Alain Delon is a French actor who rose to prominence thanks to his performances in a
variety of notable international films, some of which were moderate successes in the states.
The actor has been out of work since 2019 after suffering from a stroke.
Join Facts Verse as we take a look at how, today, Alain Delon’s life is utterly depressing.
Alain Delon is a French actor that has performed in an incredible number of roles in notable
French films, some of which went on to become hits in other parts of the world, including
the United States.
Some of the actor’s most popular films include the 1960 feature Rocco and His Brothers, 1963’s
The Leopard, and 1966’s Lost Command.
Though most of his roles have been French, Alain has also acted in a handful of American
features for MGM.
Sadly, Alain’s days of acting were put on hiatus in 2019, when the actor suffered a
stroke.
Since then, the actor has been trying his best to make it through the days.
Recently, Alain pulled himself together to film a series of interviews that were released
to the public.
These interviews showed that Alain is getting better, but that he is still living in a fairly
miserable state.
It remains to be seen whether or not Alain will return to the camera again in any other
capacity.
After Alain suffered his stroke, he was operated on in Paris before being transported to a
clinic in Switzerland for rehabilitation.
After this point, little was heard from Alain until the recent interviews.
During Alain’s battle, he has been able to count on his children for support.
Alain’s children include 56-year-old Anthony, 30-year-old Anouchka, and 27-year old Alain-Fabien.
These three have been there with their father every step of the way, though Alain has expressed
that it has been an incredibly long and arduous journey.
Before the 2019 stroke that put Alain Delon out of commission, the actor had been in the
headlines due to some controversies surrounding the Cannes Film Festival’s decision to award
him with an honorary Palme d’Or.
Of course, the French film festival owes a lot of debt to Alain, as well as other actors
of his era.
However, Alain has made numerous remarks over the years that haven’t held up too well
in today’s political climate.
For one thing, Alain has made remarks saying that he has hit women in the past.
As well, he has made numerous remarks disparaging homosexual couples and their right to have
children.
In addition to the problematic remarks that Alain has said in the past, he has also been
personally aligned with France’s political far right.
Alain has often aligned himself with France’s National Front, which is considered by many
to be a racist and anti-Semitic political party.
Further disparaging remarks that Alain has shared include the belief that being gay is
a crime against nature, even though the actor has been rumored to be a closeted homosexual
himself.
In the wake of the public’s outcry against the Cannes Film Festival’s decision to give
Alain an honorary award, the festival itself refused to change their minds.
According to those in charge, Alain was being commemorated for his contribution to film,
not for his political ideologies.
The same could be said for other controversial figures that had been recognized by the Cannes
Film Festival in the past.
Regardless of the fact that Alain might hold some problematic beliefs, it’s hard to disagree
that the actor has certainly contributed a good deal to international film.
Despite, the fact that Alain has said numerous problematic remarks in the past, he has never
been charged with any crime in relation to abusing women.
As well, the rumors of Alain’s own homosexuality that have long persisted around the actor’s
career paint a picture of a man who may be using homophobia as a means to deny his own
sexuality!
Over the course of Alain Delon’s long career, he has worked with some of the most prestigious
international filmmakers around, including Jean-Pierre Melville and Jean-Luc Godard.
The actor has always been a much bigger success in his home country than he has been overseas,
but that hasn’t stopped him from finding a little bit of traction with American audiences.
While the actor has certainly always been recognized for his talents, he was considered
a sex symbol throughout the 1960s and 1970s.
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Although it looks as if Alain Delon’s time in the spotlight may be coming to an end,
the actor has certainly had a long and storied career that will be talked about for many
years to come!
Alain was born in one of Paris’ wealthy suburbs on November 8, 1935.
His parents divorced when he was only four, and Alain was sent to live with foster parents.
When Alain’s foster parents passed away, his birth parents decided that it wouldn’t
be too much trouble to split custody between them and attempt to raise the boy on their
own.
Although Alain’s parents did decide to give parenting another go, it didn’t take.
They ended up growing tired of the boy once more.
Unsure of what to do with him, they decided to send him off to a Catholic boarding school.
This Catholic boarding school became the first of many schools that Alain got himself expelled
from.
Perhaps as a result of the lack of attention that he had received from his birth parents,
Alain seemed to have a proclivity for making trouble during his childhood years that only
got worse in his teens.
After experiencing numerous issues at school due to his troublesome behavior, Alain finally
decided to drop out at the age of 14 and began working at his stepfather’s butcher shop.
This period of employment only lasted for a short period of time before Alain decided
to do something else.
When Alain was 17, he enlisted in the French Navy.
During this time, the young man was a soldier in the First Indochina War.
Alain went on to spend four years serving in the French Navy in total, but the actor
has shared that he believes he spent almost a full year sitting in the confines of military
jail due to his rampant misbehavior.
Even after serving, Alain was just as bad of a troublemaker as ever.
Finally, Alain was dishonorably discharged from the French Navy in 1956.
After being dishonorably discharged from the French Navy, Alain returned to France with
little to do.
The young man found himself without much money, and he took a variety of menial jobs in order
to try and scrape by.
Some of the jobs that Alain served during this time included working as a sales assistant
and a secretary, as well as doing some time as a waiter.
Alain became friends with an actress by the name of Brigitte Auber during this time period,
and it was Brigitte that inevitably led Alain on the pathway towards becoming a star when
she invited him to attend Cannes.
While attending the Cannes Film Festival with Brigitte Auber, Alain Delon was spotted by
a man that was working as a talent scout for producer David O. Selznick.
The talent scout offered Alain a contract back in America, under the condition that
the young Frenchman be able to learn English.
Alain began to actively study the language with the intention of taking the talent scout’s
offer.
However, a French director took Alain aside and suggested to him that he might be happier
starting a career in the French film industry.
Alan ended up listening to the advice of his fellow Frenchman, and the rest is history!
Alain’s first lead came acting in the 1958 feature Christine, which marked the first
of Alain’s many appearances alongside actress Romy Schneider.
In addition to starring in many films together, the two also became engaged in a public romance
that got a lot of attention from tabloids at the time.
The film was a major success, and many more roles for Alain followed.
The 1959 feature Women Are Weak was the first of Alain’s French features to be shown in
theaters in America.
In order to promote the film’s American release, Alain made some appearances in New
York to promote it.
Women Are Weak proved successful with American audiences, and Alain had an even bigger international
success on his hands the next year with his role in the 1960 feature Purple Noon.
The film was an adaptation of the novel The Talented Mr. Ripley, which was written by
author Patricia Highsmith.
Alain’s work was so good that it even won the praise of Patricia herself!
Alain ended up signing a contract with MGM in the 1960s, and his first feature with the
studio was Any Number Can Win.
However, he continued to star in successful French features, many of which were distributed
by MGM stateside.
Another American role that Alain played in was in Universal Studios’ Texas Across the
River, a Western featuring Dean Martin.
Despite Alain’s hard work, he has never become a true icon stateside.
However, he is a big movie star in Japan!
After making a handful of films in America, Alain returned to France to film the feature
The Last Adventure, and he continued making films predominantly in France until his recent
stroke took him out of the acting game.
Although it looks like Alain is doing his best to recover, it remains to be seen what
the future holds for the beloved French actor.
In the meantime, his life seems to be fairly depressing!
Even if Alain Delon never acts again, his honorary Palme d’Or will stand as proof
of his immense legacy in the field of entertainment.
Comment down below to share if you’re a fan of any of Alain’s classic films, or
if you’re interested in checking out the actor’s recent filmed interviews.
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