(*sigh* Bergman, Antonioni and now Serrault. And I kept telling my Ma deaths usually happen in 3's)
Michel Serrault, Star of “La Cage aux Folles,” Dies at 79
By MARGALIT FOX
Michel Serrault, a French film star known internationally for his role as the temperamental drag queen Zaza in the original film version of “La Cage aux Folles,” died on Sunday at his home in Honfleur, France. He was 79.
The cause was cancer, Mr. Serrault’s priest, the Rev. Alain Maillard de La Morandais, told The Associated Press.
Mr. Serrault, who appeared in more than 130 films, worked with some of the most celebrated directors in French cinema, among them Claude Chabrol. His films shown in this country include “The Butterfly,” “The Girl From Paris,” “Artemisia,” “The Swindle” and “Beaumarchais: The Scoundrel.”
In 1978, Mr. Serrault reprised for the screen the role of Zaza in “La Cage aux Folles” (“Birds of a Feather”); he had previously played the part onstage in Paris. In the film, Zaza (by day known as Albin) is the star act at a nightclub in St. Tropez run by his longtime lover, Renato (Ugo Tognazzi). After Renato’s son announces his engagement, the future in-laws, pillars of rectitude, show up in St. Tropez. Mayhem ensues.
The film was an international hit, and Mr. Serrault won a César, the French equivalent of the Oscar, for his performance. He returned as Zaza for “La Cage aux Folles 2” (1980) and “La Cage aux Folles 3: The Wedding” (1985).
Michel Serrault was born in Brunoy, near Paris, on Jan. 24, 1928. He performed in cabarets and on the stage before appearing in his first film, “Ah! Les Belles Bacchantes” (released in the United States as “Peek-a-boo”), in 1954.
Mr. Serrault’s survivors include his wife, Juanita, and a daughter, Nathalie, The Associated Press reported. (Another daughter died in a car crash in 1977.) Information on other survivors could not immediately be confirmed.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/31/movies/31serrault.html?ref=theater
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'La Cage aux Folles' actor dies
PARIS, France (AP) -- French actor Michel Serrault, whose hit performance as a transvestite in the film and stage versions of "La Cage aux Folles" ("The Birdcage") catapulted him to international stardom, has died, his priest said Monday. He was 79.
Serrault died Sunday of cancer in his home in the northwestern city of Honfleur, Rev. Alain Maillard de La Morandais said.
Serrault appeared in more than 130 films during a career that spanned half a century. After debuting as a comic actor, Serrault became one of France's most versatile stars, playing a serial killer, a grizzled farmer, a crooked banker and accused rapist.
"I'm against those who only want to entertain," Serrault said in 2002. "I am very happy with all the roles I've played, and I take responsibility for them all."
French President Nicolas Sarkozy paid homage to Serrault's "impressive filmography," calling the actor a "monument of the world of the theater, the cinema and the television."
Born on January 24, 1928, in Brunoy, south of Paris, Serrault initially set his sights on the priesthood, briefly entering a seminary. He dropped out, he later explained, because of the vow of chastity.
After studying acting in Paris, Serrault began as his stage career playing in cabarets.
He made his silver screen debut in 1954 in Jean Loubignac's "Ah! les belles bacchantes" ("Oh, the lovely revelers"), which was released as "Peek-a-boo" in the United States. His first big break came in 1972, with a leading role in Pierre Tchernia's "Le Viager" ("The Life Annuity")
Speaking Monday on LCI television, Tchernia called Serrault "perhaps the greatest French actor," saying he gave to his profession "all his talent, all his strength, all his humor, all his affection."
It was his role as flamboyant gay nightclub owner Albin Mougeotte, also known as Zaza Napoli, in the theater and film versions of the mega-hit "La Cage aux Folles" ("The Birdcage") that catapulted him to fame worldwide. His performance in director Edouard Molinaro's 1978 movie won him the first of three Cesar awards -- the French version of the Oscar.
Serrault remained active, featuring in films through his late seventies. Among his final films was Pierre Javaux's 2006 "Les Enfants du Pays" ("Hometown Boys"), about the role of African soldiers in WWII.
Serrault is survived by his wife, Juanita, and daughter, Nathalie.
http://edition.cnn.com/2007/SHOWBIZ/Movies/07/30/obit.serrault.ap
Here he is in a scene from La Cage aux Folles 3 with Ugo Tognazzi and Stéphane Audran:
