Michel Serrault Remembered

French actor Michel Serrault, whose hit performance as a gay club owner in the film and stage versions of “La cage aux folles” (done in the US as “The Birdcage” starring Robin Williams and Nathan Lane) catapulted him to international stardom, has died after losing his battle with cancer. He was 79.

While Serrault, who has appeared in more than 130 films, was most noted for making drama and comedy features, he was not adverse to tackeling parts for fantasy and intense thrillers. Three of his most popular genre works were “Nen quittez pas!” “Les Diaboliques” and “Belphegor – Lefantome du Louvre.”

Serrault’s career spanned half a century and he was called France’s hardest working thespian at home on stage, or the big and small screen alike. He was equally at home playing a comic, a serial killer, the common ordinary everyman, the hard working farm hand or a rapist. His versatality allowed him the option of being believable in whatever role he undertook. He could fit nicely into the robes of the catholic priesthood (a role he seriously considered as a young man), or wearing the garb and flourish of a flamboyant gay club owner.

“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.”

Michel Serrault is survived by his wife. Funeral arrangements to be announced.