Good-Bye, l'Ami : Alain Delon et moi — An Untold Story About the French Movie Star

Twice in my life, I saw (and once met) Alain Delon in the flesh. 

The first time was at the Théâtre Marigny in Paris in October 2004, in which the French movie star and Astrid Veillon were playing Les Montagnes Russes by Eric Assous (sorry for the fuzzy pictures, taken in bad light). In French, les montagnes russes is less likely to mean "Russian mountains" than the expression they have for a "roller coaster".

The second time was again at the Marigny theater, several years later, in January 2007, when Delon starred in the theater production of The Bridges of Madison County along with Mireille Darc, the love of his life, and Benoist Brione. (The French are alone, I believe, in turning Robert James Waller's novel and Clint Eastwood's film into a theatre play.) Because we knew the director, Anne Bourgeois, we went backstage after the play and met Alain Delon in the make-up room.

On January 22, 2007, Alain Delon stars in the Anne Bourgeois theater production
of The Bridges of Madison County, along with Mireille Darc, the love of his life

ENGLISH BELOW Mais l'histoire principale sur Alain Delon ne me concerne pas personnellement. Elle m'a été racontée à un dîner intime (10-12 personnes?) à l'appartement de (la regrettée) Séverine Setbon dans le 1er arrondissement.

Nous étions une dizaine de personnes, dont une partie dans le cinéma et le théâtre français (peut-être avec Louis-Michel Colas et Angélique Thomas et Dominique de Seguin?).

L'un des invités, dont le nom n'est certes pas aussi connu mais restera quand même tu ici (discrétion oblige), nous raconta qu'il y avait quelque temps il s'était trouvé une petite amie, et que celle-ci était l'une des plus belles femmes en France, et il ne savait pas comment alle avait pu le choisir, lui.

Bien plus tard, lors de la première d'un film ou d'une pièce de théâtre, où cet homme était venu seul, il vit un homme déjà installé dans un fauteuil de la salle lui faire signe. C'était Alain Delon — qu'il ne connaissait absolument pas. "Je regardai à droite, à gauche, pour voir à qui la star faisait signe. Mais non, c'était bien à moi. Il fit un geste pour m'inviter à venir s'asseoir près de lui." À ce moment-là, avec un air entendu et un sourire malicieux, la vedette lui dit : "Bonjour, cousin!" 

Alors, ici, faisons un petit break: Pour ceux qui ne le savent pas, à l'étranger ou même en France, quand un homme appelle un autre son "cousin" (et qu'ils ne sont nullement de la même famille), et cela tout compte fait de façon assez amicale (comme s'ils formaient un lien désormais grâce à un secret connu d'eux seuls), cela signifie qu'ils ont couché avec la même femme.

"Je ne savais franchement pas comment réagir !" nous raconta M. X au dîner, il faut l'avouer, avec un éclat de rire. À la table, hilare, il ajouta : "J'étais déchiré ! Devais-je être jaloux, voire furieux, que ma dulcinée m'avait trompé ?! Ou devais-je déborder de fierté que je partageais la même maîtresse qu'Alain Delon ?!"

Alain Delon with Astrid Veillon in the Eric Assous play
Les Montagnes Russes at Paris's Théâtre Marigny on October 12, 2004

 
But the main story about Alain Delon does not concern me at all. It is very — very — French, and it was told at a dinner among friends at the apartment of (the late) Séverine Setbon in the 1st arrondissement. There were about 10 or 12 of us, some of whom were in French cinema and theater.

One of the guests, whose name is certainly not as well known but will remain unmentioned here, told us that some time ago he had found himself an amazing girlfriend, indeed that she was one of the most beautiful women in Franc. Since he was pretty plain, she was, as they like to say, far above his pay grade.

Much later, at the première of a film or a play, where this man had come alone, he saw a man already seated in a chair in the room waving at him. It was Alain Delon — a man he did not know at all. "I looked left and right to see who the star was waving to. But no, it was definitely me. He gestured to invite me to come and sit next to him." At that moment, with a knowing look and a mischievous smile, the star said: "Bonjour, cousin!"

There you have it. That's the gist of the story.

So, here, time out to take a break and explain details: For those who aren't knowledgeable about such matters, whether foreigners or even French(wo)men themselves, when a man calls another his "cousin" (and when they are not related at all), and this in a rather friendly way (almost as if they were now bound together by sharing a naughty secret known only to them), it means that they are sleeping with, or have slept with, the same woman.

"For the love of me, I didn't know how to react," Mr. X told us at dinner, admittedly, with a burst of laughter. At the table, where everyone was laughing as hard as he was, he added: "I was totally torn! Should I be jealous, even furious, that my sweetheart had cheated on me?! Or should I be overflowing with pride that I was sharing the same mistress as Alain Delon?!"