French actor was new breed of leading man
Jean-Paul Belmondo, star of the iconic French New Wave film “Breathless,” whose crooked boxer’s nose and rakish grin went on to make him one of the country’s most recognizable leading men, has died at 88.
His death was confirmed Monday by the office of his lawyer, Michel Godest. No cause of death was given.
Belmondo’s career spanned half a century. In the 1960s, he embodied a new type of male movie star, one characterized by pure virility rather than classic good looks.
He went on to appear in more than 80 films and worked with a variety of major French directors, from François Truffaut to Claude Lelouch and JeanLuc Godard, whose 1960 movie, “Breathless” (“Au Bout de Souffle” in its original French title), brought both men lasting acclaim.
Belmondo’s career choices were equally varied, from acclaimed art house films to critically lukewarm action and comedy films later in his career.
French President Emmanuel Macron called the actor a “national treasure” in an homage on Twitter and Instagram, recalling the actor’s panache, his laugh and his versatility.
“I’m devastated,” an emotional Alain Delon, another top cinema star and friend, told CNews.
Belmondo, affectionately known as Bebel, was born on April 9, 1933, in the Paris suburb of Neuilly-sur-Seine into an artistic family.
Belmondo, who had recovered from a stroke in 2001, is survived by three children, Florence, Paul, and Stella Eva Angelina. Another daughter, Patricia, died in 1994.