Alain Delon – Gentleman of Style
Renowned
French businessman and actor, Alain Delon was born in Sceaux, Seine,
Île-de-France on November 8th, 1935. By the age of four, both his
parents had divorced and remarried giving Delon a half-sister and two
half-brothers. Growing up in a suburb of
Paris, Delon attended numerous boarding schools for most of his early
years, having to switch as he was expelled from one and then another due
to his inappropriate behavior. By the age of fourteen, he had enough
and quit school to work in his stepfather’s butcher shop. By the time he
turned 17, he enlisted in the French Navy and served as a fusilier
marin during the First Indochina War. His unruly past from boarding
school continued to haunt him, and he spent just shy of an entire year
in prison for being what the Navy called “undisciplined”. In 1956, he
was dishonorably discharged from the Navy and returned to France. Over
the course of the next few years, he took many odd jobs working as a
waiter, a porter and even in sales and as a secretary.
Delon in Burberry Trench Coat
An Entrance to Stardom
It
was during his time working odd jobs that he met actress Brigitte Auber
and accompanied her to the famous Cannes Film Festival where he was
seen by a talent scout for David Selznick who offered him his first
contract on the condition he learned how to speak fluent English. Delon
agreed and returned to Paris with the intention of learning how to speak
the language. However, upon his arrival he met Yves Allégret, a French
director who convinced him that he could become just as famous if he
stayed in France. Surprisingly, Selznick agreed to allow Delon to cancel
his contract, and Allégret gave him a role in ‘Quand la femme s’en
mêle’. His performance was a success, and he was offered a second role
in the movie ‘Women are Weak’ which introduced his face to American
moviegoers.
It was an instant hit,
and he almost immediately shot to fame. By the age of 23, he was being
compared to French legends such as Jean Marais and American star James
Dean.
In 1958, Delon starred in the
film Christine where he met Romy Schneider and subsequently fell in love
with her getting engaged in March of 1959.
1970. Jean-Paul Belmondo and Alain Delon in Borsalino
As
the 1960s rolled in, Delon made two more hit films when he appeared in
‘Purple Noon’ based on The Talented Mr. Ripley followed by ‘Rocco and
His Brothers’. Both roles earn him positive reviews by some very
discerning film critics. Delon took this opportunity to enter the live
stage and played alongside his partner Romy Schneider in the play ’Tis
Pity She’s a Whore’ which broke box office records in Paris.
During
the engagement with Schneider, Delon had an affair with a German model,
singer and actress named Nico, which resulted in a pregnancy. In August
1962, Nico gave birth to Delon’s son Christian who handed
responsibility over to his parents to care for the child.
Relxaed Delon with a cardigan
Finding
the affair too difficult to try and get past, Schneider broke off the
engagement by the end of 1963. Just a few months later, Delon married
Nathalie Barthélemy and one month later had a son with her named
Anthony.
Delon had by this time
officially become France’s hottest ticket, and Delon was considered for
the lead role in ‘Lawrence of Arabia’ but lost out to Peter O’Toole.
However, because he was so closely considered for the role, Seven Arts
offered him a four-picture contract that included ‘The King of Paris’
and ‘Marco Polo’. Despite promises, neither film ended up going to
production so Delon took another French role in ‘Any Number Can Play’
followed by yet another Visconti film in ‘Il Gattopardo’.
Alain – Le Samourai
By
this time, Delon had developed an interest in becoming a producer and
negotiated to be paid in distribution rights over a salary for ‘Any
Number Can Play’. With the success of the film, Delon opened Delbeau
Productions and produced his first film called ‘L’insoumis’.
Delon
had made such a name for himself that all of the Hollywood studios were
talking about the attractive, well-dressed French actor taking America
by storm. Delon heard rumors of this and sought out the big picture
players in California looking for roles. Since ‘Any Number Can Play’ was
distributed by MGM in the United States, Delon opted to sign on with
them for a five-picture contract. Starring alongside Jane Fonda, Delon
shot his first MGM film ‘Joy House’ in his native country. With the
success of it, he immediately began filming for ‘The Yellow Rolls Royce’
and ‘Once a Thief’. Delon then decided he needed more money and signed
another deal with Columbia for three films. With studio execs realizing
his appeal in action, he was cast in ‘Lost Command’. Universal saw this
and rented him for a Western they were making with Dean Martin called
‘Texas Across the River’. He was then requested by Seven Arts who wanted
to use him in ‘This Property is Condemned’ and ‘The Night of the
Iguana’. Despite not taking either role, he found a better opportunity
in ‘Is Paris Burning’ with Seven Arts which became a huge sensation in
France but flopped terribly in the United States. This seemed to be par
for the course with most of his Hollywood financed films seeing a
domestic flop but doing well at the French box office and overseas. In
many countries, including Japan, Delon was at the top of the ranks as
one of the third most coveted actors sharing the space with Sean Connery
and Steve McQueen. Despite the studios in Hollywood having faith in his
skill and stardom, somehow he was never able to make it on US soil as a
top-billed performer. As almost all six of his Hollywood films went
bust in the US, Delon returned to France to make ’The Last Adventure’
and ‘Le Samourai’ which was an instant hit.
Note the belly of the lapel
By
1967, the relationship with Nathalie was ending but the couple opted to
continue to live together. Delon decided he needed to go back into
production in order to make money and incorporated a new company called
Adel where he produced and starred in its first film, ‘Jeff’ where he
met another actress from France named Mireille Darc who he began dating
despite still living and being married to his wife.
‘Jeff’
was another great success and he followed it up with another film
called ‘Borsalino’ which is still, to this day, considered on of the
highest grossing films of all time in France.
Alain Delon in Borsalino & Co 1974
Then,
late in 1968, in a village on the outskirts of Paris, the body of a man
named Stevan Markovic was found in the dump by police. At the time of
his disappearance, Markovic was the personal bodyguard to Delon and
during the investigation, Delon and a gangster named Francois Marcantoni
became the prime suspects in his murder. Police suspected Delon thanks
to a letter Markovic sent to his brother which said “If I get killed,
it’s 100% fault of Alain Delon and his godfather Francois Marcantoni.”
The investigation widened rapidly and even began to place the French
Prime Minister Georges Pompidou in the crosshairs of law enforcement.
Rumors swirled and many suspected that Delon and Pompidou were involved
in a group sex ring focused on the deflation of Pompidou’s wife.
Pompidou took to the press and immediately accused two antagonists of
using the French spy agency SDECE to set him up. During the
investigation he became the President of the Republic and aimed at
reformed the SDECE where a secret agent was fired for what he claimed
was this set up.
1970. Jean-Paul Belmondo and Alain Delon in Borsalino
With the
allegations behind him and his confidence built back up, Delon decided
to take a second try in the United States and made ‘Red Sun’ which
subsequently flopped in the US box office but soared in France. Delon
realized that his career as an actor could potential be short-lived,
especially since he seemed incapable of succeeding consistently in the
US box office. He took a large portion of his income and reinvested it
into a range of businesses involved in everything from horse racing,
boxing, aviation and manufacturing. Continuing to act and fulfill his
passion, he starred in the film 1975 French film ‘Zorro’ and a year
later, in ‘Monsieur Klein, for which he won a César award for his
performance. Delon continued to be successful at the box offices
throughout much of Europe, especially in Russia.
His
fame across France ended up generating a reputation as a fairly
egotistical actor who thought of himself, and often referred to himself,
as a superstar. During an interview, he once stated “The simple truth
is that I am an enormous star all over the world. I like that because it
enables me to live well.”
Delon with Shawl Collar
Still
wanting to make it in America, Delon hired Hollywood agent Sue Mengers
who got him a leading role in ‘The Concodre… Airport ’79’ which also
flopped in America. Despite his inability to succeed state-side, every
other film he did in France was an enormous success earning him yet
another César award for best actor for his performance in ‘Notre
Histoire’. By 1982 his relationship with Darc was over after fifteen
years together.
As the late 1980s
rolled in, Delon started another relationship after meeting a Dutch
model named Rosalie van Breemen on the set of a music video for his song
‘Comme au Cinema’. Although he had this new love, Delon’s luck seemed
to fade, even in his homeland. Throughout the next decade almost every
film he made was a catastrophic failure with the sole exception of
‘Nouvelle Vague’. Van Breemen and Delon had two children during this
time, a daughter named Anouschka and a son, Alain-Fabien. Realizing his
career was almost over, Delon decided to make one more film which he
would use to determine whether he could continue to succeed or whether
his time as an actor was up. He starred in the 1998 movie ‘Une Chance
Sur Deux’ which immediately flopped and he announced his retirement from
acting, although he continued to take the occasional role when it fell
into his lap.
Delon in Dinner Jacket and Belmondo in Black Tie
The Style of Alain Delon
by Sven Raphael SchneiderAlain Delon was certainly a man of style, not just in his movies but also in real live and if he had managed to speak English fluently he would have been even more well known than he is today. His style was manifold but always trendsetting, probably because it always had a rakish element that made him stand out, no matter if he wore a three piece suit or an unbuttoned linen shirt.
He liked his ties slim, and his collars were never more than medium spread. The lapels on his suits varied in width, though they were mostly slim.
When wearing Black Tie, he favored a single button, peaked lapel jacket with medium to slim lapels. His tuxedo shirts were white, pleated, with turndown or wing collar, double cuffs and two studs instead of the 4 or 5 you usually see today.
On occasion, he would also wear a marcella bib stiff fronted shirt with one visible shirt stud, single stiff cuff and detachable wing collar. Although a fashion from the 1930’s when the tuxedo was upgraded in terms of bib stiff fronted shirt with one visible shirt stud, single stiff cuff and detachable wing collar. Although a fashion from the 1930’s when the tuxedo was upgraded in terms of by combining it with a white tie shirt, Delon managed to keep it look timeless and elegant when he wore it.
Alain Delon in a tuxedo with Annabelle
For his casual ensembles he always favored a nonchalant look that is often referred to as he always favored a nonchalant look that is often referred to as nowadays.
Sometimes he would wear boutonnieres in his lapel and cut a splendid figure.
Today, his suits lack the elegance of times gone-bye, his tie knots are often sloppy and have a gap between the open shirt, and the knot. Although he was a true style icon from the Mad Men era, he did not manage to remain as stylish as other seasoned movie stars such as Fred Astaire.
For a better understanding of his style, watch the video below and for more pictures of Delon, you should take a look here.
The Business Man
Unlike
many actors around the world, Delon was smart with his money and knew
he needed a back up in case film ever let him down. In addition to his
career as an actor, Delon was also a very successful entrepreneur. He
has manufactured a number of products including watches, sunglasses, cigarettes, perfume and clothing.
Conclusion
Today,
Alain Delon, thanks to dual citizenship he received in the late 1990s,
lives in Chêne-Bougeries near Geneva, Switzerland with his two youngest
children where he remains in semi-retirement, managing his businesses
and occasionally making a public appearance. He has, since the beginning
of his career, been considered a French style-symbol with his personal
style being heralded by fans around the world. Despite his many
chagrins, Delon has managed to accrue a reputation as one of the most
sartorially-savvy gentlemen in all of France.
Summary
Article Name
Alain Delon - Gentleman of Style
Description
The life, relationships and career of famed French actor, businessman and style icon, Alain Delon.
Author
J.A. Shapira
Alain Delon Classic!
Talking on Alain Delon’s style per se, I think that his best looks comes from his casual wear as portrayed on “Purple Noon.” In that movie, he masters what we could call the “Riviera style”, on a very stylish and timeless manner – every time I go on holidays in southern France and in Italy, I used those looks as inspiration.
Charles Allen
Daytona Beach, Florida
Another good read ; I remember doing to the movies to see Borsalino ( you can still one . ie the hat ) and the movie knocked me out .
I have 2 copies of the LP soundtrack and play them still .
Cheers
Mark