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According to AFP, French film legend Alain Delon died at the age of 88, his three children said in a statement on the 18th local time.

Alain Delon was plagued by scandals in his later years. He had bad relations with his girlfriend and several children, and even went to court. Five months ago, French police seized 72 guns and 3,000 rounds of ammunition from Alain Delon's home, causing an uproar. The following is a report from China Newsweek in March.

72 guns and 3,000 rounds of ammunition found in Alain Delon's home

"There were 72 guns, more than 3,000 rounds of ammunition and a shooting range in the house." French gendarmes came to this astonishing conclusion after a surprise search of the home of 88-year-old movie star Alain Delon. The French media Le Parisien, which published the news, described the old man's home as if it were located on "an arsenal."

On February 27, Le Parisien first reported the news about Alain Delon. According to a local prosecutor, Alain Delon "did not have any authorization to own a gun." Soon, the Guardian, BBC and other English media in the UK reposted the report.

Alain Delon in his later years. Photo/Visual China

At first glance, this news is jaw-dropping, but those who really know Alain Delon's living conditions in recent years may not be too surprised. Owning an "arsenal" is just a small thing in his chaotic life in his later years.

In 2019, 84-year-old Alain Delon received the "Honorary Palme d'Or" at the 72nd Cannes International Film Festival. It was his last public appearance. His eldest son Antoine Delon revealed that Alain Delon's health was deteriorating, and he had physical and mental problems, and even wanted to choose euthanasia. The news about Alain Delon's euthanasia was once rampant, but it turned out that this seemed to be information deliberately spread by Alain Delon's eldest son Antoine Delon for hype. At the same time, his children and his current girlfriend were arguing and even went to court.

This chaos in Alain Delon's later life has continued for several years. As one of the most recognized "handsome male stars in the world", he was popular for decades, and his success and success made him indulgent and arrogant in the first half of his life. He had a marriage and many lovers, but the relationships were never long-lasting and he did not have a normal family life. Many years ago, his hobby of "liking to play with guns" was also revealed. And this time, movie fans would not have thought that Alain Delon was in the news again because of illegal possession of a large number of weapons.

A later life filled with verbal battles

According to a report by Le Parisien, the search conducted by the prosecutor's office of Montargis in the Loire region of France, the judicial authority where Alain Delon lives, was a "home investigation" and was actually intended to protect the frail Alain Delon. The reason was that in the summer of 2023, a doctor examined Alain Delon and pointed out that the famous movie star seemed to be in a "state of physical and mental exhaustion and a great risk of suicide." Subsequently, starting from January 25, 2024, the prosecutor's office assigned a guardianship judge to protect Alain Delon. During the routine home investigation, it was accidentally discovered that there might be a large number of weapons hidden in his home, which led to this home search.

Previously, the reason why the procuratorate began to provide judicial protection to Alain Delon was not only because of concerns about his physical and mental condition, but also because of his chaotic family situation. The outbreak of the incident first began in 2019. In June of that year, Alain Delon, who already had heart problems, suffered a stroke. He was subsequently hospitalized many times and began to need close care. Since then, the relationship between his children has become increasingly tense. These children either accused each other in front of the media, or revealed their father's recent situation from their own perspective to show that they were closer to their father, and even chose to sue each other because of their father's problems.

Among all the children, the most radical one is Alain Delon's eldest son, actor Anthony Delon. In 2021, Anthony Delon and several other children took Alain Delon's current girlfriend, Hiromi Rowling, a Japanese woman who had lived with him for a long time, to court on charges of "intentional violence against vulnerable groups" and "illegal imprisonment of vulnerable groups". At that time, these children said through their lawyers that Hiromi Rowling had shown strong aggressiveness towards them since 2019 and had long "bullied and controlled" their aging and sick father. They also forced Hiromi Rowling to leave his father's residence in July 2023. Hiromi Rowling is a filmmaker who served as an assistant director and makeup artist in Alain Delon's film team. Later, she lived with Alain Delon for many years as a girlfriend, taking care of his life and helping him look after his two younger children.

As the eldest son, Anthony Delon's performance is indeed quite strange. In the past two years, he often revealed to the outside world that his father was in poor health. Sometimes he said that he had cognitive problems, and sometimes he said that he wanted to go for euthanasia. In March 2023, the news that Alain Delon "wanted euthanasia" made headlines in major media, and this news was revealed by Anthony Delon. At the end of the year, Anthony Delon began to tell the media that his father was in poor health and was celebrating "the last Christmas of his life." In addition, Anthony Delon always made sarcastic comments about his half-sister, Alain Delon's favorite daughter Anoushka, in the media, and even complained that his sister "abused her father." As a result, at the beginning of 2024, Anthony Delon soon received a reply from his father himself: Alain Delon's legal representative revealed to the media that he planned to file a lawsuit against Anthony Delon because his son always released these strange news to the media, as if he was looking forward to his death soon. But Anthony Delon still didn't stop. He recently announced that one of his novels will be published soon, and the plot revealed in it is very similar to their family's experience.

Amid all the turmoil, Alain Delon rarely spoke out in person, except for responding to some things through his lawyer. People can only see him in the family gathering photos released by his children. It seems that the impact of the family dispute is completely written on this aging face. In the photos, he sometimes forces himself to look at the camera. His face has become very thin and weak.

The world's dream lover

Alain Delon was once a true global superstar. His charm even reached faraway China decades ago. In the late 1970s, the first batch of imported Western films included "Zorro" starring Alain Delon. This movie, which was shot and released in 1975, entered China in 1978 and became popular immediately after its release. At that time, Alain Delon, who was about 40 years old, wore a black cloak and a black mask. His heroic image made many audiences crazy. A few years after the movie was released, there were still children who would wear homemade masks on their faces when playing to imitate "Zorro". Even many years later, actress Cai Ming mentioned in the sketch "Marriage Variations" that her dream lover had to be a man like Zorro played by Alain Delon.

Stills from "Zorro". Photo/Visual China

Alain Delon was born in 1935. He grew up in a broken family. His parents divorced, so he had to move between two families. He even had the experience of growing up in prison because he was entrusted to the care of prison guards. He changed 17 schools when he was in school, and kept violating the rules and skipping classes. In such a growing background, Alain Delon gradually got used to the uncertainty of relationships between people. These experiences also left him with a chic and unrestrained temperament. At the age of 18, he entered the film industry on the recommendation of his actress girlfriend. Because of his extremely dazzling appearance, he was very popular as soon as he debuted and successfully became a rising movie star.

Along with his career, his relationships with the opposite sex also became brighter, and these troubled relationships with the opposite sex seemed to attract more attention than Alain Delon's film career. In 1958, the 23-year-old Alain Delon was able to partner with the then big star, Austrian actress Romy Schneider, who played "Princess Sissi", in the love play "Flowers and Moons Break Hearts". At the same time, the two fell in love with each other because of the play. But in the process, Alain Delon fell in love with the beautiful actress Francine Canovas (later changed her name to Nathalie Delon), married, and gave birth to his eldest son Antoine Delon. Of course, Alain Delon also broke up with Romy Schneider. Alain Delon's only marriage lasted only 5 years. After that, he chose to only fall in love and not get married.

Alain Delon's children, except for his eldest son Anubica Delon who likes to cause trouble for him, are all illegitimate. His eldest daughter, Anubica Delon, and his second son Alain Fabian Delon, who is not valued, are both his children with Dutch model Rosalie van Bremen. In addition, there is a person who has always claimed to be Alain Delon's illegitimate child, but has never been recognized. The relationship between the children and their father is also difficult to describe. The eldest son Anubica Delon was his father's favorite when he was a child, but many years later, the birth of his half-sister Anubica took away this exclusive favor. In recent years, his father's preference for Anubica has become more obvious, and there are even rumors that he will leave half of his property to her. Whether it is about the possibility of future inheritance distribution or the different preferences for several women before, all these troubles have also planted the seeds for the chaos in Alain Delon's family life today.

Although Alain Delon is known for his handsomeness and his life is full of gossip, he is not a "vase actor" without acting skills. Over the years, he has figured out his own performance style. He can play two roles in the action movie "The Black Tulip" and in "Lone Ranger" co-starring with his ex-wife Nathalie Delon, he also showed a taciturn character that is different from his romantic personality. However, Alain Delon also clearly knows that a large part of his screen charm comes from the blessing of his appearance and the temperament of a prodigal son, and he is very clear about this. In his later years, he also publicly admitted that he has never been a standard acting school, but a "natural" actor who "has always been himself". He also recognizes and even relies on the shaping of him by different directors.

But now, the male god of that generation is getting old, and his charm has been exhausted in the complicated family relationship. No one would have thought that such a dashing image would become depressed and sluggish under the wear and tear of time and life. This can't help but remind people of the scene when Alain Delon visited Beijing in the 1980s. At that time, he took photos with passers-by on the street, wearing a red dress and sunglasses. There was no trace of middle-aged on his face, and he was full of confidence. At that time, he should not have been able to foresee the various experiences he would encounter in his later years. Now, fans can only sigh and look for the dashing figure he once left behind through video materials.

Author: Qiu Guangyu

Editor: Yang Shiyang