Alain Delon

One of the great cinematic anti-heroes of the 1960s and 1970s, French actor Alain Delon brought a sense of daring and insouciant charm to his portrayals of gangsters, hired guns and men of mystery in such international hits as "Purple Noon" (1961), "Le Samourai" (1967), "The Sicilian Clan" (1969) and "Monsieur Klein" (1976). That he appeared, at least in part, to live an outlaw life off the screen as well, with multiple high-profile affairs and alleged connections to organized crime, only furthered his appeal to moviegoers on both sides of the Atlantic, who were drawn to his icy, implacable calm and Gallic bravado. He dominated the box office well into the 1980s before pulling in the reins to focus on marketing his name through a variety of products. On occasion, the lure of the silver screen proved too strong to resist, and he would return to acting on several occasions during the '90s and early 2000s. Though his famous mane of hair was silvered and the smoothness of his face marked by time, Delon's extraordinary magnetism remained untouched by the decades - irrefutable proof of his status as one of France's most enduring leading men.