French actor Jean-Paul Belmondo, one of the most established interpreters of French cinema, died this Monday at his home in Paris at the age of 88, his lawyer announced in a statement.
“I was very tired for some time. It went off quietly, “said his lawyer, Michel Godest. Nicknamed in the world of cinema as’ Bébel’, Belmondo participated in 80 films, some of them unforgettable, such as Breathless (Breathless, On the edge of the getaway) O Rio man (The man from Rio).
Belmondo, one of the last great popular stars of his generation, along with Alain Delon or Brigitte Bardot, has almost completely disappeared from movie screens since he suffered a stroke in 2001.
Eight years later, he would make his last film appearance in 2009, in the film A man and his dog (A man and his dog).
A meeting with the filmmaker Jean-Luc Godard -another prominent figure of the Nouvelle Vague of the seventh art- sealed his fate.
“Come to my room, we will make a movie and I will give you 50,000 francs,” Godard told Belmondo, whom he had passed on the street. Belmondo was not yet 30 years old. And then would come his participation, in 1960, in the emblematic Breathless.
After the success of the film, the directors “came to me”, Belmondo would relate in 2016 in a scrapbook, A thousand lives are better than one (A thousand lives are worth more than one).
But ‘Bébel’ would not only occupy a central role in the Nouvelle Vague. He also left the mark of a physical actor, lover of fights, cultivating a great dose of humor, as he did in The brain (Brain).
His boxer physique would earn him popular hits on The Man from Rio from Philippe De Broca, the professional (The professional, 1981) of Georges lautner O The ace of aces (the aces), from Gerard Oury.
Belmondo acted under the orders of the most recognized directors of the time, such as Vittorio de Sica, Francois Truffaut, Claude chabrol, Alain Resnais O Claude Lelouch.
When the cinema turned its back on him, he returned to his beginnings, the theater. In 1991 he finally bought his own theater in Paris, making a childhood dream come true. Belmondo has appeared in more than 40 theatrical roles.
Despite being a leading figure in the French movement, the Nouvelle Vague, its international recognition was far removed from other European figures. So much so that in 2016 he received one of his main distinctions, the Golden Lion for his cinematographic career. Among the awards received by Jean-Paul Belmondo also appears the César for best actor for Itinerary of a spoiled child (The empire of the lion). In this case not without controversy since Belmondo rejected the award.
Tristin is an accomplished author and journalist, known for his in-depth and engaging writing on sports. He currently works as a writer at 247 News Agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the sports industry.
