EBN- News websites and social media platforms were abuzz a short while ago with the news of the death of the famous French actor Alain Delon, as his death was announced on Sunday, August 18, at the age of 88, after his health deteriorated for years.
Alain Delon passed away, leaving an engraved mark in cinematic history with many works for different characters and faces, as he was truly one of the most prominent stars of French cinema in the sixties and seventies.
Alain Delon was born on November 8, 1935, in Sceaux, Hauts-de-Seine, France.
He had a turbulent childhood as a rebellious student. Before his acting career, he spent some of his teenage years working in a butcher shop before joining the French Navy. In 1953, he was sent to Indochina. After his discharge in 1955, he worked in a variety of jobs that served as a gateway through which he entered the world of art.
He met many artistic figures and attracted the attention of talent scouts. After a screen test, he was offered a contract if he learned to speak English, but French director Yves Allégret convinced him to pursue an acting career in France instead.
He became a star in France , but he did not achieve great success in Hollywood despite performing with giants of American cinema, including Burt Lancaster when the Frenchman played the role of the assassin Scorpio in the 1973 film of the same name.
Dillon has four children and was married to Nathalie Barthélemy from 1964 to 1969.
The late Alain Delon’s first film appearance
Delon’s fillm debut was as a young gangster in Allégret Quand la femme s’en mêle (1957), and his first starring role was in the romance Christine (1958), opposite Romy Schneider, which brought him much attention and international attention, and he co-starred in Plein soleil (1960).
He embarked on a long artistic career, and was given the lead role in Roccco ei suoi fratelli in 1960, Il gattopardo in 1963, directed by Luchino Visconti, L’Eclisse in 1962, directed by Michelangelo Antonioni, in addition to Mélodie en sous-sol in 1963, Le Samouraï in 1967, Le Clan des Siciliens in 1969, and La Piscene in 1969.
Alain Delon and English Cinema
Delon did not limit his performances to French-language roles, as he appeared in several English-language films such as The Yellow Rolls-Royce (1964), Texas Across the River (1966), Red Sun (1971), and Monsieur Klein (1976), but Delon was unable to build a strong fan base for his English-language films.
He returned to his French-language roles in Notre histoire in 1984, Nouvelle vague in 1990, and 1 chance sur 2 in 1998
Decline in film roles and move to television
The 1960s and 1970s were a period of artistic brilliance for the late actor Alain Delon , but it did not last; the popularity of his films began to decline in the 1980s, and in the 2000s, Delon turned to television, appearing in the popular TV series Fabio Montale in 2002 and Frank Riva in 2003-2004.
Honors and awards in the life of Alain Delon
Alain Delon was a French actor who appeared on screen for over 50 years, becoming known to American audiences for his Golden Globe-winning performance in The Leopard in 1963. He received numerous awards and honors throughout his career, including the French Legion of Honor in 2005 for his contributions to cinema, an Honorary Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival in 1995, the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival in 2019, an Honorary Prize at the Marrakech International Film Festival in 2003, and more.
