Italy Celebrates ‘E.T.’ Designer Carlo Rambaldi’s Upcoming Hollywood Walk of Fame Star

Italy is celebrating the Hollywood Walk of Fame star to be posthumously unveiled on Oct. 15 honoring special effects maestro Carlo Rambaldi, best known for designing the iconic alien title character in Steven Spielberg’s “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.”

Rambaldi, who died in 2012 at age 86, is a three-time Academy Award winner for his work in special effects, having won Oscars for “King Kong” (1976), “Alien” (1979) and “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial” (1983).

Prior to “E.T.” Rambaldi had already collaborated with Steven Spielberg on “Close Encounters of the Third Kind.” He subsequently worked with David Lynch on the cult classic “Dune.” The long list of top directors whom Rambaldi worked with, over the course of his glorious career, comprise: Federico Fellini, Luchino Visconti, Pier Paolo Pasolini, Marco Ferreri, Mario Bava, Dario Argento, Lucio Fulci, John Huston, Ridley Scott, and Oliver Stone.

Rambaldi was born in the village of Vigarano Mainarda, outside the city of Ferrara, in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna, the son of a bicycle mechanic. He graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Bologna in 1951 and, though he dreamed of becoming an artist, was drawn into the world of cinema when he was asked to create a dragon for a low-budget science fiction movie in 1956.

“From a small town in the province of Ferrara to Hollywood, Carlo Rambaldi’s story demonstrates how Italy can produce talent capable of transforming the landscape of world cinema,” said Italian culture undersecretary Lucia Borgonzoni, who is in charge of the country’s film department.

“His genius was nurtured amidst the countryside of Ferrara and the Academy of Fine Arts in Bologna, within a culture of hard work and brilliance that Emilia-Romagna has always fostered,” she added.

“This star — being unveiled during the centennial of Rambaldi’s birth – belongs not just to him, but also to the community where his journey began. It reminds us that investing in the places where creativity is born —in schools, academies, and training centers – means preparing the Rambaldis of tomorrow.

The Carlo Rambaldi Walk of Fame ceremony will take place Thursday morning at 1611 Vine Street in Hollywood, attended by Cinecittà studios president Antonio Saccone, several of Rambaldi’s family members and U.A. actor Matt Winston, son of Stan Winston, Oscar-winning special effects master who designed the dinosaurs for “Jurassic Park”