Alain Delon’s life was marked by success, but also by well-kept secrets… Among others, Ari Boulogne who claimed until his death on May 20, 2023, to be the son of the French actor. The information came to him from his mother, the singer Nico, from the group The Velvet Undergroundbut was denied by the star of The Swimming Pool until his death on August 18, 2024. The young man had taken the case to court to request recognition of Alain Delon’s paternity. Journalist Philippe Durant published this Wednesday, September 4, 2024, the actor’s biography, entitled “Alain Delon: a French destiny”in which he looks back on the actor’s life and its many mysteries… He explains the reason why Alain Delon would never have done a DNA test to confirm or deny this family link with his presumed son.
Alain Delon revealed the name of the man he thought was Ari Boulogne’s father
In an interview given this Wednesday, September 4, to ParisianPhilippe Durant, who worked for ten years on the biography of Alain Delon, explains that the star would never have doubted that Ari Boulogne was not his son: “He did not want to submit to DNA tests because, for him, his word should have been enough. He certainly cross-checked dates, carried out his investigation…”, explains the author, who also believes that there is no family connection between the late photographer and Anthony Delon’s father: “I myself am convinced that Ari was not his son (…) I can’t imagine him abandoning a son. What interest would he have had in doing so?“. On the other hand, Alain Delon had named during an interview the one he thought to be Ari’s father: “Alain Delon had let go ‘Ask Nikos Papatakis instead!’ This Greek singer was Nico’s lover, it was out of love for him that Nico chose his pseudonym. Given Papatakis’ photo, it’s very plausible that he’s Ari’s father,” Philippe Durant confides. The mystery will probably always hover around the question…
Blanche Boulogne had launched a new legal action
Born on August 11, 1962 in Paris, two years before Anthony Delon, Ari Päffgen was raised by Édith Boulogne, Alain Delon’s mother. In 1977, Paul Boulogne, Édith’s husband, officially adopted Ari, renamed Ari Boulogne. The subject was reportedly a source of conflict within the Delon family: “It was because he was convinced that Ari was not his son that Delon became angry with his mother when she decided to raise the child“, explains biographer Philippe Durant. In the documentary Alain Delon: A life, a destiny and a contested legacy!the journalist Bernard Violet returned to the only exchange that the actor and the photographer had: “Alain Delon is said to have told him: ‘Listen, you’re my friend, but I’ll never recognize you as my son. For me, you’re not my son.‘”. In May 2024, Blanche Boulogne had relaunched a legal action to request a DNA sample from Alain Delon, in order to clarify the story, but the procedure was finally abandoned before the actor was summoned.
