Let's make this birthday one to remember.

81 years old (Born on December 03, 1943)

Happy Birthday, William Kotzwinkle! May your celebration be more entertaining than an alien hiding in a closet full of stuffed animals. Thanks for making our childhoods (and adult nostalgia) unforgettable by bringing the magic of E.T.'s adventures down to Earth and teaching us that friendship can bridge galaxies.

You've penned countless imaginative tales, but capturing Spielberg's lovable extraterrestrial on paper remains timeless gold — or should we say, glowing fingertip? Here's hoping your birthday cake is sweeter than Reese's Pieces and brighter than E.T.’s cosmic finger. Keep writing wondrous stories; the literary galaxy wouldn’t shine nearly as brightly without you!