John Williams

This article is about the composer. For other people named John Williams, see John Williams (disambiguation).

John Williams
Williams in 2024
Born
John Towner Williams

(1932-02-08) February 8, 1932 (age 92)
New York City, U.S.
Occupations
  • Composer
  • conductor
  • pianist
Years active1952–present
WorksList of compositions
Spouses
  • ​
    ​
    (m. 1956; died 1974)​
  • Samantha Winslow
    ​
    (m. 1980)​
Children3, including Joseph
FatherJohnny Williams
Signature

John Towner Williams (born February 8, 1932)[1][2][3] is an American composer and conductor. In a career that has spanned seven decades, he has composed some of the most popular, recognizable, and critically acclaimed film scores in cinema history.[4][5][6] He has a distinct sound that mixes romanticism, impressionism and atonal music with complex orchestration.[7] He is best known for his collaborations with Steven Spielberg and George Lucas and has received numerous accolades including 26 Grammy Awards, five Academy Awards, seven BAFTA Awards, three Emmy Awards and four Golden Globe Awards. With 54 Academy Award nominations, he is the second-most nominated person, after Walt Disney,[a] and is the oldest Oscar nominee in any category, at 92 years old.[8]

Williams's early work as a film composer includes Valley of the Dolls (1967), Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1969), Images and The Cowboys (both 1972), The Long Goodbye (1973) and The Towering Inferno (1974). He has collaborated with Spielberg since The Sugarland Express (1974), composing music for all but five of his feature films. He received five Academy Awards for Best Score for Fiddler on the Roof (1971), Jaws (1975), Star Wars (1977), E.T.: The Extra Terrestrial (1982) and Schindler's List (1993). Other memorable collaborations with Spielberg include Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), the Indiana Jones franchise (1981–2023), Jurassic Park (1993), Saving Private Ryan (1998), Catch Me If You Can (2002), War Horse (2011), Lincoln (2012) and The Fabelmans (2022).[9] He also scored Superman (1978), the first two Home Alone films (1990–1992) and the first three Harry Potter films (2001–2004). Among other directors, he has worked with Alfred Hitchcock, Brian De Palma, Robert Altman, Clint Eastwood and Richard Donner.

Williams has also composed numerous classical concertos and other works for orchestral ensembles and solo instruments. He served as the Boston Pops' principal conductor from 1980 to 1993 and is its laureate conductor.[10] Other works by Williams include theme music for the 1984 Summer Olympic Games; NBC Sunday Night Football; "The Mission" theme (used by NBC News and Seven News in Australia); the television series Lost in Space, Land of the Giants and Amazing Stories.[11][12] Williams announced but then rescinded his intention to retire from film score composing after the release of Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny in 2023.[13]

Among other accolades, he has received the Kennedy Center Honor in 2004, the National Medal of the Arts in 2009 and the AFI Life Achievement Award in 2016.[b] He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1998, the Hollywood Bowl's Hall of Fame in 2000 and the American Classical Music Hall of Fame in 2004. He has composed the score for nine of the top 25 highest-grossing films at the U.S. box office.[14] In 2022, Williams was appointed an Honorary Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE) by Queen Elizabeth II, "for services to film music". In 2005, the American Film Institute placed Williams's score to Star Wars first on its list AFI's 100 Years of Film Scores; his scores for Jaws and E.T. also made the list. The Library of Congress entered the Star Wars soundtrack into the National Recording Registry for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".[15]

  1. ^ Nylund, Rob (November 15, 2022). Classic Connection review Archived November 17, 2022, at the Wayback Machine, WBOI ("For the second time this year, the Fort Wayne Philharmonic honored American composer, conductor, and arranger John Williams, who was born on February 8, 1932.")
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference nyt90 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ (April 23, 2022). From Jaws to Star Wars, Edmonton Symphony Orchestra celebrates John Williams Archived November 15, 2022, at the Wayback Machine, CTV News
  4. ^ Gray, Tim (October 8, 2015). "John Williams Tapped for 44th AFI Life Achievement Award". Variety. Archived from the original on March 29, 2019. Retrieved July 11, 2016.; "Nominee Facts – Most Nominations and Awards" Archived April 2, 2016, at the Wayback Machine, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences; retrieved November 29, 2015.
  5. ^ Golding, Dan (February 7, 2022). "From Jaws to Star Wars to Harry Potter: John Williams, 90 today, is our greatest living composer". The Conversation. Archived from the original on December 31, 2023. Retrieved December 31, 2023.
  6. ^ Dyche, Olly (February 24, 2023). "The Best Movie Composers of All Time, Ranked". MovieWeb. Archived from the original on December 7, 2023. Retrieved December 31, 2023.
  7. ^ Lehman, Franck. "A Guide to John Williams's Musical Universe".[permanent dead link‍]
  8. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (January 23, 2024). "John Williams & Martin Scorsese Make Oscar History As Oldest Nominees, Set Records For Most Noms". Deadline. Archived from the original on January 23, 2024. Retrieved January 23, 2024.
  9. ^ Burlingame, Jon (June 9, 2016). "AFI Honoree John Williams Looks Back on Six Decades of Iconic Themes". Variety. Archived from the original on June 11, 2016. Retrieved July 11, 2016.
  10. ^ "Boston Pops – John Williams" Archived February 4, 2017, at the Wayback Machine, bso.org; retrieved November 29, 2015.
  11. ^ "John Williams – Lost in Space [Original Soundtrack] Album Reviews, Songs & More | AllMusic". AllMusic. Archived from the original on December 27, 2023. Retrieved December 27, 2023.
  12. ^ "John Williams: The Last Movie Maestro". The Wall Street Journal. December 17, 2011. Archived from the original on August 21, 2016. Retrieved July 11, 2016.
  13. ^ "John Williams Walks Back Retirement Claims". January 13, 2023. Archived from the original on January 14, 2023. Retrieved August 17, 2023.
  14. ^ Top Lifetime Adjusted Grosses Archived February 15, 2020, at the Wayback Machine Box Office Mojo. Retrieved February 8, 2021.
  15. ^ "Star Wars Score Named To National Recording Register". Film Buff Online. Archived from the original on October 21, 2019. Retrieved June 16, 2016.


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