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Michel Serrault, a prolific French actor who won international renown as an over-emotional drag queen in the 1978 comedy La Cage Aux Folles, has died after a long illness. He was 79.
One of the great names of French cinema, Serrault made 135 films in a career covering more than 50 years and shone in straight roles as well as the comedy for which he was perhaps better known.
He worked with some of France?s biggest stars, including Alain Delon and Jeanne Moreau, and many of its best directors, such as Jean-Pierre Mocky and Claude Chabrol.
La Cage aux Folles was adapted from a successful stage play about a homosexual couple who try to hide their relationship – and their ownership of a transvestite club in their basement – when one of their sons announces that he is getting married.