Just as the red heart of E.T. pulsated with love, cinematic genius Steven Spielberg (1946-) has consistently created new dreams to share with the world.

“I dream for a living,” he once said.

Born on this day in Cincinnati, Ohio, Spielberg once said, “I can always trace a movie idea back to my childhood.” He had a passion for filmmaking at an early age and called it “a hobby that grew out of control and consumed me.”

Of his 1974 film The Sugarland Express, critic Pauline Kael wrote, “This is one of the most phenomenal debut films in the history of movies.” The following year, Jaws emerged from the depths of his imagination to scare moviegoers and rule the worldwide box office.

From Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) to Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), starring Harrison Ford, Steven Spielberg’s work revealed a growing command of filmmaking that continued well into later films such as Bridge of Spies (2015), featuring Tom Hanks.

“Marvelous accidents happen on the set,” Spielberg said.

At the height of his popular success, Spielberg released two vastly different films. Jurassic Park, filmed in Kauai, thrilled audiences worldwide, while his deeply personal project of passion, Schindler’s List, bore witness to the horrors of the Holocaust. The stark black-and-white film became an unforgettable education and reaffirmed the power of the human spirit.

About directing Schindler’s List, he said, “I didn’t want to do anything that would be disrespectful to the true nature of those events and those times. I had to let the facts tell the story.”

When later accepting the Academy Award for Best Director for his World War II film Saving Private Ryan, starring Tom Hanks, Spielberg responded with characteristic humility, “Am I allowed to say I really wanted this?”

Yes.