Spanish novelist and scriptwriter Rafael Azcona, known for films such as the Oscar-winning comedy "Belle Epoque" and Luis Garcia Berlanga's "The Executioner," has died. He was 81.

Azcona, who had been suffering from lung cancer, died at his home on Sunday, the Spanish Writers and Editors Society said.

"He leaves the world of cinema and literature without one of its best storytellers," Spain's Culture Minister Cesar Antonio Molina said.

ASSOCIATED PRESS