Alain Delon

A world-renowned actor, Alain Delon also occasionally ventured into song, notably with Dalida on the duet "Paroles... paroles..." in 1973. Born in Sceaux on November 8, 1935, he grew up in a foster family after his parents' divorce, and worked in his stepfather's delicatessen before doing his military service in the French Navy in Indochina. With his magnetic good looks, he was soon noticed in the film world. After his first role in Quand la femme s'en mêle (1957), the young seducer befriended Romy Schneider on the set of Christine (1958), and saw his career take off with Plein soleil (René Clément, 1960). He worked with major directors such as Lucchino Visconti on Rocco et ses frères (1961) and Le Guépard (1963), which won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival, Henri Verneuil on Mélodie en sous-sol (1963) and Le Clan des Siciliens (1969), Jean-Pierre Melville on Le Samouraï (1967) and Joseph Losey, for whom he acted as producer on Monsieur Klein (1976), among other cult roles such as those in La Piscine (1969) and Borsalino (1970), with Jean-Paul Belmondo. At the same time, he became a film director, advertising muse and businessman for his own brand. In 1967, the giant of French cinema launched his singing career with the song "Laetitia" from the film Les Aventuriers, with music by Francis Roubaix. In 1973, at Dalida's request, he sang "Paroles... paroles..." with her , based on the Italian duo Mina and Alberto Lupo. This success was followed by other duets, with Welsh singer Shirley Bassey on "Thought I'd Ring You" in 1983 and American Phyllis Nelson on "I Don't Know", for the film Parole de flic (1985). Two years later, the star played himself in "Comme au cinéma" (1987), before reciting poems by Victor Hugo on the album Mon Victor Hugo (1988). Before retiring after eighty films, the actor agreed to sing "Modern Style" with Françoise Hardy in 2007. Diminished by illness, Alain Delon died at his estate in Douchy, Loiret, on August 18, 2024, at the age of 88. Tribute after tribute was paid to one of the most popular faces in world cinema.