The late Italian special effects master and three-time Oscar winner is honoured today in Los Angeles, as an exhibition on his art opens at the Italian Cultural Institute.Carlo Rambaldi, the Italian special effects artist behind E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, will receive a posthumous star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Los Angeles on 15 October.The ceremony, which marks the centenary of his birth, takes place at 11.30 local time (20.30 in Italy) and will be streamed live on the Walk of Fame website.   Who was Carlo Rambaldi? Rambaldi came from Vigarano Mainarda, a small town in the province of Ferrara, in the northern Emilia-Romagna region. He trained at the Academy of Fine Arts in Bologna, and went on to combine sculpture, mechanics and invention to build creatures that audiences took for living beings. He won three Oscars: a Special Achievement Award for King Kong (1976), and awards for the visual effects of Alien (1979) and E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982). E.T. remains his best-known creation. He first worked with Steven Spielberg on Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and later contributed to David Lynch’s Dune. His career also took in Italian and international directors including Federico Fellini, Luchino Visconti, Pier Paolo Pasolini, Mario Bava, Dario Argento, Lucio Fulci, Pupi Avati, Ridley Scott, John Huston and Oliver Stone. Rambaldi died in 2012 aged 86. Who is behind the honour The star was organised by the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, together with Italy’s culture ministry, Cinecittà, the national committee for the centenary and the Carlo Rambaldi Foundation. Guests at the unveiling include Antonio Saccone, president of Cinecittà; Cristina Rambaldi, the artist’s granddaughter and vice president of the foundation; and actor Matt Winston, son of special effects master Stan Winston. "Carlo Rambaldi embodies the spirit of Cinecittà: creativity, craftsmanship, technique and technology," Saccone said. Culture undersecretary Lucia Borgonzoni said his story showed how much talent Emilia-Romagna can produce, and called for investment in schools and academies. Chiara Sbarigia, who heads the centenary committee, said the star reminds people that cinema is also about "workshop, patience and a craft passed down", and that "before the digital age, there was an intelligence of the hands, and it was Italian". Cristina Rambaldi said the star “belongs to all artists of practical special effects”, including sculptors, model makers, mechanics and make-up artists. Exhibition in Los Angeles The Italian Cultural Institute of Los Angeles is hosting Carlo Rambaldi: Dreaming the Cosmos, open from 14 October to 31 December and curated by Cristina Rambaldi. It focuses on his work as a painter, sculptor and designer, with paintings from his Atmosfere Spaziali (Space Atmospheres) series, sculptures and career memorabilia. The display includes his three Oscar statuettes and an animatronic E.T. head made for the centenary. The honour follows a 2025 retrospective of 13 films he worked on at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles, and a celebration at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Photo Credits: Gaetano Del Mauro via Wikimedia Commons.

Carlo Rambaldi, the Italian special effects artist behind E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, will receive a posthumous star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Los Angeles on 15 October. The ceremony, which marks the centenary of his birth, takes place at 11.30 local time (20.30 in Italy) and will be streamed live on the .   Rambaldi came from Vigarano Mainarda, a small town in the province of Ferrara, in the northern Emilia-Romagna region. He trained at the Academy of Fine Arts in Bologna, and went on to combine sculpture, mechanics and invention to build creatures that audiences took for living beings. He won three Oscars: a Special Achievement Award for King Kong (1976), and awards for the visual effects of Alien (1979) and E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982). E.T. remains his best-known creation. He first worked with Steven Spielberg on Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and later contributed to David Lynch’s Dune. His career also took in Italian and international directors including Federico Fellini, Luchino Visconti, Pier Paolo Pasolini, Mario Bava, Dario Argento, Lucio Fulci, Pupi Avati, Ridley Scott, John Huston and Oliver Stone. Rambaldi died in 2012 aged 86. The star was organised by the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, together with Italy’s culture ministry, Cinecittà, the national committee for the centenary and the Carlo Rambaldi Foundation. Guests at the unveiling include Antonio Saccone, president of Cinecittà; Cristina Rambaldi, the artist’s granddaughter and vice president of the foundation; and actor Matt Winston, son of special effects master Stan Winston. "Carlo Rambaldi embodies the spirit of Cinecittà: creativity, craftsmanship, technique and technology," Saccone said. Culture undersecretary Lucia Borgonzoni said his story showed how much talent Emilia-Romagna can produce, and called for investment in schools and academies. Chiara Sbarigia, who heads the centenary committee, said the star reminds people that cinema is also about "workshop, patience and a craft passed down", and that "before the digital age, there was an intelligence of the hands, and it was Italian". Cristina Rambaldi said the star “belongs to all artists of practical special effects”, including sculptors, model makers, mechanics and make-up artists. The Italian Cultural Institute of Los Angeles is hosting Carlo Rambaldi: Dreaming the Cosmos, open from 14 October to 31 December and curated by Cristina Rambaldi. It focuses on his work as a painter, sculptor and designer, with paintings from his Atmosfere Spaziali (Space Atmospheres) series, sculptures and career memorabilia. The display includes his three Oscar statuettes and an animatronic E.T. head made for the centenary. The honour follows a 2025 retrospective of 13 films he worked on at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles, and a celebration at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Photo Credits: Gaetano Del Mauro via Wikimedia Commons.