# Federico De Laurentiis
**Federico De Laurentiis** (born 1955) was an Italian-American film producer, the son of producer [Dino De Laurentiis](https://www.edgepedia.org/dino-de-laurentiis) and actress [Silvana Mangano](https://www.edgepedia.org/silvana-mangano), who worked on his father's Hollywood productions in the 1970s and produced two films of his own before dying in an airplane crash in 1981 at the age of 26.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0209572/bio/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Family | Son of Dino De Laurentiis and Silvana Mangano; brother of Veronica, Raffaella, and Francesca, and half-brother of Dina and Carolyna De Laurentiis[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0209572/bio/) |
| First credits | Assistant to the producer on *Three Days of the Condor* (1975) and *Mandingo* (1975)[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0209572/bio/) |
| Executive producer | *King Kong* (1976), a position shared with Christian Ferry, which he took on at age 21[2](https://www.raymorton.com/site/assets/files/3933/the_most_exciting_original_motion_picture_event.pdf) |
| Own productions | *King of the Gypsies* (1978) and *She Dances Alone* (1981)[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0209572/bio/) |
| Death | July 15, 1981, in an airplane crash while making a documentary in Alaska[3](https://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-me-dino-delaurentiis-20101112-story.html) |
| Memorial | *Dune* (1984), produced by his father, was dedicated to him[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0209572/bio/) |
## Family background
Federico De Laurentiis was one of four children of Dino De Laurentiis and Silvana Mangano, who married in 1949 around the making of *Bitter Rice*, the film that made Mangano a star.[3](https://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-me-dino-delaurentiis-20101112-story.html) His siblings were Veronica, Raffaella, and Francesca; after his parents' divorce his father had two more children, Dina and Carolyna, with his second wife, Martha Schumacher.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0209572/bio/) • [4](https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/producer-teetered-between-first-class-films-and-disasters/2019/07/11/b25971ca-a40a-11e9-bd56-eac6bb02d01d_story.html) One of his nieces is the television chef [Giada De Laurentiis](https://www.edgepedia.org/giada-de-laurentiis).[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0209572/bio/)
## Career
He entered the film business in his late teens as an assistant to his father on productions including *Three Days of the Condor* (1975) and *Mandingo* (1975).[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0209572/bio/) During preproduction on *[King Kong](https://www.edgepedia.org/king-kong-1976-film)* (1976), his father's remake of the 1933 monster film, the 21-year-old Federico came aboard as executive producer, sharing the position with Christian Ferry, an associate of director John Guillermin.[2](https://www.raymorton.com/site/assets/files/3933/the_most_exciting_original_motion_picture_event.pdf) The film, released by Paramount on December 17, 1976, carried the credit "Executive Producers: Federico De Laurentiis and Christian Ferry" on trade listings.[5](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-International-Television-Almanac/1978/International-Television-Almanac-1978.pdf)
**Own productions.** He then produced two films independently: *King of the Gypsies* (1978) and *She Dances Alone* (1981).[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0209572/bio/) Review aggregators record *King of the Gypsies* as his highest-rated credit, at 67 percent on the critics' scale.[6](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/federico-de-laurentiis) During the *King Kong* production he also spoke publicly about the film's mechanical star; in a 1976 interview with *The Observer* he described the finished Kong as able to take 15-foot strides, make 16 different hand movements, and roll its eyes.[7](https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/98353/1/2024PinsentBPhD.pdf)
## Death and commemoration
Federico De Laurentiis was killed in an airplane crash on July 15, 1981, while making a documentary in Alaska.[3](https://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-me-dino-delaurentiis-20101112-story.html) His father's production of *[Dune](https://www.edgepedia.org/dune-1984-film)* (1984) was dedicated to him.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0209572/bio/) Nearly two decades later, his sister Veronica said that their father still could not speak of him and woke up every morning thinking of him.[8](https://www.cbsnews.com/losangeles/news/oscar-winning-producer-de-laurentiis-dead-at-91/)
## References
1. [Federico De Laurentiis – Biography, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0209572/bio/)
2. [Ray Morton, "The Most Exciting Original Motion Picture Event" (history of the 1976 King Kong production)](https://www.raymorton.com/site/assets/files/3933/the_most_exciting_original_motion_picture_event.pdf)
3. [Dino De Laurentiis obituary, Los Angeles Times](https://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-me-dino-delaurentiis-20101112-story.html)
4. [Producer teetered between first-class films and disasters, The Washington Post](https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/producer-teetered-between-first-class-films-and-disasters/2019/07/11/b25971ca-a40a-11e9-bd56-eac6bb02d01d_story.html)
5. [International Television Almanac 1978, King Kong production listing](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-International-Television-Almanac/1978/International-Television-Almanac-1978.pdf)
6. [Federico De Laurentiis filmography, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/federico-de-laurentiis)
7. [Examined by the Light of the Moon (PhD thesis quoting the 1976 Observer interview)](https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/98353/1/2024PinsentBPhD.pdf)
8. [Oscar-Winning Producer De Laurentiis Dead At 91, CBS News](https://www.cbsnews.com/losangeles/news/oscar-winning-producer-de-laurentiis-dead-at-91/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Film people and crafts › Directors, producers, and screenwriters › Film producers › European and other international producers*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 20, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 11, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license