French actor Jean-Paul Belmondo dies at 88

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

France Obit Belmondo (Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

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. He was 88.

His death was confirmed by the office of his lawyer, Michel Godest Monday.

Belmondo’s career spanned 50 years. Belmondo, who embodied in the 1960s a new type of male star characterized by pure virility rather than their classic good looks, went on to appear in more than 80 films and worked with a variety of major French directors, from Francois Truffaut to Claude Lelouch.