2024-08-19 12:33:52
Alain Delon has died. The monument of French cinema passed away on Sunday, August 18, 2024, in the early morning, as announced by his three children. He was 88 years old and had remained discreet since his stroke in 2019. Tributes from around the world are pouring in.
15:00 – This final photo of Alain Delon shared by his daughter Anouchka
Although Alain Delon had disappeared from public life since 2019, despite a brief appearance at Jean-Paul Belmondo’s funeral in September 2021, the actor continued to appear on the public’s Instagram feed. His three children, Anthony, Anouchka, and Alain-Fabien Delon, used the social network to post occasional pictures of their father and provide updates on his health status. A month before his death, on July 13 specifically, the actor’s daughter posted a photo of her famous father on social media, at his home in Loiret, in the middle of a haircut session. “Delon will always remain Delon,” she wrote. “Always handsome, always impeccable, always elegant like fine wine. Eternally great.”
14:33 – What is the “B-type lymphoma” that Alain Delon suffered from?
Alain Delon was deteriorating at the end of his life, suffering from health problems that tore his children apart in media and legal disputes, to the point that he was placed under enhanced guardianship by the courts last spring. The actor suffered from cardiovascular diseases, having had two strokes in 2019 that removed him from public life. He also suffered from a B-type lymphoma, non-Hodgkin, at the age of 87. In the magazine Entrevue, his eldest son, Anthony Delon, recounted that his father had been treated with immunotherapy for this cancer of the lymphatic system, which develops at the expense of B lymphocytes, which produce antibodies for the immune system.
14:07 – “He died peacefully, calmly”
The death of Alain Delon was announced through a statement transmitted by the actor’s three children to AFP on Sunday, August 18. In this joint statement, they stated that the Samurai “passed away peacefully in his home in Douchy, surrounded by his loved ones.” On the microphone of BFM TV, TV host and former assistant to the actor and Mireille Darc, Véronique de Villèle, clarified that the actor died “peacefully, calmly, with his three children, his two granddaughters, and his dog.”
13:34 – Which films featuring Alain Delon to watch on television tonight?
On the occasion of Alain Delon’s death, television channels scrambled their schedules to pay a final tribute to this icon of French and international cinema. On Monday, August 19, several films featuring the star are airing: Plein Soleil on France 3 at 21:12, Mélodie en sous-sol on Arte at 20:55, and Les félins on the seventh channel at 23:45. Other feature films will also be scheduled throughout the week.
13:02 – What is a national tribute, which Alain Delon refused during his lifetime?
Jean-Paul Belmondo had one; Alain Delon is to be deprived of it according to his wishes. The actor who passed away on Sunday had made it clear in 2018 on the show Thé ou Café that he did “not want” to receive a national tribute after his death and preferred to be buried in his commune of Douchy, in Loiret, alongside his dogs. A wish that should be fulfilled according to BFM TV, which specifies that the funeral will take place this week in the strictest intimacy. In practical terms, Alain Delon, therefore, refused this exceptional honor usually bestowed on a deceased person during the funeral. It is the President of the Republic who decides on such a tribute, which usually takes place in the courtyard of the Hôtel des Invalides or at the Panthéon. In his message posted on the social network X, Emmanuel Macron did not mention the upcoming holding of a national tribute for Alain Delon. Let us recall that Jean-Paul Belmondo, as well as other cultural figures like Johnny Hallyday or Charles Aznavour, had received a national tribute.
12:38 – Alain Delon wanted to be buried “like everyone else”
During his lifetime, Alain Delon was clear about the arrangements for his funeral: he did not want “especially” a national tribute, as he made known on Thé ou Café in 2018. In an interview with Catherine Ceylac, the actor specified: “I want to be buried like everyone else.” He indeed requested to be buried at home, in the town of Douchy, where he had owned a residence for several decades and where he passed away on this Monday. BFM TV also informs us that his grave is already dug in the chapel of his estate, so that he may be buried near his dogs. The prefecture of Loiret has given “its principle agreement,” the sub-prefect specifying to the microphone of AFP that Delon had “initiated the administrative procedures” before his death to ensure that his wishes would be respected.
12:06 – “Devastated,” Hiromi Rollin reacts to the death of Alain Delon
She made headlines in 2023 due to the legal case opposing her to the actor’s three children. This Monday, Hiromi Rollin, considered at times as Alain Delon’s “companion,” and at times as his “female companion,” reacted to the death of the one she describes to Figaro as “his half.” She expressed that she is “devastated” by his death and claims that “his children didn’t even allow me to say goodbye; it’s inhumane.” In 2023, Anthony, Anouchka, and Alain-Fabien Delon filed a complaint against her and accused her of mistreatment towards the actor, a case dismissed on January 4, 2024. “We loved each other for over 30 years,” she asserts today. “I lived with him for 17 years and was separated from Alain unjustly, brutally, and violently,” declares the Japanese companion of the actor, aged 66. For his part, according to Figaro, Alain Delon was more ambiguous about the nature of his relationship with Hiromi Rollin, which started as a professional relationship before becoming personal and then professional again.
11:43 – TV channels scramble their programs to pay tribute to Alain Delon
The death of Alain Delon, one of the last great stars of French cinema, on Sunday at the age of 88, naturally disrupted the schedules of French television channels. While viewers were able to revisit Le samouraï on France 2 and Borsalino on W9 on Sunday, TV tributes continue this week. On Monday, August 19, Arte will broadcast Mélodie en sous-sol at 20:55 followed by the documentary Alain Delon, cet inconnu at 22:50, followed by the police film Les félins at 23:45, while France 3 offers Plein Soleil starting at 21:12. On Tuesday, one can head to C8 to (re)watch the western Soleil Rouge, or Paris Première if you prefer Le clan des Siciliens. On Wednesday, the eighth channel continues its tribute with Le cercle rouge at 21:10, while Monsieur Klein will be shown on France 5 on Friday at 21:00.
11:20 – Alain Delon had not made a public appearance since 2021
Since his stroke in 2019, Alain Delon had become very rare, occasionally responding to very brief interviews and no longer making media appearances. However, the actor made one exception: the last time we saw The Leopard at a public event was at the funeral of his great friend, Jean-Paul Belmondo, on September 10, 2021. The actor who passed away this Sunday at the age of 88 appeared masked (due to Covid restrictions) alongside his eldest son, Anthony Delon. After greeting the audience and the gathered cameras in front of Saint-Eustache church in Paris, Alain Delon attended the funeral before leaving discreetly.
11:01 – When Alain Delon shared the epitaph he wanted on his gravestone
For Alain Delon, death was never a taboo subject, and he spoke about it freely. While the actor made known that he wished to be buried in Douchy, his last place of residence in Loiret, the details and organization of his funeral remain unknown. In 2018, on the microphone of the show “Thé ou café” on France 2, Alain Delon revealed what epitaph he wished to see engraved on his gravestone: “I loved often. I was wrong sometimes. But I loved. I lived my life, not a fictional being created by my pride and my boredom.”
10:42 – No national tribute, but a ceremony for the public?
BFM TV announced this Monday that Alain Delon’s burial will take place in the strictest intimacy in the middle of the week in Douchy, the commune where he died in Loiret. According to his wishes, he will be buried in the chapel he had planned next to his dogs. The television media specifies that the idea of a national tribute, which Jean-Paul Belmondo had in 2021, would be excluded according to the actor’s wishes. However, this does not mean that the public will not be able to pay their last respects: a less solemn ceremony with industry people in attendance is being considered to allow spectators to bid farewell to one of the last giants of French cinema. For now, the details of this project are not known.
10:21 – A burial planned in the strictest intimacy in midweek
The details of Alain Delon’s funeral are becoming clearer. According to information from BFM TV shared this Monday, Alain Delon’s funeral will indeed take place in Douchy, in the chapel he had planned for this purpose, in the coming days. The television media specifies that the burial will occur in the middle of the week, in this commune in Loiret where he had lived for 50 years. It will take place in the strictest intimacy, as the actor wished.
10:13 – A life ending marked by health problems
While the causes of Alain Delon’s death on Sunday, August 18, have not been revealed, the 88-year-old actor has made headlines in recent years due to his health problems. Starting in 2019, after suffering a stroke followed by an acute subdural hematoma, the health of the Samurai began to decline. The actor, known for his roles in La piscine and Le guépard, also suffered from cancer of the lymphatic system, also known as B-type lymphoma. In 2023, news regarding Alain Delon’s health, revealed in the wake of the legal case opposing his children to his companion Hiromi Rollin, was not good. In early 2024, the courts mandated a doctor to evaluate the actor’s health, described by his eldest son Anthony as “weakened.” Alain Delon was eventually placed under reinforced guardianship last spring, depriving him of freedom regarding the management of his assets.
09:55 – This Monday, August 19, the press pays tribute to Alain Delon
Whether in France or around the world, media from across the globe have paid tribute to Alain Delon, who passed away this Sunday. On the front page, La voix du Nord pays homage to “a star,” while Libération titles “Delon, deep sleep,” referring to the cult film in which the actor starred. The same inspiration can be found in Le Parisien, which honors the “last samurai.” Internationally, the Swiss newspaper Le Temps mourns “the extinction of a star.”
09:45 – Céline Dion pays tribute to “a father, a king, a wolf”
The death of Alain Delon has shaken the entire world, from the anonymous individuals who discovered the actor in cinema to figures in the political and cultural spheres. Among them is Céline Dion, who shared a heartfelt tribute to a “giant of French cinema” (in English in the text) on the social network X. In French, the singing star, who made an appearance at the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympic Games, wrote: “He was a part of our lives in technicolor, and his charisma crossed all borders between dream and reality. Nothing could resist his talent as a seducer with steel-like eyes and a spoiled child’s smile. His departure makes me sad. I will keep his whispered words in my ear as a happy moment shared for the length of a song. My sympathies to his family and to those who loved him as a father, like a king, like the wolf he was.”
Reflections on Alain Delon’s Legacy and Future Trends in Memorialization
The passing of iconic French actor Alain Delon has sparked widespread mourning not only in France but around the globe. His transition from the public eye and the subsequent tributes tell us much about evolving trends in celebrity mourning and cultural memorialization.
Digital Tributes and Lasting Legacies
In today’s digital age, social media platforms are becoming vital spaces for public homage. Delon’s children shared bittersweet moments with him on Instagram, showcasing how personal memories are now publicly shared and preserved. This reflects a growing trend where bereaved individuals leverage social media not only to grieve but also to celebrate their loved ones’ legacies, allowing fans and the public to partake in a collective remembering process.
Intimacy in Public Spaces
Delon’s explicit wish for a private funeral contrasts sharply with the grandeur typically associated with memorials for stars of his stature. This inclination towards private ceremonies may indicate a shift in how public figures wish to be remembered, favoring intimacy over spectacle. As society becomes more aware of mental and emotional health, this trend could encourage future celebrities to opt for more discreet farewells, focusing on personal connections rather than public displays.
The Evolution of Homage Practices
After Delon’s death, various television networks quickly altered their programming to pay tribute to his contributions to cinema, highlighting a trend of honoring cultural icons in immediate and multifaceted ways. We might see more coordinated tribute events, whether formal or informal, that allow the public to engage with the art and memories of the departed in innovative formats, such as virtual reality exhibits or retrospective screenings.
The Reflection on Health and Vulnerability
Alain Delon’s battle with health issues has reignited discussions about the vulnerability of artists and the importance of mental health awareness in the entertainment industry. As discussions around health become increasingly prominent, future trends may involve stronger support systems for aging artists and more transparent sharing of health struggles, fostering a culture that prioritizes well-being alongside public performance.