E.T. designer Carlo Rambaldi to receive posthumous Walk of Fame star
The man who gave E.T. his face is getting his place on the Hollywood pavement. Italian special-effects designer Carlo Rambaldi will be honoured with a posthumous star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Oct. 15, according to Variety. The unveiling falls in the centenary year of his birth.
The ceremony is scheduled for 11:30 a.m. PT at 1611 Vine Street in Hollywood. That detail comes from the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, the business group that administers the Walk of Fame. The Walk is the long line of brass and pink terrazzo plaques set into Hollywood footpaths. It honours achievement in film, television, music and other entertainment fields. Ceremonies are short public events, with the new star uncovered for cameras and the crowd.
Rambaldi's plaque will be the 2,860th star on the Walk. It forms part of the Walk of Fame Class of 2026, according to the Times of India. Posthumous means the honour is given after death. The star will be unveiled on his behalf, more than a decade after he died.
Rambaldi was born in Vigarano Mainarda outside Ferrara in Emilia-Romagna. Emilia-Romagna is the northern Italian region where the city of Ferrara sits. He studied art and graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Bologna in 1951. That training in drawing, painting and sculpture fed directly into effects work, where figures are designed, built and then filmed. He died in 2012 at age 86.
He won three Academy Awards for special effects, the Oscars category for trickery and creature work done for the camera. The wins were for "King Kong" from 1976, "Alien" from 1979 and "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial" from 1983. Three wins is a heavy tally in any craft category. Each one recognised effects work built to be seen on the big screen.
His collaboration with director Steven Spielberg started before the famous alien. Rambaldi worked with Spielberg on "Close Encounters of the Third Kind". He then designed the alien title character in "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial". He also worked with director David Lynch on "Dune".
What makes this stand out is the focus on craft. Walk of Fame honours often go to faces seen on screen. This one goes to the maker behind a face the world knows. It is a reminder that films are built by many hands, not only the names on the poster.
