Edouard Molinaro, director of the 1978 French farce “La Cage aux Folles,” has died at age 85, the BBC reports.
According to the BBC, Molinaro died after suffering lung failure.
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French president Francois Hollande hailed Molinaro in a statement, saying that the filmmaker “possessed the talent for attracting a broad public to quality films.”
“La Cage,” about a gay couple’s humorous effort to come off as straight, was remade as “The Birdcage” in 1996, with Nathan Lane and Robin Williams starring.
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Molinaro, who was nominated for an Academy Award for “La Cage aux Folles,” also directed “Oscar” and “My Uncle Benjamin” as well as 1980’s “La Cage aux Folles II.”