The Story of the BMX-Stunt-Kids from E.T.

Tolles Feature auf Narratively über die Kids, die in Spielbergs E.T. die BMX-Stunts gedreht haben und den Bike-Dealer, der die 25 Fahrräder für den Film gebaut hat.

As the movie [at a private screening of Steven Spielberg’s "E.T." at Culver Studios in California in 1982] was ending and applause filled the theater, the BMX stunt kids filled with pride, waited for their names to scroll up during the end credits. They never did. None of the eight BMX stunt riders were ever credited. Apart from a couple of articles in BMX magazines, the stunt kids whose work for the chase scene launched untold thousands of BMX riders were lost to history. Also forgotten was the story of a bicycle shop owner from Torrance, California, and the relatively unknown Japanese BMX brand taken under his wing in 1979.

Present at the very same screening, at Culver Studios in West L.A., was Howie Cohen, in his forties at the time. Cohen was a savvy bicycle dealer and enthusiast who jumped at an opportunity when it presented itself. His shop, “Everything Bicycles,” was the only hint at the story of the boys who never appeared in the credits.

“I remember tears of happiness flowing down my cheeks,” Cohen reminisces. “The excitement of inclusion of BMX bicycles in this movie was way beyond my expectation or imagination.” […] He still owns fifty copies of the original E.T. poster.

THE BMX BOYS OF E.T.: The untold story of the bike broker and the fearless riders behind the Spielberg blockbuster and its legendary chase scene.