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01
He said he cannot bear to watch The Swimming Pool 1969 again because his co-stars, ex-lover Romy Schneider and close friend Maurice Ronet, both died prematurely and under tragic circumstances.
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02
He participated in the war of Indochina when he was a soldier in the French army; of the 4 years in the war, he spent 11 months in prison.
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03
He was fluent in Italian and English.
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04
In an interview, he confessed that just before Romy Schneider’s burial, which he did not attend, he stayed all night beside the coffin, taking three pictures of her which he always kept in his wallet.
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05
His first and only César award win for Our History 1984 has yet to be truly given to Delon. He was not present at the awards ceremony and the presenter Coluche accepted the award on his behalf, kept it, and after Coluche’s death in 1986, the César was nowhere to be found.
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06
He owned a restaurant called Camargue in Nice, France.
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07
He was engaged to actress Romy Schneider from 1959 to 1963.
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08
In 1968, one of Delon’s bodyguards, Stevan Markovic, was found shot in the head in a dumpster outside Delon’s home. Delon’s friend, Corsican gangster François Marcantoni, was charged with accessory to murder. Delon himself was held for questioning, though the murder took place in Paris while Delon was filming in St. Tropez. Delon’s then-wife Nathalie was also questioned.
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09
He was expelled six times from different schools as a child.
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10
Towards the end of his life, he lived alone in a large estate, where there is a chapel for which he obtained the authorizations to be buried in.
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11
He sued Anthony Delon for naming his leather apparel A.Delon as a brand and won in court in the 80s.
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12
He was featured on the cover of the music album The Queen is Dead 1986 by The Smiths.
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13
His father was of half French and half Corsican Italian ancestry. His mother was of German and French descent.
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14
He considers Jean-Pierre Melville the greatest director of cinema.
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15
He received the Legion d’Honneur, the highest French decoration, for his career in 1991.
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16
He won a César for Best Actor in Our History 1984 in 1985.
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17
He had dual citizenship: French and Swiss, acquiring Swiss citizenship in 1999.
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18
He broke the relationship with his mother after she insisted on taking care of his son Ari, product of a relationship with actress Nico. They spoke again when his stepfather died in 1988, the same year Nico died.
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19
Madonna’s song Beautiful Killer on album MDNA is a tribute to Alain Delon.
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20
He was one of the favorite western stars in Japan.
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21
In a 2018 interview, he said that Romy Schneider is the love of his life.
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22
He bred racehorses and looked after abandoned dogs on his estate in France.
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23
He turned down the role of Paul in Last Tango in Paris 1972 that went to Marlon Brando.
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24
He had his own brand, Alain Delon Diffusion SA, which sells perfumes, champagne, clothes, watches, cognac, and glasses.
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25
He was a close acquaintance of French actress Brigitte Bardot.
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26
He served with the French Navy from 1952 to 1956.
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27
In September 2019, Christian Päffgen Ari Boulogne sued Alain for recognition of paternity.
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28
He had heart surgery in April 2012 at the American Hospital in Neuilly-sur-Seine outside Paris.
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29
He attended Jean-Paul Belmondo’s funeral in Paris in September 2021; they first worked together on Sois belle et tais-toi in 1958.
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30
In 2005 President Jacques Chirac made Alain Delon an Officer of the Légion d’Honneur for his contribution to cinema.
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31
He had a 3-year relationship with his former co-star Anne Parillaud in the 80s.
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32
He was the highest paid actor in French film.
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33
At the 2008 César Awards, he presented the Best Actress Award and announced the winner as La Môme Marion, Marion Cotillard won for La Vie En Rose 2007. He praised Cotillard and also paid tribute to Romy Schneider.
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34
His childhood favorite star was John Garfield.
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35
He lived with Rosalie van Breemen from 1987 to 2001; Rosalie was 21 when she met Alain, who was 52.
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36
He acquired a home in the canton of Geneva, Switzerland in 1985.
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37
He accepted the starring role in Zorro 1975 to please his son Anthony, who was a child at the time.
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38
On August 31, 2020, he was honored with a day of his filmography during the Turner Classic Movies Summer Under the Stars Festival.
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39
He created a horse racing team with which he won the World Champion title for trotter with his horse Equileo.
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40
He was ranked #72 on Premier magazine’s The 100 Sexiest Movie Stars of All Time list in 2008.
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41
He originally wanted to be a butcher.
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42
He broke into French films in 1957 and had become an international star within 5 years.
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43
He was the companion of Mireille Darc from 1968 to 1982.
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44
Alain and his daughter Anouchka participated in the French version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? in 2013 and won 72,000 euros.
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45
He stated in an April 2022 interview that he would be recurring to euthanasia, on his words A person has the right to leave in peace, without going through hospitals, injections and so on.
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46
He never admitted that Christian Päffgen Ari Boulogne was his son and refused to do a paternity test.
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47
He was godfather to Géraldine Danon.
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48
He was a Gaullist, an admirer of Charles de Gaulle, and consequently a center-rightist.
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49
He won the Honorary Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival in 1995.
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50
He sang in the hit song Paroles, Paroles with the late Dalida in 1973; they had a secret love affair in the 1960s.
