John Williams

Sound

Born: 1932-02-08

From: Queens, New York City, New York, USA

Gender: Male

Popularity: 1.5

Also Known As

John Towner WilliamsJohnny Williams

Biography

John Towner Williams (born February 8, 1932) 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 scoresin cinema history. He has a distinct sound that mixes romanticism, impressionism and atonal music with complex orchestration. 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, and is the oldest Oscar nominee in any category, at 91 years old. 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), Hook (1991), Jurassic Park (1993), Saving Private Ryan (1998), Catch Me If You Can (2002), War Horse (2011), Lincoln (2012), and The Fabelmans (2022). He also scored Superman (1978), the first two Home Alone films (1990–1992), and the first three Harry Potter films (2001–2004). 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. 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); and the television series Lost in Space, Land of the Giants and Amazing Stories. 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. 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. 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". Description above from the Wikipedia article John Williams, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Awards & Nominations12 won · 48 nominated

Nominated

Academy Award for Best Original Score

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny

2024

Nominated

Academy Award for Best Original Score

The Fabelmans

2023

Nominated

Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score

The Fabelmans

2023

🏆 Won

Honorary Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire

2022

Nominated

Academy Award for Best Original Score

Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker

2020

🏆 Won

Princess of Asturias Award for the Arts

2020

Nominated

Academy Award for Best Original Score

Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi

2018

Nominated

Academy Award for Best Original Score

Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens

2016

🏆 Won

Officer of Arts and Letters

2016

🏆 Won

AFI Life Achievement Award

2016

🏆 Won

Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Composition

The Book Thief

2015

Nominated

Academy Award for Best Original Score

The Book Thief

2014

Nominated

Academy Award for Best Original Score

Lincoln

2013

Nominated

Academy Award for Best Original Score

War Horse

2012

Nominated

Academy Award for Best Original Score

The Adventures of Tintin

2012

🏆 Won

National Medal of Arts

2009

🏆 Won

Grammy Award for Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media

Memoirs of a Geisha

2007

Nominated

Academy Award for Best Original Score

Memoirs of a Geisha

2006

Nominated

Academy Award for Best Original Score

Munich

2006

Nominated

Academy Award for Best Original Score

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

2005

Nominated

Academy Award for Best Original Score

Catch Me If You Can

2003

Nominated

Academy Award for Best Original Score

A.I. Artificial Intelligence

2002

Nominated

Academy Award for Best Original Score

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

2002

🏆 Won

Silver Olympic Order

2002

Nominated

Academy Award for Best Original Score

The Patriot

2001

Nominated

Academy Award for Best Original Score

Angela's Ashes

2000

Nominated

Academy Award for Best Original Dramatic Score

Saving Private Ryan

1999

Nominated

Academy Award for Best Original Dramatic Score

Amistad

1998

Nominated

Academy Award for Best Original Dramatic Score

Sleepers

1997

Nominated

Academy Award for Best Original Musical or Comedy Score

Sabrina

1996

Nominated

Academy Award for Best Original Song

1996

Nominated

Academy Award for Best Original Dramatic Score

Nixon

1996

Nominated

Academy Award for Best Original Score

Schindler's List

1994

🏆 Won

Academy Award for Best Original Score

Schindler's List

1994

Nominated

Academy Award for Best Original Score

JFK

1992

Nominated

Academy Award for Best Original Song

When You’re Alone

1992

Nominated

Academy Award for Best Original Song

Somewhere in My Memory

1991

Nominated

Academy Award for Best Original Score

Home Alone

1991

Nominated

Academy Award for Best Original Score

Born on the Fourth of July

1990

Nominated

Academy Award for Best Original Score

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade

1990

Nominated

Academy Award for Best Original Score

The Accidental Tourist

1989

Nominated

Academy Award for Best Original Score

The Witches of Eastwick

1988

Nominated

Academy Award for Best Original Score

Empire of the Sun

1988

Nominated

Academy Award for Best Original Score

The River

1985

Nominated

Academy Award for Best Original Score

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom

1985

Nominated

Academy Award for Best Original Score

Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi

1984

Nominated

Academy Award for Best Original Score

E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial

1983

Nominated

Academy Award for Best Original Song

1983

Nominated

Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Musical Score

Monsignor

1983

🏆 Won

Academy Award for Best Original Score

E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial

1983

Nominated

Academy Award for Best Original Score

Raiders of the Lost Ark

1982

Nominated

Academy Award for Best Original Score

Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back

1981

Nominated

Academy Award for Best Original Score

Superman

1979

Nominated

Academy Award for Best Original Score

Close Encounters of the Third Kind

1978

Nominated

Academy Award for Best Original Score

Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope

1978

🏆 Won

Academy Award for Best Original Score

Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope

1978

Nominated

Academy Award for Best Original Dramatic Score

Jaws

1976

🏆 Won

Academy Award for Best Original Dramatic Score

Jaws

1976

Nominated

Academy Award for Best Original Dramatic Score

The Towering Inferno

1975

Nominated

Academy Award for Best Original Dramatic Score

Cinderella Liberty

1974

John Williams

Also Known As

Biography

Awards & Nominations12 won · 48 nominated

Acting81 titles

Leonard Bernstein Centennial Celebration at Tanglewood

The 'E.T.' Journals

John Williams: Live in Vienna

When Star Wars Ruled the World

John Williams in Tokyo

Ennio

SP FX: The Empire Strikes Back

Music by John Williams

Star Wars: The Magic & the Mystery

In the Teeth of Jaws

AFI's Master Class - The Art of Collaboration: Steven Spielberg and John Williams

The Making of The Empire Strikes Back

Live at the Shrine! John Williams and the World Premiere of E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial: The 20th Anniversary

Previn and the Pittsburgh

Catch Me If You Can: Behind the Camera

Empire of Dreams: The Story of the Star Wars Trilogy

The Skywalker Legacy

The Secret Policeman’s Biggest Ball

Timeless Heroes: Indiana Jones and Harrison Ford

Taking Flight: The Development of 'Superman'

Spielberg

Playhouse 90

Jaws @ 50: The Definitive Inside Story

The Making of 'E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial'

From Star Wars to Jedi: The Making of a Saga

The Kennedy Center Honors

Disney Gallery / Star Wars: The Mandalorian

The Stories of West Side Story

The Shark Is Still Working

Jaws: The Inside Story

The Beginning: Making Episode I

The Boys: The Sherman Brothers' Story

Star Wars: Music by John Williams

John Williams: The Berlin Concert

A John Williams Celebration

Making 'Superman': Filming the Legend

Star Wars: Within a Minute - The Making of Episode III

A World Without Beethoven?

Johnny Mercer: The Dream's on Me

The Fabelmans: A Family in Film

Score: A Film Music Documentary

Star Wars: A Musical Journey

The Making of 'Close Encounters of the Third Kind'

John Williams: A Legacy In Sound

The Oscars

Making Waves: The Art of Cinematic Sound

Plotting 'Family Plot'

The Making of 'The Lost World'

The Making of 'Jaws'

The Making of '1941'

The Making of Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny

If These Walls Could Sing

Return to Jurassic Park

60 Minutes

The Revamping of Dracula

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

The American Film Institute Salute to ...

The Music of 'Indiana Jones'

Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge - Adventure Awaits

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert

Fiddler's Journey to the Big Screen

Disney Legends Awards Ceremony

John Williams: The Seventh Symphony

You Will Believe: The Cinematic Saga of Superman

No Subtitles Necessary: Laszlo & Vilmos

Deconstructing Dad: The Music, Machines and Mystery of Raymond Scott

Lincoln: An American Journey

The Tonight Show with Jay Leno

John Williams at the BBC

Frankie Laine: An American Dreamer

The Music of E.T.: A Discussion with John Williams

Building a Scene

Remember the Secret Policeman's Ball?

John Williams Live - Music from the Movies

Anne-Sophie Mutter - Vivace