French officials say an Iranian man who lived for 18 years in Paris’ Charles de Gaulle Airport and inspired the Steven Spielberg film “The Terminal” has died in the airport.
FILE - Merhan Karimi Nasseri sits among his belongings at Terminal 1 of Roissy Charles De Gaulle Airport, north of Paris on Aug. 11, 2004 . An Iranian man who lived for 18 years in Paris' Charles de Gaulle Airport and inspired the Steven Spielberg film"The Terminal" died Saturday, Nov. 12, 2022 in the airport, officials said. Merhan Karimi Nasseri died after a heart attack in the airport's terminal 2F around midday, according an official with the Paris airport authority.
Year in and year out, he slept on a red plastic bench, making friends with airport workers, showering in staff facilities, writing in his diary, reading magazines and surveying passing travelers.“Eventually, I will leave the airport,” he, smoking a pipe on his bench, looking frail with long thin hair, sunken eyes and hollow cheeks. “But I am still waiting for a passport or transit visa.”
French police later arrested him, but couldn't deport him anywhere because he had no official documents. He ended up at Charles de Gaulle in August 1988 and stayed. Those who befriended him in the airport said the years of living in the windowless space took a toll on his mental state. The airport doctor in the 1990s worried about his physical and mental health, and described him as “fossilized here.” A ticket agent friend compared him to a prisoner incapable of “living on the outside."
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Iranian who inspired 'The Terminal' dies at Paris airportPARIS (AP) — An Iranian man who lived for 18 years in Paris’ Charles de Gaulle Airport and inspired the Steven Spielberg film “The Terminal” died Saturday in the airport, officials said. Merhan Karimi Nasseri died after a heart attack in the airport’s Terminal 2F around midday, according an official with the Paris airport authority.
Read more »
Iranian man who inspired Steven Spielberg film 'The Terminal' dies at Paris airportAn Iranian man who lived for 18 years in Paris’ Charles de Gaulle Airport and inspired the Steven Spielberg film “The Terminal” died Saturday in the airport, officials say.
Read more »
Mehran Karimi Nasseri, Iranian Who Inspired ‘The Terminal,’ Dies in Paris AirportMehran Karimi Nasseri, an Iranian man whose time living in Paris’ Charles de Gaulle Airport inspired the Steven Spielberg film “The Terminal,” died of a heart attack Saturday in t…
Read more »
Iranian who inspired 'The Terminal' dies at Paris airportAn Iranian man who lived for 18 years in Paris’ Charles de Gaulle Airport and inspired Steven Spielberg's “The Terminal” has died, in the airport. Mehran Karimi Nasseri had lived there from 1988 to 2006, and French officials say he had recently returned.
Read more »
Iranian Man Who Inspired ‘The Terminal’ Film Dies At Paris AirportMehran Karimi Nasseri died of a heart attack at Charles de Gaulle Airport, the place he called home for 18 years after he was stranded without papers.
Read more »