'La Cage Aux Folles' Actor Michel Serrault
Associated Press
Tuesday, July 31, 2007; Page B08


Michel Serrault, 79, a French actor whose performance as a transvestite in the film and stage versions of "La Cage Aux Folles" catapulted him to international stardom, died July 29 at his home in the northwestern French city of Honfleur. He had cancer.

Mr. Serrault played a flamboyant, gay nightclub owner named Albin Mougeotte, also known as Zaza Napoli. His 1978 performance in director Edouard Molinaro's movie won him the first of three Cesar awards -- the French version of the Oscar.

French actor Michel Serrault won a Cesar Award for his role as a transvestite in the 1978 film "La Cage Aux Folles." He also played the role on stage.

He appeared in more than 130 films during a career that spanned half a century. After debuting as a comic actor, he became one of France's most versatile stars, playing a serial killer, a grizzled farmer, a crooked banker and an accused rapist.

"I'm against those who only want to entertain," he said in 2002. "I am very happy with all the roles I've played, and I take responsibility for them all."

Mr. Serrault was born Jan. 24, 1928, in Brunoy, south of Paris. He 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, he began his stage career, playing in cabarets.

He made his film debut in 1954 in Jean Loubignac's "Ah! Les Belles Bacchantes," 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 Annuity").

Mr. Serrault had roles in films through his late 70s. Among his final films was Pierre Javaux's 2006 "Les Enfants du Pays" ("Hometown Boys"), about the role of African soldiers in World War II.

Survivors include his wife, Juanita, and a daughter.

Washington Post

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Man [...] must count no one but himself; that he is alone, abandoned on earth in the midst of his infinite responsibilities, without help, with no other aim than the one he sets himself, with no other destiny than the one he forges for himself on this earth." (Jean Paul Sartre, 1943)

A Salute to Serrault in 'La Cage'
http://www.townonline.com/somerville/entertainment/x126634060

_________________
Man [...] must count no one but himself; that he is alone, abandoned on earth in the midst of his infinite responsibilities, without help, with no other aim than the one he sets himself, with no other destiny than the one he forges for himself on this earth." (Jean Paul Sartre, 1943)