French film legend Alain Delon has died 'very early in the middle of the night', aged 88, surrounded by his family and children. The actor had been in poor health since suffering a stroke in , rarely leaving his estate in Douchy, in France 's Val de Loire region. Delon's legend was launched in , playing pretty boy killers and mysterious schemers in 'Purple Noon' - later remade as 'The Talented Mr Ripley' - and Luchino Visconti's 'The Leopard'.
A rarity on the screen since the s, Delon made headlines in when his three children filed a complaint against his live-in assistant Hiromi Rollin, accusing her of harassment and threatening behaviour. His three children went on to wage a public battle in the media and the courts, arguing over the star's state of health. In May , he made his last major public appearance on the red carpet to receive an honorary Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival. French film legend Alain Delon pictured in May has died, aged 88, surrounded by his family and friends.
Alain Delon is pictured with his sons and granddaughters during Christmas dinner. His children announced his death on Sunday morning in a statement to French national news agency Agence France-Presse, a common practice in France. Tributes to Delon immediately started pouring in on social media platforms, and all leading French media switched to full-fledged coverage of his rich career.
To some, Delon was the sexiest man of the 20th century who played the impeccably tailored, ice-cold killers popularised by s New Wave films to perfection. To others, the man who often referred to himself in the third person and admitted to having slapped a woman, was an egotistical chauvinist, with feminists appalled by the lifetime achievement award the Cannes film festival gave him in His millions of fans, from France to Japan - where Delon was adored as an idol of male beauty - were prepared to overlook his failings.
The whiff of sulphur and his angelic face also proved an irresistible combination to a long line of glamorous actresses who fell for him.
