He is best known for his comedies with Louis de Funès (Oscar, etc.), My Uncle Benjamin (with Jacques Brel and Claude Jade), Dracula and Son (with Christopher Lee), and the Academy Award-nominated La Cage aux Folles (with Michel Serrault and Ugo Tognazzi). Molinaro was active as a director until a few years before his death, although he had almost exclusively been producing works for television.[2]
In 1996, his cinematic work was awarded the René Clair Award, a prize given by the Académie française for excellent film work.
Molinaro died of a respiratory insufficiency in 2013. He was 85.