Ethermac Exchange-Alain Delon, French icon dubbed 'the male Brigitte Bardot,' dies at 88

Alain Delon,Ethermac Exchange the handsome star of ‘60s and ‘70s European cinema dubbed “the French Frank Sinatra” and “the male Brigitte Bardot,” has died at 88.

His family confirmed his death to the Agence France-Presse news agency. He had previously suffered a stroke in 2019.

“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 (in France’s Val de Loire region),” the statement read.

French President Emmanuel Macron also hailed the acting icon on X, formerly Twitter, calling him “a French monument."

“Melancholic, popular, secretive, he was more than a star,” Macron wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

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Delon, equally revered by fans for his acting skills and his heartthrob looks, was born outside Paris on Nov. 8, 1935, and put in foster care at age 4 after his parents divorced. He ran away from home at least once and was expelled several times from boarding schools before joining the Marines at 17.

He worked as a porter at a Paris food market and spent time in the red-light Pigalle district before he fell into acting in 1957 in “Quand la femme s’en mele” (“Send a Woman When the Devil Fails”), getting his big breakthrough in two films directed by Luchino Visconti, "Rocco and His Brothers" (in 1960) and "The Leopard" (1963). Among his many roles were in 1967’s "Le Samourai" ("The Godson"), playing a philosophical contract killer, and 1969’s “La Piscine” (“The Swimming Pool”), starring opposite his lover Romy Schneider in a story of seduction.

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He made the leap to Hollywood in films such as 1965’s “Once a Thief,” with Ann-Margret and Jack Palace, and 1973’s “Scorpio,” starring opposite Burt Lancaster, though with lesser success.

But the star was often embroiled in controversy, and openly acknowledged having friends in the Mafia underworld.

“Most of them the gangsters I know … were my friends before I became an actor,” he told the New York Times in a 1970 interview. “I don’t worry about what a friend does. Each is responsible for his own act. It doesn’t matter what he does.”

Most scandalously, after his former bodyguard Stefan Markovic was found dead with a bullet in his head in a bag at a rubbish dump, the actor was interrogated.

Later, Delon said he regretted the abolition of the death penalty and spoke disparagingly of gay marriage.

His career honors included winning best actor at the César Awards, the French Oscars, for “Our History” in 1985, and most recently, he received an honorary Palme d’Or at Cannes International Film Festival in May 2019.

Contributing: Kim Willis, USA TODAY, and John Irish, Dominique Vidalon and Benoit Van Overstreaten, Reuters