Director Edouard Molinaro, best known for classic French farce La Cage aux Folles, has died in Paris aged 85.

After starting out in crime films, Edouard Molinaro switched to comedies, notably starring actor Louis de Funes.

La Cage (1978), about a gay couple’s hilariously ill-starred attempt to pass themselves off as straight, was remade in the US as The Birdcage (1996).

After starting out in crime films, Edouard Molinaro switched to comedies, notably starring actor Louis de Funes

French President Francois Hollande paid tribute to Edourad Molinaro’s popular appeal.

“Edouard Molinaro possessed the talent for attracting a broad public to quality films,” a statement from the Elysee Palace said.

“This film-maker, who had a rich and varied career, directed the greatest actors of French cinema while winning over the public, and winning the admiration of his peers, at the same time.”

Among Edouard Molinaro’s numerous other films were Oscar (1967) with Louis de Funes and My Uncle Benjamin (1969), which starred the Belgian singer and songwriter Jacques Brel.

Edouard Molinaro died in a Paris hospital of lung failure.

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