French actor Alain Delon, star of Le Samourai and Purple Noon, dies aged 88

Alain Delon, the French film star who was once described as the “most beautiful man in the movies”, has died aged 88.

Delon had been in poor health after suffering a stroke in 2019. A statement released to AFP news agency said: “He passed away peacefully in his home in Douchy, surrounded by his three children and his family.”

The actor starred in some of the most popular films of the 1960s including Jean-Pierre Melville’s Le Samourai, in which he played a stoic and lethal assassin, and Rene Clement’s Purple Noon, an adaptation of the Patricia Highsmith novel The Talented Mr Ripley.

During his long career, Delon appeared in 90 films, slowing down by the end of the 1990s to appear sparsely on the big screen, choosing to become a recluse away from public life. His final film performance was in 2008 when he appeared as Julius Caesar in the comedy Asterix at the Olympic Games.

Delon’s hypnotic screen presence made him an icon of French cinema. In 1991, Francois Mitterrand, the French president at the time, awarded him the title of chevalier in the Legion of Honour. Fourteen years later, Mitterrand's successor, Jacques Chirac, promoted Delon to the rank of commander in recognition of his “contribution to the art of world cinema”.

During the 1970s, Delon made a brief switch to Hollywood, appearing in films alongside Richard Burton and Dean Martin. Unfortunately for him, the films were a critical and commercial failure, after which he decided to return to Europe.

Off screen, Delon courted controversy when he congratulated far-right French National Front founder Jean-Marie Le Pen when the party did well in local elections in 2014. He also disagreed with France’s decision to abolish the death penalty.

He made headlines in February this year when French police seized 72 firearms and 3,000 rounds of ammunition from his home. The prosecutor in the case said Delon did not possess a gun licence.

Delon's last notable public appearance was in May 2019 when he received an honorary Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival. After receiving the award, Delon delivered an emotional speech in which he bade farewell to cinema.