Overview (4)

Mini Bio (1)

Spouse (2)

Trade Mark (4)

Thundering theme pieces for major science fiction and fantasy films which can be adapted to multiple different musical styles



Extensive use of leitmotifs in scores



Trivia (37)

Conductor of the Boston Pops for 12 years.





Composed for all but three of Steven Spielberg 's feature films.



Composed his first symphony at the urging of fellow film composer Bernard Herrmann



Performed the famous piano riff on the original recording of Henry Mancini 's theme to Peter Gunn (1958).



Father of composer and former TOTO lead singer, Joseph Williams . The two worked together on Die Rückkehr der Jedi-Ritter (1983), collaborating on the song performed by the alien band in Jabba's Palace. However, the song was replaced for the Special Edition.

Worked extensively with the London Symphony Orchestra





Son of jazz musician John Williams , (full name: John Francis Towner Williams, Senior), who was best known as the drummer in The Raymond Scott Quintette.



In 2006, he tied Alfred Newman for the most number of Oscar nominations (45) received by a composer-conductor, when he was nominated for "Memoirs of a Geisha" and "Munich".

Is a recipient of the prestigious Connor Award given by the Phi Alpha Tau brotherhood of Emerson College located in Boston, Massachusetts.



Composer of the biggest-selling instrumental single of all-time, and the only one to be officially awarded Platinum status - 2 million units by the RIAA, Meco's recording of "Star Wars Theme and Cantina Band". And, according to the Recording Industry Association of America, Meco's "Star Wars and Other Galactic Funk" album also outsold Williams' soundtrack by 300,000 units.



Grand marshal, Tournament of Roses parade [2004]



Attended UCLA, Los Angeles City College & Juilliard





Composed the score to Alfred Hitchcock 's final film.

Honorary Member of Kappa Kappa Psi National Honrary Band Fraternity. Member of Boston University Chapter Theta Beta, Brother # 93, Nickname: "Pops"



Inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1998.





During a live orchestral concert of film music in late 2004, Williams presented a tribute to the late Jerry Goldsmith David Raksin , and Elmer Bernstein , explaining how he played piano on some of their scores at the beginning of his career. He joked "They were my former employers - I must have been something like 12 when I played for them.".

Composed the "Olympic Fanfare and Theme" for the 1984 Olympic Games, which were held in Los Angeles and was awarded a Grammy in 1985.



He was awarded the American National Medal of the Arts on February 25, 2010 at the White House in Washington D.C. for his services and contributions to music.





He's an admirer of Japanese animation composer Yôko Kanno

Was nominated for Film Composer of the Year in 2004 and 2011 by the International Film Music Critics Association (IFMCA). He won in 2011.



As of 2014, he holds the record with the most number of Oscar nominations in the Best Musical Score with 43 nominations.





The music score for Der weiße Hai (1975) is one of the most recognizable, iconic, and suspenseful movie scores of all time. When Williams played it for Steven Spielberg for the first time, Spielberg couldn't help but laugh, feeling that it was so simple it could never work. The final version after all uses just two music notes: E and F. But Williams persuaded Spielberg to use it, and after a few tweaks, one of the most famous film scores of all time was born. This was the second film on which Williams and Spielberg collaborated (after Sugarland Express (1974)), and the two have worked together on almost every film Spielberg has done since.



Brother of studio percussionist Donald Williams and Jerry Williams.



He was originally attached to score Hexensabbat (1977) but pulled out to work on Krieg der Sterne (1977).



He was originally suggested to compose the score for Psycho II (1983).

Graduated from North Hollywood High School.





He was originally going to score Shining (1980), until Stanley Kubrick decided to go with a selection of music from different composers.

Personal Quotes (4)



[about his friend, Jerry Goldsmith ] His chameleon adaptability was a prerequisite to longevity and success in Hollywood. We used to call him Gorgeous. He was the golden boy, a beautiful presence. His music had a freshness, and he had a freshness.

I work very much in what some would consider old school, in front of the keyboard with pencil and paper. The piano is my favorite tool. Over the decades there has been so much amazing technological change in the music business, but I've been so busy I've never retooled.



[on the musical scoring of films] In the future, I think serious composers will become ever more interested. Changes in technology Eli change aesthetic approaches. More connections between the audio and visual world would also open possibilities that young composers find increasingly intriguing.



The idea of becoming a professional film composer, never mind writing nine Stars Wars' scores over forty years, was not a consciously sought-after goal. It simply happened. All of this has been the result of a beneficent randomness, which often produces the best things in life.



Salary (1)