Isidoro Raponi, whose skills brought E.T., King Kong and more to life for millions of moviegoers, has died. He was 76 and died May 27 of congestive heart failure at a Los Angeles rehabilitation center, according to veteran Disney communications executive Howard Green, who described Raponi as “a great guy and an unsung hero”
Raponi’s specialty was as a mechanical effects expert. The art form, sometimes called practical or physical effects, includes the use of mechanized props, scenery, scale models and pyrotechnics.
Hollywood & Media Deaths In 2022: Photo Gallery
His biggest triumph in the sector was helping to design, build and operate E.T. for the 1982 Steven Spielberg film E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial. His résumé includes work on such other big films as King Kong, Alien, Close Encounters of the Third Kind., Baby: Secret of the Lost Legend, Gangs of New York, The Aviator, The Green Mile and The Shawshank Redemption.
Raponi’s specialty was as a mechanical effects expert. The art form, sometimes called practical or physical effects, includes the use of mechanized props, scenery, scale models and pyrotechnics.
Hollywood & Media Deaths In 2022: Photo Gallery
His biggest triumph in the sector was helping to design, build and operate E.T. for the 1982 Steven Spielberg film E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial. His résumé includes work on such other big films as King Kong, Alien, Close Encounters of the Third Kind., Baby: Secret of the Lost Legend, Gangs of New York, The Aviator, The Green Mile and The Shawshank Redemption.
- 6/2/2022
- by Bruce Haring
- Deadline Film + TV
Isidoro Raponi, a mechanical effects artist who worked on blockbuster films such as “Alien” and “E.T.,” died May 27, a representative confirmed to Variety. He died of congestive heart failure at a rehab facility in Los Angeles. He was 76.
Born in Frosinone, Italy in 1945, Raponi got his start working as apprentice for effects creator Carlo Rambaldi, who owned a workshop directly across the street from Raponi’s family bookstore. Raponi worked on numerous Italian films with Rambaldi before relocating to Los Angeles in 1975 to work with his mentor on the “King Kong” remake. He would continue to work closely with Rambaldi on numerous films throughout the ’70s and ’80s, including “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” and “Alien.” Raponi was one of the main designers and operators, alongside Rabaldi, of the alien animatronic in 1982’s “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.”
In the late ’70s, Raponi began working as mechanical effects artist on Disney films,...
Born in Frosinone, Italy in 1945, Raponi got his start working as apprentice for effects creator Carlo Rambaldi, who owned a workshop directly across the street from Raponi’s family bookstore. Raponi worked on numerous Italian films with Rambaldi before relocating to Los Angeles in 1975 to work with his mentor on the “King Kong” remake. He would continue to work closely with Rambaldi on numerous films throughout the ’70s and ’80s, including “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” and “Alien.” Raponi was one of the main designers and operators, alongside Rabaldi, of the alien animatronic in 1982’s “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.”
In the late ’70s, Raponi began working as mechanical effects artist on Disney films,...
- 6/2/2022
- by Wilson Chapman
- Variety Film + TV
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