French film legend Alain Delon has died at the age of 88, his three children told AFP in a statement on Sunday, following a battle with ill health.
“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,” the statement said, adding the family has asked for privacy.
According to his son Anthony, the actor, who was well-known for his parts in the 1960 classic “Purple Noon” and the 1967 film “Le Samurai,” passed away at approximately three in the morning (0100 GMT).
A rare sight on film since the 1990s, Delon gained national attention in 2023 after his three kids accused his live-in helper Hiromi Rollin of intimidating and harassing him.
The brothers continued to fight openly about the star’s health, which included a stroke in 2019, in the courts and media.
After Delon’s passing, his family has requested to remain anonymous.
Delon made his final significant public appearance on the red carpet before suffering a crippling stroke in May 2019 when he accepted an honorary Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival.
He’d added, “It’s a bit of a posthumous tribute, but from my lifetime,” when he was given the honor.
“I am going to leave, but I won’t leave without thanking you,” added the man who had lived out his final years at his home in a village in northeast France, surrounded by high walls, where he planned to be buried not far from his dogs.
“Alain is in a deep, chosen solitude, in another world, in the past with people he very much loved… His malaise has always been present,” his former partner Mireille Dard told AFP in 2015, before the star turned 80.
“The best and the worst, both inaccessible and so close, cold and hot,” fellow 1960s star Brigitte Bardot had described him on his 80th birthday.
