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Alain Delon, French acting legend, dies at 88
Alain Delon, the internationally acclaimed French actor who embodied both the bad guy and the policeman and made hearts throb around the world, died at age 88, his family told French media.
“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, surrounded by his three children and his family,” the actor’s children said in a statement to AFP, which is a common practice in France.
Jim Pringle / AP
With his handsome looks and tender manner, the prolific actor was able to combine toughness with an appealing, vulnerable quality that made him one of France’s memorable leading men.
Delon was also a producer, appeared in plays and, in later years, in television movies.
Tributes to Delon immediately started pouring in on social platforms, and all leading French media switched to full-fledged coverage of his rich career.
French President Emmanuel Macron paid tribute on X to “a French monument.”
“Alain Delon has played legendary roles and made the world dream,” he wrote. “Melancholic, popular, secretive, he was more than a star.”
Earlier this year, his son Anthony had said his father had been diagnosed with B-cell lymphoma, a type of cancer.
Over the past year, Delon’s fragile health condition had been at the heart of a family dispute over his care that gave rise to bitter exchanges through the media among his three children.
At the prime of his career, in the 1960s and 1970s, Delon was sought out by some of the world’s top directors, from Luchino Visconti to Joseph Losey.
In his later years, Delon grew disillusioned with the movie industry, saying that money had killed the dream. “Money, commerce and television have wrecked the dream machine,” he wrote in a 2003 edition of the newsweekly Le Nouvel Observateur. “My cinema is dead. And me, too.”
But he continued to work frequently, appearing in several TV movies in his 70s.
Arthur Mola/Invision/AP
Delon’s presence was unforgettable, whether playing morally depraved heroes or romantic leading men. He first drew acclaim in 1960 with “Plein Soleil,” directed by Réne Clément, in which he played a murderer trying to take on the identity of his victims.
He made several Italian movies, working, most notably with Visconti in the 1961 film “Rocco and His Brothers,” in which Delon portrays a self-sacrificing brother intent on helping his sibling. The movie won the Special Jury Prize at the Venice Film Festival.
The 1963 Visconti film “Le Guepard” (The Leopard) starring Delon won the Palme d’Or, the highest honor at the Cannes Film Festival. His other films included Clément’s “Is Paris Burning,” with a screenplay by Gore Vidal and Francis Ford Coppola among others; “La Piscine” (The Sinners), directed by Jacques Deray; and, in a departure, Losey’s “The Assassination of Trotsky” in 1972.
In 1968, Delon began producing movies — 26 of them by 1990 — part of a frenzied and self-assured momentum that he maintained throughout his life.
Delon’s confidence was palpable in his statement to Femme in 1996, ‘I like to be loved the way I love myself!’ This echoed his charismatic screen persona.
Delon continued to captivate audiences for years — on the way courting criticism for comments deemed outdated. In 2010, he appeared in “Un mari de trop” (“One Husband Too Many”) and returned to the stage in 2011 with “An Ordinary Day,” alongside his daughter Anouchka.
He briefly presided over the Miss France jury but stepped down in 2013 after a disagreement over some controversial statements, which included critiques on women, LGBTQIA+ rights, and migrants. Despite these controversies, he received a Palme d’Honneur at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival, a decision that sparked further debate.
The Brigitte Bardot Foundation, dedicated to animal protection, paid tribute to “an exceptional man, an unforgettable artist and a great friend of animals,” in a statement released on social media. Delon was “a close friend” of French film legend Brigitte Bardot “who is deeply saddened by his passing,” the statement said. “We lose a precious friend and a man with a big heart.”
French film producer Alain Terzian said Delon was “the last of the giants.”
“It’s a page being turned in the history of French cinema,” he told France Inter radio. Terzian, who produced several films directed by Delon, recalled that “every time he arrived somewhere … there was a kind of almost mystical, quasi-religious respect. He was fascinating.”
Born on Nov. 8, 1935, in Sceaux, just south of Paris, Delon was placed with a foster family after his parents’ separation when he was 4. He then attended a Roman Catholic boarding school.
At 17, Delon joined the navy and was sent to Indochina. Back in France in 1956, he held various odd jobs from waiter to a carrier in the Paris meat market before turning to acting.
Delon had a son, Anthony, in 1964 with his then-wife Nathalie Canovas, who played alongside him in Jean-Pierre Melville’s “The Samurai” in 1967. He had two more children, Anouchka and Alain-Fabien, with a later companion, Rosalie van Breemen, with whom he produced a song and video clip in 1987. He was also widely believed to have been the father of Ari Boulogne, the son of German model and singer Nico, although he never publicly acknowledged paternity.
“I am very good at three things: my job, foolishness and children,” he said in a 1995 L’Express interview.
Delon juggled diverse activities throughout his life, from setting up a stable of trotting horses to developing cologne for men and women, followed by watches, glasses and other accessories. He also collected paintings and sculptures.
Delon announced an end to his acting career in 1999, only to continue, appearing in Bertrand Blier’s “Les Acteurs” (The Actors) the same year. Later he appeared in several television police shows.
His good looks sustained him. In August 2002, Delon told a weekly magazine, L’Humanite Hebdo, that he wouldn’t still be in the business if that weren’t so.
“You’ll never see me old and ugly,” he said when he was already nearing 70, “because I’ll leave before, or I’ll die.”
However, it was in 2019 that Delon encapsulated his feelings about his life’s meaning during a gala event honoring him at the Cannes Film Festival. “One thing I’m sure about is that if there’s something I’m proud of, really, the only thing, it’s my career.”
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Harris tells Philadelphia church election will “decide the fate of our nation for generations to come”
Vice President Kamala Harris is back in Philadelphia Sunday as the countdown to election day nears one week.
Harris, who spent several days in the Delaware Valley over the past week, spoke at the Church of Christian Compassion in Philadelphia on Sunday morning and will hold a campaign rally in the city later in the night.
“In just nine days we have the power to decide the fate of our nation for generations to come,” she told the congregation.
Several minutes into her speech, some shouting broke out in the crowd. Harris paused during the disruption. “That’s why we fight for our democracy. Every voice is important,” she said while the outburst was quieted.
Harris went on to encourage the Philadelphia church to lean on faith in the days leading up to the election, and urged worshippers to use their feet to get to the polls.
“Here in Pennsylvania, right now each of us has an opportunity to make a difference. Because in this moment we do face a real question. What kind of country to we we want to live in,” she said. “The great thing about living in a democracy is we the people have the choice to answer that question. So let us answer not just with our words, but with our works.”
On Wednesday, Oct. 23, Harris visited the Famous 4th Street Deli in Philadelphia’s Queen Village neighborhood before attending a town hall in Delaware County. Earlier in the week, the vice president sat down with former Congresswoman Liz Cheney in Chester County in the first of three moderated conversations in battleground states.
During that conversation, Harris appealed to Republican voters who are on the fence about voting for former President Donald Trump, and claimed he used the presidency as a way to “demean and to divide” Americans.
“I think people are exhausted with that, rightly,” Harris said. “And it does not lead to the strength of our nation to tell American people that we must be suspicious of one another, distrust one another.”
On Monday, Harris will harness the star power of some of her biggest supporters during a benefit concert at Temple University’s Liacouras Center, according to multiple sources.
Twenty-time Grammy winner Bruce Springsteen will headline a concert and a rally with former President Barack Obama as part of the Harris campaign’s effort to mobilize voters in the final weeks of the 2024 presidential election.
Speaking to CBS News Philadelphia’s Joe Holden, Harris said she’s “honored” to have Obama’s support on the campaign trail. “And people like Bruce Springsteen, to have their support, and of course he is an American icon, I think it just shows the breadth and depth of the support that we have,” Harris said.
When asked if any other big name supporters are planning to turn out for the event Monday, Harris said with a laugh, “I have nothing to report at this moment. Stay tuned, however.”
Earlier this month, Springsteen endorsed Harris and her running mate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.
The Indiana Fever fired coach Christie Sides on Sunday, the organization announced.
Sides went 33-47 in her two seasons with the squad, including going 20-20 this season. The Fever made the playoffs as the sixth seed and were swept in the first round by the Connecticut Sun.
Indiana is the sixth team to make a coaching change this offseason, joining Dallas, Atlanta, Chicago, Washington and Los Angeles. All of the coaches let go had three years or less experience.
Jessica Hill / AP
Whoever takes over the Fever will have a strong young core to work with, led by Caitlin Clark and Aliyah Boston. The pair have won the last two WNBA Rookie of the Year awards.
“We are incredibly thankful to Coach Sides for embracing the challenge of leading us through an integral transition period over the last two seasons, while also positioning us well for future growth,” Fever president of basketball operations Kelly Krauskopf said.
“While decisions like these are never easy, it is also imperative that we remain bold and assertive in the pursuit of our goals, which includes maximizing our talent and bringing another WNBA championship back to Indiana. Coach Sides was an incredible representative of the Fever and our community, and we wish her nothing but success in the future.”
Krauskopf came back to the Fever earlier this month after spending time with the Indiana Pacers.
Ashley Landis / AP
Sides was a longtime assistant in the league, spending time with Chicago (2011-16), the Fever (2017-19) and Atlanta (2022) before getting the head coaching job. She replaced Marianne Stanley and her interim successor, Carlos Knox, who coached in the 2022 season.
Sides had two years left on her contract.
The Fever haven’t had a head coach last for more than three years since Lin Dunn, who coached from 2008-14. Since then, they’ve had Stephanie White (2015-16), Pokey Chatman (2017-19) and Stanley (2020-22).
Indiana had a brutal schedule to start the season and lost eight of their first nine games. The Fever finally got going after the Olympic break, winning seven of eight to get into playoff contention.
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Pennsylvania top election official says that 2020 ligation upheld that “elections were accurate”
Pennsylvania’s top election official said Sunday that the commonwealth’s 2020 elections were “accurate,” while saying Pennsyvlania is “not susceptible to any sort of widespread voter fraud” — and he said officials are preparing with heightened security to combat threats as Election Day draws near.
“Time and time again, in many dozens of cases in 2020, every one of those cases upheld that our elections were accurate and that we’re not susceptible to any sort of widespread voter fraud or anything like that,” Secretary of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Al Schmidt said Sunday on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan.”
The issue of election integrity is top of mind in battleground Pennsylvania, where last week, the Lancaster County district attorney reported incidents of voter registration fraud among a group of around 2,500 ballots. Schmidt said the country reached out to his office “right away” for guidance and is pursuing an investigation “responsibly.” And the top election official said he’s working with counties to provide the resources needed “so that we have a free, fair, safe and secure election in 2024 just as we had in 2020.”
Meanwhile, election officials are combating threats to election workers. Schmidt said in 2020, officials had to “scramble to figure out when threats were incoming,” while outlining the changes put in place since then, including an election threat task force made up of federal, state and local law enforcement partners and election administration. He noted that open lines of communication and clear responsibilities have also made the commonwealth better prepared.
“So that if any of the ugliness returns that we experienced In 2020, everyone will be ready,” Schmidt said.
Schmidt committed to certifying the election results even if the winner is of the opposite political party, as did Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes, who also appeared on “Face the Nation” on Sunday.
Fontes said the state’s safety and security protocols surrounding election results tabulation are a stark departure from recent years.
“It’s absolutely, completely different from 2020. In fact, I remember in 2018 our greatest security threat was a rattlesnake in the parking lot at the Pinnacle Peak Precinct,” Fontes said. “So this is a radically different set of circumstances that we are dealing with, but we are prepared, and we’re going to have a secure election.”
Harris tells Philadelphia church election will “decide the fate of our nation for generations to come”
Indiana Fever fire coach Christie Sides after Caitlin Clark’s breakout season
Pennsylvania top election official says that 2020 ligation upheld that “elections were accurate”
Harris tells Philadelphia church election will “decide the fate of our nation for generations to come”
Indiana Fever fire coach Christie Sides after Caitlin Clark’s breakout season