a career. It's the end of a life. It feels as though I'm receiving a posthumous tribute while being alive." He received the award from his daughter, Anouchka Delon.
In a July 2021 interview on TV5Monde, his first since having two strokes, Delon said that he planned to act in one more film. Also on TV5Monde, Delon interviewed Ukrainian President Zelensky in September 2022 as part of a special programme on the war in Ukraine, Face à Zelensky. Delon expressed his support for the Ukrainian people during the interview.
In the 1970s, Delon expanded his commercial interests, buying harness racing trotters and promoting boxing matches. He has also helped develop and promote a variety of products sold under his name including wristwatches, clothing, eyewear, perfume, stationery, and cigarettes. Delon's brand of sunglasses became particularly popular in Hong Kong after actor Chow Yun-fat wore them in the 1986 crime film A Better Tomorrow, as well as two sequels. Delon reportedly wrote a letter thanking Chow for helping to promote and sell the sunglasses in Hong Kong and China.
The film's director John Woo has acknowledged Delon as one of his idols and wrote a short essay on Le Samourai as well as Le Cercle Rouge for the Criterion Collection DVD releases. In 2009 and 2015, Christian Dior used images of the young Alain Delon and excerpts of his 1960s films The Swimming Pool and The Last Adventure respectively in the Eau Sauvage cologne advertising campaigns.
Delon was also a professional boxing promoter, Nino Cerruti introduced him to world middleweight champion Carlos Monzón. The largest fight he promoted was Monzón's defense against José Napoles.
On 1 October 1968, the body of Stefan Marković, Delon's bodyguard, was found in a public dump in Élancourt, Yvelines, a village on the western outskirts of Paris. Delon and François Marcantoni, a Corsican gangster, came under investigation, partly because of a letter from Marković to his brother Aleksandar, in which he had written: "If I get killed, it's 100% the fault of Alain Delon and his godfather Francois Marcantoni." Following some articles in the press and testimony by Boriboj Akov, the investigation involved the former prime minister (and future president) of France, Georges Pompidou, who testified that he and his wife had been present at certain parties with Marković and Delon.
Marković's death sparked rumours that there were photos of group sex that included Pompidou's wife. Pompidou accused Louis Vallon and Henri Capitant of using the French espionage service SDECE to try to frame him. After he became president of France, he named Alexandre de Marenches as the head of the SDECE in order to reform it. De Marenches fired René Bertrand, alias Colonel Beaumont, Director of Research at the S.D.E.C.E, who had been involved in the investigation of Jean-Charles Marchiani and was the subject of rumors in the D.S.T., the French counter-espionage service, that he might be a Soviet agent.
On 5 July 2023, Delon's three children filed a complaint against his companion Hiromi Rollin, alleging psychological harassment, interception of correspondence, animal cruelty, intentional violence, unlawful confinement, and abuse of weakness. According to Anthony Delon, his father requested in writing that Mrs. Rollin leave the residence in Douchy-Montcorbon. A preliminary investigation was opened on 6 July. On 7 July, Yassine Bouzrou, lawyer for Hiromi Rollin, stated that she disputed "the entirety of the facts". Bouzrou added that she would file a complaint against members of the Delon family and their bodyguards for aggravated voluntary violence suffered by Rollin on 5 July 2023. Meanwhile, Rollin wrote a letter to the prosecutor of Montargis in which she denied being Alain Delon's companion, claiming to have had an intimate relationship with him for over twenty years (she stated in another interview that it was "a love relationship of 33 years"). The prosecutor of Montargis dismissed the two complaints filed by the three Delon children against Rollin due to insufficiently characterized offenses. Rollin's complaint, filed in response against the Delon children, was dismissed for the same reasons. However, Rollin's lawyer announced that his client planned to file a complaint with a civil party in order to restart the investigations. Anthony Delon, on his part, intended to become a civil party against Rollin so that "the truth is revealed".
On 4 January 2024, Alain Delon filed a complaint against his son Anthony following an interview granted by the latter to Paris Match magazine. Anthony Delon discussed his father's fragile health and accused his half-sister Anouchka of manipulating their father regarding the inheritance. In this interview, the eldest revealed that his father was "weakened" and that he "can't bear to see himself like this, diminished". Subsequently, Anthony Delon filed a police report against Anouchka, accusing her of not informing the family about the negative results of five cognitive tests conducted by their father between 2019 and 2022, after he suffered a severe stroke in 2019. Anouchka Delon, on the other hand, accused her brothers of endangering their father's life and claimed to have wanted to take their father to Switzerland so he could continue to be treated there. She then announced plans to sue for defamation, false accusations, threats, and harassment against Anthony Delon. Furthermore, Alain Delon's lawyer asserted that his client "cannot bear the aggressiveness of his son Anthony, who keeps telling him that he is senile". On 29 March 2024, Anouchka Delon sued her brothers for invasion of privacy after the broadcast of a recording in January 2024 on Instagram of a conversation between her and her father. Anthony and Alain-Fabien will thus be judged for "use, retention, or disclosure of a document or recording obtained by an invasion of another's privacy". The trial date is set for April 2025. Physically weakened by cancer, Delon was placed under reinforced guardianship by judicial decision in April 2024, following a hearing at the Montargis court, in the presence of the actor's three children. This measure follows a period during which Delon had already been placed under guardianship since 25 January, and notably granted the curator appointed by the judge the power to manage his expenses.
In 1969, Delon was convicted in absentia and sentenced to four months in jail by an Italian court for assaulting an Italian photographer.
On 26 February 2024, police raided Delon's home where they seized 72 firearms and 3,000 rounds of ammunition. A court-appointed official had been sent to the home of Delon, who was not authorised to own a firearm, and alerted a judge after noticing a weapon in the residence.
On 20 March 1959, Delon became engaged to actress Romy Schneider, whom he met when they co-starred in the film Christine (1958). After their first film together, the couple became iconic. Schneider, already a highly acclaimed star, and Delon, a rising talent, were affectionately nicknamed "les amants magnifiques" (the magnificent lovers), "les fiancés éternels" (eternal fiancés), and "les amants terribles" (the terrible lovers) due to their passionate and tumultuous relationship, which was the subject of intense media scrutiny, with paparazzi relentlessly pursuing them. Schneider's family remained opposed to their union, adding further complexities to their romance. In 1964, Delon and Schneider ended their relationship. Their love story continued to captivate audiences and cemented their status as one of the most beautiful couples in cinema history. In 2009, Delon admitted his regret at not marrying Schneider, and In 2018 he referred to her as the love of his life.
In 1963, Delon met the young divorcée Francine Canovas (birth name), a model known professionally as Nathalie Barthélémy. He was also involved in an affair with Marisa Mell both before and after publicly announcing his engagement to Barthélemy during a press conference. This liaison continued even after his marriage in 1964 and persisted into 1965. On 13 August 1964, he married Barthélemy due to her pregnancy, and thereafter she took the name Nathalie Delon. Their son, Anthony Delon, her second child, was born on 30 September 1964. Nathalie later revealed that Delon's love for Romy Schneider remained a constant presence in their relationship, with Delon often displaying a deep sadness indicative that his heart still belonged to Schneider. In 1964-1965, Delon's relationships also included affairs with Ann-Margret and Lana Wood. In October 1964, Delon met Ratna Sari Dewi, at the Tokyo Olympics, and the two began a relationship. They remained close in the following years, including a meeting in Paris in 1967. In 1967, Delon filed for divorce. The couple divorced on 14 February 1969.
In August 1968, during the shooting of the film Jeff (1969), Delon met the French actress Mireille Darc and asked her to appear with him in a movie. They started a relationship that lasted until 1982. He later had short relationships with the actresses Anne Parillaud, as well as Catherine Bleynie, the ex-wife of Didier Pironi.
In 1987, Delon met the Dutch model Rosalie van Breemen [nl] on the set of the music video for his song "Comme au cinéma" and started a relationship. They had two children: Anouchka Delon (25 November 1990) and Alain-Fabien Delon (18 March 1994). The relationship ended in 2001.
Delon described himself as a Gaullist, explaining that he was raised "in the spirit of General de Gaulle". When de Gaulle resigned from the French presidency after losing a nationwide referendum in 1969, Delon told him in a letter: "Always, and even more in these years thanks to you, I was proud to be French," then writing about the result: "I feel with fright a sense of shame that breaks my heart." Delon later supported the center-right candidate Valéry Giscard d'Estaing in his successful 1974 presidential campaign, and again in his failed attempt to be reelected in 1981. He gave his support to Raymond Barre in 1988 and to Nicolas Sarkozy in 2007. In 2017, he endorsed the Gaullist candidate François Fillon, who came third in the presidential election of that year, but said he did not vote in the second run-off between Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen. He later endorsed Valérie Pécresse in 2022, calling her "the only woman he wants to be president".
During an interview in 2013, Delon expressed sympathy for the French far-right National Front's electoral successes, saying: "The National Front, like the MCG [Geneva Citizens' Movement] in Geneva, is very important... I encourage it and I perfectly understand it." However, in another interview in 2018, he denied having ever voted for Marine Le Pen.
Delon was good friends with the Argentine world champion boxer Carlos Monzón, even visiting Monzon during his stint in prison.
In 2022, the 86-year-old Delon was invited by Volodymyr Zelenskyy to travel to Ukraine.
Delon suffered a stroke in June 2019. He was admitted to hospital after experiencing dizziness and headaches. In August 2019, he was recovering in a Swiss hospital. In September 2022, he began experimental treatment for a slow-progressing lymphoma. In the summer of 2023, Delon's three children made the decision to stop this treatment because it was weakening him.
In a 2021 interview with Paris Match, Delon expressed support for euthanasia, calling it "the most logical and natural thing". In 2022, Delon's son Anthony revealed in his autobiography Entre chien et loup that, following the death of his (Anthony's) mother Nathalie, Alain said he wanted to be removed from life support if he were to succumb to a coma, and had asked Anthony to fulfill his request if such a circumstance arose. Shortly thereafter, some news organizations reported that Delon was planning to imminently end his life through euthanasia, but the reports were adamantly denied by his son, Alain-Fabien, who said that quotes from Anthony Delon's book had been taken out of context.
In January 2024, Delon was reported to be in poor health and living a reclusive lifestyle at his La Brûlerie estate in Douchy. At the same time, a public feud concerning Delon's health arose between three of his children – Anthony, Anouchka and Alain-Fabien – all of whom acknowledge Delon was "ailing but lucid and aware of the feud". The rift began when Anthony publicly accused Anouchka, his half-sister, of "lying" and "manipulation" for concealing the results of cognitive tests Swiss doctors had performed on their father. The children, however, united in mid-2023 to successfully evict Delon's former companion Hiromi Rollin, whom they accused of abusing their father.
Delon died on 18 August 2024 at his home in Douchy, surrounded by family members, at the age of 88. He had been diagnosed with B-cell lymphoma earlier in the year. Before his death, Delon requested that his Belgian Shepherd named Loubo be euthanized and buried alongside him, although Delon's family elected to not euthanize the dog.
A number of personalities paid tribute to him, including Brigitte Bardot, Claudia Cardinale, Céline Dion, Costa-Gavras, Patricia Kaas (president of the Cinémathèque française), Gilles Jacob, Jean-Michel Jarre, actors Dany Boon, Arielle Dombasle, Pierre Arditi, Jean Dujardin, Richard Berry, and Patrick Chesnais, writer Éric-Emmanuel Schmitt, Mireille Mathieu, and Carla Bruni. Internationally, actors Sarik Andreasyan, Antonio Banderas, Susana Giménez, Mirtha Legrand, Sophia Loren, Ekaterina Klimova, Ornella Muti, Ottavia Piccolo, Jean-Claude Van Damme, British journalist and television host Piers Morgan, Arturo Pérez-Reverte, and director Jim Jarmusch also paid their respects.
The Academy of Arts and Techniques of Cinema released a statement mourning the loss of "an eternal icon of the seventh art." Alberto Barbera, president of the Venice Film Festival, praised him as "a popular star who left his indelible mark on the works of the greatest authors of European cinema."
Numerous political figures also honored the actor's memory, including Emmanuel Macron, Nicolas Sarkozy, Gabriel Attal, Marine Le Pen, François Fillon, Culture Minister Rachida Dati. French President Emmanuel Macron described him as "melancholic, popular, secretive" while being "more than a star : a French monument." International reactions include those of Matteo Salvini (Deputy Prime Minister of Italy), Lucia Borgonzoni (Italian Secretary of State for Culture), Andriy Yermak (Head of the Secretariat of the President of Ukraine), Nicolae Ciucă (President of the Romanian Senate and former Prime Minister of Romania), Dominique Ouattara (First Lady of Côte d'Ivoire) and Boyko Borissov, (leader of GERB and former Prime Minister of Bulgaria)). The Ministry of Culture in Armenia offers its condolences.
On the evening of his death, several French television channels altered their programming to broadcast films featuring Alain Delon throughout his career. The same occurred in Switzerland, China, Italy, and Iran.
The next day, Alain Delon's death made headlines worldwide and garnered significant media attention. Foreign press referred to him as "the last great myth of French cinema." The New York Times stated, "the intense and intensely beautiful French actor played cold Corsican gangsters as convincingly as passionate Italian lovers." The Guardian praised Alain Delon, calling him "a symbol of the lost beauty of the 1960s." According to the Japan Times, "his idol image and James Dean-like persona made him one of the most acclaimed actors in his country." The series Plus belle la vie paid tribute to him in episode 153 on 22 August 2024, referencing the police series Fabio Montale, filmed in Marseille.
Having declined any national tribute and ceremony, Alain Delon was buried on 24 August 2024, in a private chapel on the Brûlerie estate in Douchy, as he wished, near his thirty-five dogs. About fifty guests attended the funeral, including the actor's three children. The ceremony was officiated by Catholic bishop Jean-Michel Di Falco.
Tributes
During his lifetime and after his passing, tributes to Alain Delon take place in numerous countries around the world, reflecting the actor's international stature. In the United States, the American French Film Festival (TAFFF), the Cinémathèque Américaine, and the American Film Institute organize screenings and retrospectives in his honor.
In Brazil, the Varilux French Cinema Festival, the largest French film festival outside of France, also pays tribute to him by screening Plein Soleil and featuring him on the official poster for its 2024 edition. The French Film Festival in Cuba organized a tribute to Alain Delon during its 25th edition, screening many of the actor's films in theaters in Havana.
In Asia, from December 16, 2024, to January 16, 2025, the retrospective Remember Alain Delon in Hanoi, Vietnam, showcases three of his iconic films on the continent: Red Sun, The Red Circle, and Plein Soleil. In Tokyo, the Institut Français du Japon organizes a retrospective titled Proof of a Star's Existence, featuring screenings of his major works, conferences, and discussions led by film specialists. The 40th edition of the French Film Festival in Singapore pays homage to Delon with screenings of Le Samouraï and Plein Soleil.
In Europe, the Ciné Lumière at the Institut français du Royaume-Uni dedicate retrospectives to the actor. In his honor, the French Embassy and the Institut Français of Bulgaria organize screenings of Rocco and His Brothers in the country's three largest cities.
The 2024 Angoulême Francophone Film Festival, taking place a few days after Alain Delon's death, changed its programming to screen Notre histoire by Bertrand Blier. The 2024 Lumière Festival concluded with a screening of Plein Soleil (1960) by René Clément and a speech by Anthony Delon, who recounted his father's career.
During the opening ceremony of the 2024 Venice Film Festival, images of Gena Rowlands, Roberto Herlitzka, and Alain Delon were projected in tribute.
In October 2024, the Paris Council voted on a proposal to name a street or facility in the capital in honor of Alain Delon, which included the installation of a plaque in his name on the Normandie building on the Champs-Élysées (8th arrondissement).
Delon featured in In Memoriam segments of 2025 BAFTA and SAG Awards ceremonies. However, the French actor is absent from the tribute paid at the 2025 Oscars, an omission that is causing incomprehension in France and internationally. At the opening of the 50th César Awards, a tribute was paid to Alain Delon with a sequence retracing the actor's career.
Alain Delon is one of the best-known French actors abroad, alongside Gérard Depardieu, Jean Reno, Catherine Deneuve, and Audrey Tautou. Jean-Michel Frodon, a film critic and historian, points out that in post-war French cinema, Delon is a unique figure, whose energy and intelligence on screen were superbly exploited by filmmakers such as Jean-Pierre Melville. According to Nick Rees-Roberts and Darren Waldron, "Few male European actors have been as iconic and influential for generations of filmgoers as Alain Delon." They consider his status as a cinema icon and the longevity of his career as making a scholarly inquiry into his image and persona necessary. LaCinetek and The Criterion Collection have unveiled several lists wherein various professionals in the field recommend and/or specify their favorite films. Several of the productions in which Delon plays the leading role are cited.
Many contemporary filmmakers such as Daniel Brühl, Michael Douglas, Stephen Frears, Jack Huston, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Kyle MacLachlan, Mickey Rourke, Mark Strong, Quentin Tarantino, Bruce Willis, have expressed respect or admiration for Alain Delon's career, roles, style, and longevity.
Leonardo DiCaprio regards Alain Delon as one of the "coolest actors in the history of cinema". The Canadian actor Keanu Reeves asserts that Delon is his role model as an actor: "He's such a charismatic actor. I think he has something in him between tension and melancholy." British director Matthew Vaughn compares actor Michael Caine to Alain Delon, suggesting the unique cinematic influence of these two actors in their respective countries. British actor Clive Owen says he is fascinated by Alain Delon's "natural grace", considering Le Samouraï and La Piscine among his favorite films. Joseph Losey, an American director, expressed his admiration for Alain Delon, saying, "Alain is one of those rare talents who can be honored as being difficult. To me, this word means professionalism, demand, dedication to work, warmth, and love. He's not a man to play with, but a man you can rely on." American producer Robert Evans paid tribute to Delon in his memoirs The Kid Stays in the Picture – Hyperion Books, 1994, considering him as his "brother in life as in cinema" and "the most beautiful actor in Europe".
Alain Delon's interpretations have influenced many colleagues, both in France and internationally, especially thanks to his role in Le Samouraï (The Samurai), often cited as one of the most influential films in history. Director Jean-Pierre Melville wrote the film for Alain Delon and describes the genesis of this film:
Director Bertrand Blier speculates that the meeting between Alain Delon and the filmmaker Jean-Pierre Melville, "historic, charged with a mutual fascination", was at the origin of the success of this classic: "The Samurai was a completely bizarre film. There has only been one film made like this in France. And it's so much like Delon, this film: a mute, completely narcissistic role, where practically nothing happens. Delon sits in front of a mirror for an hour correcting the position of his hat! It had a lot of charm, it was a fascinating film. It was an extraordinary analysis of these two men, a formidable joint portrait of Melville / Delon".
Stephen Teo calls Le Samouraï "possibly the most influential French crime thriller ever made, a mixture of a police procedural (le film policier) and a suspenseful action thriller concentrated on a professional hit man, Jef (spelled with one "f") Costello, played by Alain Delon, giving the definitive performance of his career".
Delon and Melville crystallize a film cited as one of the most influential in history, which will become an essential reference for many filmmakers. Many New Hollywood films and critical successes such as William Friedkin's The French Connection (1971) and Francis Ford Coppola's The Conversation (1974) contain explicit references to Le Samouraï and the character of Jef Costello played by Delon.
Alain Delon is cited as one of the most beautiful actors in the history of cinema. His on-screen presence and physical appearance have earned him the status of a "icon" and a "legend" of cinema, both in France and internationally. His fame, linked as much to his looks as to his acting, has inspired and continues to influence many international actors.
The following pertains solely to Alain Delon's direct and intrinsic influence through his roles or acting style. Only a few films draw more inspiration from Delon's distinctive style and personality rather than his acting performance.
From South Korea to China, numerous filmmakers have drawn inspiration from Alain Delon’s career, particularly his portrayal of Jeff Costello in Le Samouraï (1967).
Rocco Siffredi chose his stage name in reference to the characters Roch Siffredi (Borsalino and Borsalino & Co) and Rocco Parondi (Rocco and his brothers), both played by Alain Delon. Hong Kong actor Ti Lung chose his stage name from a verbal derivation close to the name of his favorite actor Alain Delon.
Borsalino, a film released in 1969, tells the adventures of Roch Siffredi and François Cappella, two gangsters in Marseille in the 1930s. Played by Alain Delon and Jean-Paul Belmondo, Borsalino marks their only collaboration. This tandem, made up of two of the most popular French actors, inspired Robert Redford and Paul Newman to stage The Sting in 1973.
Ilaria Urbinati, stylist for Ryan Reynolds, Bradley Cooper, and Donald Glover among others, counts Alain Delon as one of the style icons who inspire her: "Alain Delon, a young Pacino and a young DeNiro are my all-time style icons. And probably Paul Newman at all ages. They'll keep you right."
Playwright Adrienne Kennedy was an admirer of Delon. A mystery novella by Kennedy, Deadly Triplets featured a fictional version of Kennedy who has written a play titled, The Heart Of Alain Delon.
During the four years Delon lived with Romy Schneider, he became a leading man in movie roles, and an international sex symbol. According to media commentator Mark Gallagher, Delon's reputation ultimately may be as a worldwide style icon, rather than as an actor. He writes that Delon's on-screen sex appeal is well received in many cultural contexts, that it allowed him to transcend strictly French film and culture, and connected him to "international film culture and popular culture".
Delon was offered roles in several iconic productions, thus illustrating the international recognition bestowed upon him. For instance, he was invited by Sam Spiegel (the film's producer) to portray Sherif Ali in Lawrence of Arabia. Despite a successful audition, difficulties related to wearing brown contact lenses for the role led the French actor to decline the offer. Robert Evans also considered Alain Delon for the role of Michael Corleone in The Godfather, stating, "That's how he was described in the book." Delon, however, refused the proposal. In 1973, director and screenwriter Alejandro Jodorowsky embarked on the cinematic adaptation of Dune. Jodorowsky assembled a prestigious artistic team, including rock bands Pink Floyd and Magma for the music. Jodorowsky also envisioned an ambitious cast: Salvador Dalí, Orson Welles, and Mick Jagger among others. Alain Delon was slated to portray the character of Duncan Idaho. However, anticipating a 14-hour film, the project was abandoned due to significant financial constraints (Dalí notably demanding $100,000 per hour). Alain Delon was among Anne Rice's top choices for the role of Louis, as depicted in her book Interview with the Vampire, which was under discussion for a film adaptation. However, the project didn't come to fruition until 1994, with Brad Pitt ultimately taking on the role. Alain Delon was also slated to appear in the adaptation of André Malraux's novel Man's Fate, alongside Johnny Depp, Daniel Day-Lewis, Uma Thurman, and John Malkovich. This project, initiated by Michael Cimino, was abandoned due to financial difficulties. In 2014, a film project titled Patient was announced, a drama centered on the Armenian genocide, with Delon or Adrien Brody in a leading role. Brody and Dustin Hoffman were also set to star. This project never materialized.
According to the American Film Institute, Delon was considered for roles in Joshua Logan's Fanny (1961), Tony Richardson's The Loved One (1965), Sydney Pollack's This Property Is Condemned (1966), Henri Verneuil's The Scavengers (1968), Taxi Driver (1976) by Martin Scorsese, and John Huston's Escape to Victory (1981).
Among the projects turned down by Alain Delon are Steven Spielberg's Close Encounters of the Third Kind and Bernardo Bertolucci's Last Tango in Paris. Additionally, in 1979, Albert Broccoli, in charge of the James Bond franchise, offered Delon the role of James Bond. Delon refused to succeed Sean Connery and thus declined the offer. Initially considered for the role of Louis XV in the American film Marie-Antoinette, Alain Delon declined Sofia Coppola's offer, arguing his refusal to wear a wig to play the role.
A still shot of Delon in The Unvanquished appears on the cover of the 1986 album The Queen Is Dead by The Smiths, which was used with his written approval. The song "Beautiful Killer" on Madonna's twelfth studio album MDNA is a tribute to Delon. An early EP by the music group White Town was the "Alain Delon EP". The song "A Look From The Screen" by Russian band Nautilus Pompilius is a tribute to Delon. In 2010, Emma Daumas paid tribute to Alain Delon in the song Dans les yeux d'Alain Delon, on her E.P. Acoustic. Far from this chorus of praise, Marianne Faithfull, a friend of Nico's and who was Delon's partner in the cinema in the 1960s, mentions the actor on her album Kissin' Time. The Italian music group Baustelle (La canzione di Alain Delon), the Bulgarian music group Shturtzite (Alen Delon), Christoff de Bolle (Ich hab Alain Delon gesehn), Erlend Krauser (Deneuve Meets Alain Delon in The Train), Davide Van De Sfroos (L'Alain Delon de Lenn), Dann Stuyven (Dîner Delon), Sıla Gençoğlu and Ozan Doğulu (Alain Delon) and Femme Schmidt (Alain Delon) have all quoted and/or paid tribute to Alain Delon in their musical productions.
The manga and anime series Beelzebub feature an extensive cast of fictional characters created by Ryūhei Tamura. One of the key characters is Batim do Emuna Alaindelon, a demon. The character mentioned is directly inspired by Freddie Mercury and is named after Alain Delon.
The Italian comic strip Playcolt (128 issues divided into four series from 1972 to 1979) features Alain Velon (Paronomase of the actor Alain Delon), a billionaire playboy with a Delonian physique who later transforms into Playcolt, a kind of superhero.
Monkey Punch is inspired by several French films and actors to create the relationships between his characters in his manga Lupin III. The Alain Delon-Charles Bronson duo in Adieu l'ami influences the interactions between Lupin and his accomplice Daisuke Jigen.
Alain Delon's influence in Le Samouraï can also be felt in the comic strip Corps et Âme by Jef and Matz. In Body and Soul, the main character is Frank Kitchen, a fearsome and methodical hitman. The resemblance to Costello (played by Delon in Le Samuraï) is reflected not only in the character's physical appearance, but also in his behavior and stoic attitude in the face of adversity. As in The Samurai, where Delon's character is betrayed and must navigate a series of unforeseen challenges, Frank Kitchen finds himself in a new situation after an extreme revenge that transforms him physically.
Lost Bullets, a comic book written by Walter Hill, features protagonist Roy Nash about a professional killer who has received a life sentence in the Joliet prison in Illinois. Jef, the cartoonist, says that he chose to be inspired by the French actor to create Roy Nash's appearance because he appreciates Delon and his films.
Michaël Sanlaville, an award-winning cartoonist in Angoulême in 2015 for Lastman, found his inspiration in the works of Frédéric Dard from a very young age. Having discovered the novels of San Antonio in his parents' attic, he decided to adapt these works into comic books. To embody San-Antonio, Sanlaville chose to base himself on the image of Alain Delon. His sculptural face and piercing gaze perfectly embody the handsome, irreproachable and hieratic hero described by Dard.
A significant part of the work of Russian artist and academician Nikas Stepanovich Safronov focuses on his series titled River of Time, where he portrays various modern personalities, whether famous politicians, actors, or pop music stars. Among those depicted are Alla Pugacheva, Sophia Loren, Pierre Cardin, Elton John, and Alain Delon. These paintings have been acquired by collectors at major national and international exhibitions, and most of them are now displayed in private collections and renowned museums in Russia and Europe.
Guillaume Delorme played Alain Delon in 2009 in a German TV movie, Romy, directed by Torsten C. Fisher and retracing his love story with Romy Schneider. Alain Delon is the main subject of a play inspired by his career and the world of Jean-Pierre Melville, Alain Delon or almost, of Stéphane Dolivet. The play was premiered in July 2007 at the Avignon Festival. It was revived in a new version in 2010, Alain Delon... and me.
Alain Delon's puppet in Les Guignols de l'info expresses himself in a grandiloquent way, speaking of himself in the third person.
Bulgarian poet Georgi Konstantinov wrote a humorous poem called Момичето със син балон (The Girl with the Blue Balloon) which was adapted by the popular Bulgarian rock band Shturtsite as lyrics for their 1982 hit called Ален Делон (Alain Delon). In it the actor was compared to a balloon which will burst in the end.
French box office in millions of admissions (films that exceeded two million admissions in theaters). Delon has a total of 136 million admissions in France. Based on the number of admissions, Delon is the 10th most popular actor in France in 2025.
Alain Delon is one of the most popular French actors in Russia. His films have accumulated a total of over 300 million admissions (with 13 films recorded). This number is minimal, as the box office results of films released in the USSR such as The Shock, The Swimming Pool, For a Cop's Skin, Monsieur Klein, A Cop, The Sicilian Clan, Le Cercle Rouge (etc.) are unavailable. His success in the USSR represents a unique phenomenon : a Western star able to rival in popularity with the greatest Soviet actors.
Delon has accumulated over 120 million admissions in Italy.
Delon has a total of over 35 million admissions in this country.
The Spanish press praised Alain Delon's impact on French and European cinema. The newspaper El País stressed that "French and European cinematography of the second half of the 20th century cannot be understood without his figure".
Box office (50 films recorded) detailed for Delon in Spain, where he totals 38 million admissions.
Delon's favourite actor was John Garfield. He also admired Jean Marais, Montgomery Clift, Marlon Brando and Robert Walker.
Delon received numerous film and entertainment awards throughout his career. He was also honored at the "Men of the Year 2001" ceremony with the World Actor 2001 trophy in Vienna, at the Imperial Hofburg palace in Austria. Delon's professional awards include:
Delon also received French and foreign government decorations:
Delon's most acclaimed films, according to the review aggregate site Rotten Tomatoes, include Purple Noon (1960), Rocco and His Brothers (1960), L'Eclisse (1962), The Leopard (1963), Le Samouraï (1967), La Piscine (1969), Le Cercle Rouge (1970), and Monsieur Klein (1976).
Documentaries
Numerous works (biographies, albums, novels, comics, etc.) are dedicated to Alain Delon, both in France and abroad (Germany, Spain, Greece, Italy, United States, United Kingdom, Russia).
Jean-Yves Le Naour and Emmanuel Cassier (illustrator), The Markovic Affair, Bamboo, 2022.
Schnock (no. 37), Alexandre Chabert, La Tengo, distributed by Flammarion, 2020.
Francophone and foreign periodicals on Alain Delon.
Essays
Metadata